The book “Into the Wild” is a movie based on a true story about a young man , named Chris McCandless. He is not your typical teenager. He was adventurous and wanted to experience the world in a different way by heading out into the wild and living off the woods for a few months. He dropped everything and everyone he loved and hitchhiked to Alaska to start his remarkable journey into the wilderness. By doing this, some people thought he was an outsider. An outsider can be defined as a person who does not belong to a particular group or a person who is isolated from society, someone or something that doesn’t really fit in or just thinks outside the box and does what they have faith in, or could straightforwardly just be a person that is strange and not well known by others.

My definition of an outsider is most likely the same as everyone else’s views of it. I believe that an outsider is either someone or something that doesn’t really fit in or just thinks outside the box and does what they have faith in or do what they want to do. The dictionary’s definition of an outsider is a person who does not belong to a particular group or a person that is not accepted by or who is isolated from society. Society’s definition of an outsider is a person that is just straightforwardly strange and not well known by others.


My definition of an outsider relates to Chris McCandless in several different ways. First of all, Chris is your unusu al 18-year-old boy that goes to parties and gets with all the girls he wants. Chris wants to explore the world. He wants to travel through nature and experience distinctive things on his own. He doesn’t want his parents spoiling him and giving him everything he’s ever wanted. He wants to live off ground and be free. On page 20 leading onto 21, the quote “He would no longer give or accept gifts” and “He already had a perfectly good car, he insisted: a beloved 1982 Datsun B210, slightly dented but mechanically sound, with 128,000 miles on the odometer” are two respectable examples on why he doesn’t like nor want to be spoiled by his family nor his friends.


The dictionary’s definition of an outsider seems to be the equivalent of my definition. The definition of an outsider in the dictionary is a person who does not belong to a particular group or a person that is not accepted by or who is isolated from society. Meaning a person that stands away from the group and goes off doing what interests them or it could easily just be a person that isn’t wanted in that specific group. Chris relates to this definition. On page 76, the line “Acquaintances remember him as a socially awkward man-child with an outrageous sense of humor and a squirrelly, almost manic-depressive personality” is referring to Waterman but Alex can relate.


Society’s definition is just the same as what the dictionary’s definition is and mine of an outsider. Society’s definition is someone or something that is just awkward and not well known by others. On page 63, the line “Alex wasn’t a total space cadet or anything” explains how he wasn’t like everyone else. Alex didn’t think the same way as other people. He would look at things in a different way and he’d do what his heart told him to do. He didn’t get the grasp of things quickly like most kids. He would get lost in what people would say. He would also forget to do important things like cleaning the kitchen utensils that he had used that night.




Chris was often looked at as an outsider but he was just doing what he loved to do. In society an outsider can be described as a person who does not belong to a particular group or a person who is isolated from society, someone or something that doesn’t really fit in or just thinks outside the box and does what they have faith in, or could straightforwardly. In real life, if you don’t follow the social norms, people will suspect you to be an outsider and isolate you.