If you want to feed your mind with philosophical views on life, then these Into the Wild quotes will give you what you need!
Into the Wild is a movie based on Jon Krakauer’s novel of the same title. It follows the story of Christopher McCandless, a promising young man who graduated from a prestigious university.
He already had everything that could propel him to success, even at a young age, but Cristopher decided to take a different path.
He donated all of his possessions to charities and chose to spend his life traveling as Alexander Supertramp. Unfortunately, he ended up in the wilderness without enough resources and eventually died of hunger.
It might seem like a tragic ending, but he met people in his journey that made his life a meaningful ride.
So, if you find yourself relating to his thoughts and choices, make sure you check out the list below. We’re sure it’ll give you some insightful lessons on choices, love, family, and life.
Start reading here.
And don’t forget to check out these inspirational quotes and positive quotes.
Best Into the Wild Quotes
1. “The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure.” – Christopher McCandless
2. “If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed.” – Christopher McCandless
3. “Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon—what it means to you.” – Christopher McCandless
4. “It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it.” – Christopher McCandless
5. “The whole idea was to lose our bearings, to push ourselves into unknown territory.” – Gordy Cucullu
6. “For a moment she rediscovered the purpose of her life. She was here on earth to grasp the meaning of its wild enchantment and to call each thing by its right name. By its right name.” – Christopher McCandless
7. “Strong. You can do anything. You can go anywhere. Money, power are an illusion. It’s up here. You can be here. Me and you.” – Christopher McCandless
8. “When you want something in life, you just gotta reach out and grab it.” – Christopher McCandless
9. “Come on, Alex. You gotta be a little cautious. I mean, that book of yours is cool and everything, but you can’t depend entirely on leaves and berries.” – Jan Burres
10. “You will see things and meet people, and there is so much to learn from them.” – Christopher McCandless
11. “I had some terrific experiences in the wilderness since I wrote you last—overpowering, overwhelming, But since then I am always being overwhelmed. I require it to sustain life.” – Christopher McCandless
12. “Now, after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.” – Carine McCandless
Into the Wild Quotes That Give New Meaning to Love and Happiness
13. “Some people feel like they don’t deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past.” – Christopher McCandless
14. “But when you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines through you.” – Ron Franz
15. “You don’t need human relationships to be happy, God has placed it all around us.” – Christopher McCandless
16. “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new, and different sun.” – Christopher McCandless
17. Ron Franz: “I’m going to miss you when you go.”
Christopher McCandless: “I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God’s place is all around us, it is in everything, and in anything, we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things.”
18. “Happiness is only real once shared.” – Christopher McCandless
19. “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality, nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit.” – Christopher McCandless
20. “I have lived through much and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor—such is my idea of happiness. And then, on top of all that, you for a mate, and children, perhaps—what more can the heart of a man desire?” – Christopher McCandless
21. “It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found.” – Christopher McCandless
22. “A lot of people in the valley just love me a lot. Everybody now, I think, in the whole world is just loving me. And I want to have the wisdom to love them back. And that’s about it.” – Leonard Knight
23. “Yeah. Totally. This is a love story that is staggering to everybody in the whole world. That God really loves us a lot. Does that answer that?” – Leonard Knight
Into the Wild Quotes for Those Who Need Motivation
24. “Don’t hesitate or allow yourself to make excuses. Just get out and do it. Just get out and do it. You will be very, very glad that you did.” – Christopher McCandless
25. “You got to get back out in the world! Get out of that lonely house, that little workshop of yours. Get back out on the road! Really! You’re going to live a long time, Ron! You should make a radical change in your lifestyle!” – Christopher McCandless
26. Wayne Westerberg: “What are you doing when we’re there? Now you’re in the wild, what are we doing?”
Christopher McCandless: “You’re just living, man. You’re just there, in that moment, in that special place, and time. Maybe when I get back, I can write a book about my travels.”
27. “The core of mans’ spirit comes from new experiences.” – Christopher McCandless
28. “Don’t settle down and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon.” – Christopher McCandless
Wise Into the Wild Quotes to Give You Valuable Lessons From Nature
29. “The sea’s only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now, I don’t know much about the sea, but I do know that that’s the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong.” – Christopher McCandless
30. “There is a pleasure in the pathless woods; there is a rapture on the lonely shore; there is society, where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not man the less, but nature more.” – Christopher McCandless
31. “The fragility of crystal is not a weakness but a fineness.” – Carine McCandless
32. “Alaska has long been a magnet for dreamers and misfits, people who think the unsullied enormity of the last frontier will patch all the holes in their lives. The bush is an unforgiving place, however, that cares nothing for hope or longing.” – Christopher McCandless
Sad Into the Wild Quotes That Will Move You to Tears
33. Ron Franz: “Where’s your family?”
Christopher McCandless: “Don’t have one anymore.”
