         Into the Wild is a nonfiction text written by Jon Krakauer in 1996. The book mainly explains the life of Chris McCandless and his journey through the Alaskian Wilderness. The author helps the reader to understand the life of Chris McCandless who calls himself as Alexander Supertramp with the dream of making it to Alaska and staying in a bus for nearly 100 days, he eventually died in the wild. Krakauer connects Chris McCandless with a fictional character Odysseus and he considers that Chris McCandless may be a kind of a hero. The author also states the similarities he has with Chris McCandless. The movie was released in 2007 which is the adaptation of the book directed by Sean Penn. Krakauer made the story based on his findings, perception and interaction with others while Sean Penn has completely depended on Krakauer's work. Krakauer has used epigraphs to give life to Chris McCandless journey whereas Sean Penn has used variety of elements including voiceover, costumes, makeup etc to give life to the characters on screen. Both Krakauer and Penn state that McCandless started his journey to Alaska because of the book he read about nature and also he wanted to stay away from his parents. Chris McCandless was not comfortable staying with his parents and termed them as rebels. He wanted to prove the world that he can make a difference without depending on someone.

     Krakauer's book is mainly between a journalistic investigation and an essay on a topic that

 gives a lot of interest to him. He makes the story on McCandless"s life based on combinations    of interviews, letters and diaries. Krakauer uses epigraphs to narrate Chris McCandless's journey         and what made him go to Alaska. The book describes his childhood, where Chris McCandless has shown talent in so many areas but didn't have the respect and patience to develop a particular skill. Krakauer explains about his childhood adventures in detail and also about his college life where he wrote useful editorials on  various subjects. Krakauer states a clear path of Chris McCandless from his early days till his death.

      The movie does not describe Chris McCandless's childhood memories and also his activities in college life. It could be that this was not included in the movie because Chris's sister narrates the story while Krakauer narrates the book. Penn has described him from the head of Zeus after college with no details from the past but of the future.

      In chapter two Krakauer mentions about a graffito carved into a piece of wood found in Chris McCandless's body ( Krakauer 9). He describes that site "as the land without any movement and it looked so cold and lonely that it was something more than sadness" ( Krakauer 9). Krakauer uses Chris McCandless's written letter to describe the site and also believes that London was among his favorite authors. Krakauer believes London has deeply described the site well where Chris's body was found dead ( Krakauer 9). In his film Penn has managed to adapt what Krakauer mentioned in his chapter describing his death scene. Penn has managed to use close angle shots to depict how the scene looked and he has focused more on using natural light to describe the wilderness. The soundtrack used here is gentle and sad as it is describing his death scene.

    Krakauer mentions Chris McCandless and his meetings with the people he finds during his trip  

to the wilderness. He also states events involved in Chris McCandless's life between college graduation till his death clearly ( Krakauer 17). The film dramatizes many scenes that takes place between Chris McCandless and the people he meets during the trip. In the movie there is a scene where he meets two people after rafting down the river. This is not mentioned in the book. Tracy, a character from the film who has a crush on Chris McCandless is barely seen in the book.

   In chapter three Krakauer starts with a paragraph from Chris McCandless which reads: "I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love" (Krakauer 15). Krakauer states that Chris McCandless wants to show that he is independent when he is out of his parents control, and an opportunity to prove the society of what he is capable to achieve. In the film Sean Penn has managed to show Chris's determination and passion for the trip to the wilderness by using a minimum amount of makeup, costumes and zoom out shots so that the audience is able to connect the character lively. The soundtrack in this scene has traits of calm and determination music which helps the audience to portray the importance of this scene.

     In chapter eleven Krakauer mentions about his parents who are off to a trip to the bus to see their sons body. After Chris McCandless's death his father returns to heavy drinking and declaring himself as an atheist. This made him remember most of the times back them how Chris McCandless was, his achievements all the good things he did for the family( Krakauer 73). The book throws a depressing information about an easier route which Chris McCandless should have taken instead of getting trapped in the wilderness. The book also states the fathers depression because of Chris McCandless's refusal to stay in contact with the McCandless family. The soundtrack played in the background creates a depression mood throughout with some flash back scenes to remind us how Chris McCandless was.

    In the film Sean Penn has omitted the scenes where the parents come to witness the bus where their sons body is found. He also omitted the scenes where McCandless drinks and claims himself as an atheist. Though the movie presents flashback scenes in black and white of the time there were fights between the mother and the father, the film presents the material more in a realistic manner. Sean Penn has focused on the use of natural light maximum in most of his scenes to create a realistic view for the audience.

   In chapter twelve Krakauer notes a passage from Henry David Thoreau's Walden, of Life in the Woods that McCandless highlighted which states that "rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth" (Krakauer 82). Krakauer tries to show that the parents had hid the secret that Chris's father was married to a woman other than their mother. By including this quote, Krakauer provides insight into Chris McCandless's strained relationship with his parents, especially in contrast to the close relationship he found with many people during his trip to the wilderness.

   Krakauer portrays Chris's sister Carine as someone who is admiring and missing Chris McCandless a lot. Krakauer describes Carine's grief over her brother, but she knew little about his adventures or what he was up to. Penn has managed to describe Carine as the same mentioned in the book. He uses split screen camera technique to show Carine in one screen thinking about Chris and the other screen which depicts Chris travelling to the wilderness. The soundtrack from this scene provides a soothing as well as an anxiety background music when Carine thinks about her brother. 

   There were some scenes which were different or omitted from the book. The book goes into details of Chris's childhood, highlighting events that show him as questioning society. The movie starts with college graduation. In the book it is mentioned that Chris McCandless takes a second trip to Dakota whereas in the movie it is merged as one trip. The book makes a lot of claims and guesses regarding Chris McCandless's death, but in the movie it is evident that he had consumed some poison. Krakauer depicts that Chris show's no interest in women. From the movie it is clear that he has a girlfriend Tracy, who barely gets noticed as a pub singer in the book.

   Krakauer ends his story of adventure that ended up in a tragedy. He manages to ensure that the readers get a clear view of Chris McCandless using his ideas and interaction with others. The film has managed to convey Chris McCandless a more sympathetic person compared to the book. Sean Penn has used filmic element such as camera angles, costumes, makeup, voiceover artists etc to get the audience connected more with the story. The character Chris McCandless played by Emile Hirsch has done a commendable job and his presence in the film throughout boosts the story of the central character.

