Into the Wild follows the life of a brilliant young man named Chris McCandless and his journey into the wilderness. Both mediums focus on his relationships with family, friends and society, and how these contributed to his actions and ultimately his unfortunate demise. It was first published as a book by Jon Krakauer and later adapted into a film by Sean Penn. Despite both interpretations coming from the same events, their portrayals of Chris were different. Sean Penn distorted and invented events to persuade his audience to share his opinion, while Jon Krakauer attempted to be more transparent and objective in his portrayal of Chris. They also illustrated Chris' relationships differently, highlighting different aspects of his character. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay There are many instances where Sean Penn created or manipulated events within the film that did not occur. An example is when Chris was hunting and saw a moose and its baby, but he didn't shoot. Given his situation, it is very unlikely that he would have wasted the opportunity to obtain meat. This scene was created to develop Chris' morals and make him a more merciful character. He also ruled out that Chris was unprepared for his trip. Many readers of the book criticized Chris for this, and the lack of this information prevented the film's audience from arriving at this opinion. For example, his lack of proper camping gear and lack of knowledge of Alaskan wild game and the environment proved to be an obstacle to his success and led to his death. He also did not know that the bus had been used as a shelter before his arrival. This wasn't explored in the film to the extent it was in the book. Furthermore, at the end of the film, as Chris is dying, it is edited to make the audience perceive that Chris is imagining running towards his parents and hugging them. This could be perceived as a symbol of reconciliation. While this is a sign of Penn using his artistic license, we have no idea whether this experience occurred or whether he has forgiven his parents. The dramatization of his death can be attributed to Penn wanting to frame Chris more as an idol or wanting to celebrate him. Also in the film, Chris realizes that he is dying from the plant he ate. However, it is unconfirmed whether Chris realized this was the reason or whether that was the reason at all. The book does not definitively state the cause of death, Krakauer hypothesizes many plausible explanations. Sean Penn celebrated Chris by romanticizing his story and trying to convey it as the harsh truth. In contrast, Krakauer acknowledged that he had a polarized opinion on Chris, but did his best to be unbiased and include as much information as possible. This notion was first mentioned in the author's note, he stated: “I do not pretend to be an impartial biographer. McCandless's strange story had a personal touch... I tried... to minimize my authorial presence." Later, he reinforces his intentions by saying: "I will let the reader form his own opinion of Chris McCandless." These statements prove true throughout the book because, despite his beliefs, he never omits information that would support his perception of Chris. For example, unlike the film that began with Chris' graduation, Krakauer included facts from the Chris's childhood and beyond. This gave audiences a multifaceted view of Chris Ha.