The action-packed Alaskan adventure Christopher McCandless embarked upon greatly intrigued writer Jon Krakauer, resulting in Into the Wild, a book that allows readers to experience McCandless's journey. Through evidence discovered in the bus that McCandless resided in during his exploit, along with epigraphs and interviews, Krakauer carefully pieced together the puzzling details of the adventure in hope of uncovering McCandless's fascinating story. The thorough evidence adds a journalistic, logical style to the text that was later adapted into a film directed by Sean Penn. Through the movie's artistic use of camera technique, voiceovers, sound, and costumes, the film adaptation takes on a more emotional, romanticized approach. Jon Krakauer's journalistic rendition and Sean Penn's romanticized rendition of Into the Wild offer two differing perceptions of McCandless's journey. 

Jon Krakauer interviewed members of the McCandless family along with people who came in contact with McCandless during his adventure to draw facts about him in an attempt to comprehend why he chose to do some of the seemingly odd things that he did. According to these interviews, McCandless was quite an intelligent, independent individual with a rebellious side that disagreed with the norms of society. An interview with Carine, McCandless's younger sister, revealed his independence: "'He could be alone without being lonely'" (Krakauer 107). McCandless was so independent that he did not want any of his family to know where he was during his adventure. He also did not want anyone he came in contact with to know his true identity. Therefore, he changed his name to Alexander Supertramp to begin his daring journey. According to his dad, McCandless liked to do things his own way and "resisted instruction of any kind" (Krakauer 111). Gaylord Stuckey, a man who gave McCandless a ride along the way, shed light on how likeable McCandless's personality was by stating, "He was a dandy kid," and, "I hoped to find Alex and spend another day with him" (Krakauer 159-60). 

Krakauer also used interviews with people McCandless met along his journey to uncover what actually happened. Discussions with people like Ron Franz, Tracy Burres and Wayne Westerberg assisted in piecing together the events that occurred leading up to McCandless's exploit in the wilderness. These interviews reveal interesting characteristics of Chris and details about his endeavors, which help readers better understand his reasoning for embarking on a wild and risky journey away from society. 

In Sean Penn's movie adaptation of McCandless's journey into the wild, the use of camera angles, camera distance, and camera movement portray different characteristics and feelings of McCandless. In several scenes, the use of zoomed in shots encourages viewers to focus on the emotional responses of characters. When McCandless and Ron Franz are in the truck, directly before McCandless was dropped off to continue on his journey of solitude, Penn uses close-ups of each of their faces to reveal intense, solemn emotions. McCandless's expressions are always very intense, yet blank when he is sad, portraying him as somewhat unwilling to express his melancholy emotions. The same portrayal is demonstrated when McCandless and Jan are having a serious conversation about her son and the sad realization of their distant relationship. Penn also uses camera distance to emphasize emotions. Long camera distance shows how lonely and insignificant McCandless feels physically and emotionally by zooming far out on McCandless as he is surrounded by large areas of landscape and nature. The contrasting sizes of McCandless and the areas that surround him exemplify his feelings of loneliness and inferiority. When McCandless is in the city, the focus of the camera is blurry in some shots and there are several frame breaks. The awkwardness of the camera creates an uncomfortable feeling from being in the city late at night, attempting to evoke feelings from viewers similar to those of McCandless. These feelings reveal McCandless's negative opinions about the city and his dislike of fast-paced society. A trend of slow motion shots occurred when McCandless was feeling joyful. For instance, the slow motion shots of McCandless running through the fields in Alaska and of the enjoyable shower he took made it appear as if time was standing still in these moments of delight. This trend of slow motion shots and the strategic camera use stimulates viewers to feel McCandless's emotions. 

Krakauer narrates the book for the purpose of reciting evidence-supported facts and for comparing his own life experiences to those of McCandless. In some instances, this took the focus off of McCandless's experience and moved the focus to a comparison of Krakauer and McCandless. This logical approach may interrupt the emotional connection between readers and McCandless. For example, Krakauer states, "But my sense of McCandless's intentions comes, too, from a more personal perspective" (Krakauer 134). Krakauer then goes on to tell a detailed story of his own Alaskan escapade from the past, shifting the focus to himself.

