Have you ever wanted to explore nature on your own? If so, you might want to change your mind. Based on Jon Krakauer's novel, "Into the Wild," the author explores the life of a young man named Chris McCandless who hitchhikes across parts of the United States and then ventures alone and unprepared into the Alaskan wilderness. Chris was a very intelligent man and graduated from Emery College with a 4.0 GPA. His relationship with his father, however, influences the decisions he makes throughout the novel, in which he wishes to live a less materialistic lifestyle. At age 24, he ends up starving to death due to the many bad decisions he makes. The author develops many themes throughout the novel. Chris's evidence of arrogance, innocence, and ignorance leads to his untimely death and contributes to the author's theme of the importance of knowledge and experience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Since the beginning of the novel, Krakauer has portrayed Chris as an overconfident and arrogant character who greatly foreshadows his downfall. Arrogance can be described as someone exaggerating their own abilities and/or importance. At the start of his trip, McCandless wrote in his postcard to Wayne: "This is the last you will hear from me... If this adventure proves fatal and you never hear from me again, I want you to know that you are a great man. I now walk in nature. Krakauer uses this postcard as the title of the first chapter to show how much confidence Chris had in himself. As Chris reflects on the fact that he may never return alive, he writes with a sense of trust in nature over which he has no control. His ability to walk into something dangerous shows how he is overconfident in his ability to survive. He has never experienced anything like this and the other uses this information to foreshadow Chris's end. Krakauer explains how some people “greatly admired the boy for his courage and noble ideals.” They thought he was brave and strong to go out into nature alone. For some people, it's an interesting story full of good intentions. However, the author makes us doubt this when he refuses to keep his watch. Chris says, “I don’t want to know what time it is. I don't want to know what day it is or where I am. None of that matters.” Chris once again shows us stupidity and unnecessary confidence. Not only did Chris not bring his watch, but he also refuses to bring other necessities to survive. His confidence in himself shows that he was innocent and denied. Chris' arrogant tendencies contribute to his death, which he could have avoided. Throughout the novel, Krakauer highlights how Chris's ignorance contributes to his untimely death as well as his lack of preparation. Innocence and ignorance are by definition a lack of knowledge, information or experience. Krakauer provides numerous examples at the beginning of the book. When Chris was accompanied by Gallien, he explained that he did not need his parents and that "I will not encounter anything that I cannot handle alone." The fact that he can think he can survive shows that he has no experience in the wild. No one has told him the harsh conditions he will face and he doesn't even have the proper equipment to successfully survive in the wild. The author notes that "his equipment seemed extremely minimal...Alex's cheap leather hiking boots were neither waterproof nor well..