Christian Holme Outside Reading #5

            I’ve been reading “Into The Wild” this year and I love the perception of beauty and nature in the book. The book documents the adventures and journey of a young man from northern Virginia named Christopher McCandless who, before graduating from college, sold all of his possessions, gave the funds to charity, and set out across the united states, hitch hiked up the west coast, camped out in Alaska, and died of food poisoning. While it may sound somewhat anti-climactic and mundane, it is a very beautiful story. What really struck me about the book, in light of this class, is the symbolization of nature throughout the story. McCandless spent years reading stories of nature and adventure; the transcendentalists enthralled him. For McCandless, nature not only symbolized the unknown, but also freedom. Nature came to symbolize the good and true life. It appears as if McCandless bestowed meaning on nature, turning nature itself into art.