Sean Penn chose to have Carine, McCandless's sister, narrate the film through voiceovers. Having someone so personal to McCandless narrate parts of the film results in an emotional portrayal. These narrative voiceovers provide continuity between McCandless's past and present, enabling the film to flow more smoothly. When McCandless is jumping into the waterfall, Carine is explaining a time when McCandless snuck out of the house as a child and stole candy from the neighbor's candy drawer. This creates a parallel between McCandless's past and present nature. Carine's narration also provokes emotion from viewers towards McCandless and the McCandless family through a melancholy tone of voice. The emotional tactics of Carine's voiceovers support Penn's overall poignant approach. 

Krakauer uses epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter to provide excerpts from some of McCandless's favorite authors to further describe McCandless's personality and opinions about society. Krakauer includes an epigraph of an excerpt from Henry David Thoreau's Walden, or Life in the Woods. In this particular epigraph, one line reads, "The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated" (Krakauer 47). This excerpt was highlighted in a book found with McCandless's remains. This piece of evidence reveals some of McCandless's feelings towards society. He felt the most important values are underappreciated compared to the shallow gains society focuses on. These epigraphs allow readers to better understand the logic behind McCandless's decision to isolate himself in the Alaskan wilderness. 

Both the book and the movie go back and forth between McCandless's past and present experiences, but the movie uses split screens to maintain continuity. For instance, Penn uses split screens to carry multiple story lines at one time from different time periods. For example, the screen is split to show McCandless having a good time in the wilderness while his parents are mourning his loss and wondering where he is. This split screen effect not only allows for smoother transitions, but it also allows viewers to stay in touch with each side of the story and with the emotional experiences from both parties  --  McCandless and the McCandless family. The screen is also split in some instances to show flashbacks from McCandless's childhood adjacent to his current endeavors, comparing his past and present on one screen. The use of split screens also cuts down on film time and pushes viewers forward through the narrative. Through these editing techniques, Penn is able to provide smooth, effective transitions.

Penn also uses music and sound to provoke emotion from viewers to promote the understanding of McCandless's personal feelings and to set the scene. In many of the natural, wilderness settings, Eddie Vedder is singing with an acoustic guitar delivering a naturalistic feel. These Eddie Vedder songs also play often when McCandless is alone. Solitude is both heard and seen  --  heard through Eddie Vedder singing alone and seen through McCandless being physically alone. The very lyrics of many songs played throughout the film relate to particular scenes. For example, a song with the words "midnight train" is playing while McCandless is hopping freight trains at night. In week 7 of McCandless's time at the "magic bus" a song is playing with the line, "society...hope you're not lonely without me". The way these lyrics play into the scenes allow viewers' senses to really hone in on the emotional message being portrayed both visually and musically. 

Other visual elements in Penn's Into the Wild, such as costume and makeup, emphasize certain aspects of the story. In the city, McCandless's clothes are very raggedy and he isn't cleanly shaven, causing him to appear distraught and discontent. However, in the wilderness, McCandless appears to be clean, well groomed, and put together. This ironic use of costumes symbolizes McCandless's preference of natural, wilderness life. His costume makes him look like he belongs in the wild, while in the city his costume makes him look like an outsider and demonstrates his apparent distaste for city life. Makeup is also used to express McCandless's feelings. When he is having fun in the wilderness, his face is cleanly shaven and tan. However, when McCandless isn't doing very well emotionally or physically, his face appears to be pale and there are dark circles under his eyes. 

Jon Krakauer and Sean Penn use different approaches to portray the story of Christopher McCandless's adventure. Krakauer's approach appeals to logos through evidence, epigraphs, and interviews to assist readers in their understanding of the actual events that occurred on McCandless's journey. Penn's approach appeals to pathos through camera technique, voiceovers, sound, and costumes to encourage viewers to become emotionally involved in McCandless's experience. The various elements from each medium of Into the Wild effectively portray the adventurous story of Christopher McCandless to readers and viewers. 