34. Jan Buress: “Where are your mom and dad?”
Christopher McCandless: “Living their lies somewhere.”
35. “You can’t fix it. Most things you can fix, but not that. I don’t know that you ever get over this kind of loss. The fact that Chris is gone is a sharp hurt I feel every single day.” – Billie McCandless
36. “Chris just didn’t like being told what to do. I think he would have been unhappy with any parents; he had trouble with the whole idea of parents.” – Eric Hathaway
37. “What if I were smiling and running into your arms? Would you see then what I see now?” – Christopher McCandless
38. “Children can be pretty harsh when it comes to their parents.” – Rainey
39. “When Alex left for Alaska, I prayed. I asked God to keep his finger on the shoulder of that one; I told him that boy was special. But he let Alex die.” – Ron Franz
Into the Wild Quotes to Reflect On
40. “From as long ago as Chris and I could remember, there have been daily bouts of rage in our house. Violence that we were forced to witness. It was very real. But it was also like theater. They cast us as both judges and the accused. Dad had been the young genius that NASA enlisted to do crucial designs for the American satellite radar systems that would be our answer to the Russian Sputnik. And mom and he later started up a consulting firm combining her get-up-and-go resourcefulness with his wealth of knowledge. But by the time the company actually made its first million, the careerism and money seemed only to embolden their blindness. I remember the first family meeting to let us in on their plans for getting a divorce. They wanted us to choose which of them we’d live with. We cried our eyes out. The divorce never happened, but the battles and the meetings never stopped. It wasn’t very long before Chris and I shut off. We’d say, ‘Go ahead. Get the divorce.’” – Carine McCandless
41. “Yeah. Yeah, I thought my husband and I were going to just make peace on Earth and babies and love and stay together forever, and that didn’t quite work out that way. He left me. So, I—anyway, whatever, but I ended up raising Reno on my own. That’s my boy, his name’s Reno. Then I met Rainey. That was sweet. It was really good for a while. It’s just—you know, Reno was a teenager already by then, and he was just on his way to becoming his own man. And I haven’t even heard from him in two years. I don’t even know where he is.” – Jan Buress
42. “My parents understood that a fine crystal glass had to be cared for or it may be shattered. But when it came to my brother, they did not seem to know or care that their course of secret action brought the kind of devastation that could cut them. Their fraudulent marriage and our father’s denial of this other son was, for Chris, a murder of every day’s truth. He felt his whole life turn, like a river suddenly reversing the direction of its flow, suddenly running uphill. These revelations struck at the core of Chris’ sense of identity. They made his entire childhood seem like fiction. Chris never told them he knew and made me promise silence, as well.” – Carine McCandless
Into the Wild Quotes for Those Trying to Fill a Void in Their Life
43. “I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking. Sometimes he tried too hard to make sense of the world, to figure out why people were bad to each other so often.” – Carine McCandless
44. “He needed his solitude at times, but he wasn’t a hermit. He did a lot of socializing. Sometimes I think it was like he was storing up company for the times when he knew nobody would be around.” – Carine McCandless
45. “I know how important it is in life to measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.” – Christopher McCandless
46. “Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom.” – Christopher McCandless
47. “I’m gonna be all the way out there, all the way f*cking out there. Just on my own. You know, no f*cking watch, no map, no ax, no nothing. No nothing. Just be out there. Just be out there in it. You know, big mountains, rivers, sky, game. Just be out there in it, you know? In the wild.” – Christopher McCandless
Also read: Quotes to Live By, Deep Meaningful Quotes
Profound Into the Wild Quotes That Will Alter Your Worldview
48. Christopher McCandless: “Society, you know! Society! ‘Cause, you know what I don’t understand? I don’t understand why people, why every f*cking person is so bad to each other so f*cking often. It doesn’t make sense to me. Judgment. Control. All that, the whole spectrum. Well, it just—.”
Wayne Westerberg: “What people are we talking about?”
Christopher McCandless: “You know—parents, hypocrites, politicians, pricks.”
Wayne Westerberg: “This is a mistake. It’s a mistake to get too deep into all that kind of stuff. Alex, you’re a hell of a young guy, a hell of a young guy. But I promise you this. You’re a young guy. Can’t be juggling blood and fire all the time!”
49. “He believed that doing well was all mental, a simple matter of harnessing whatever energy was available.” – Christopher McCandless
50. “At that stage of my youth, death remained as abstract a concept as non-Euclidean geometry or marriage. I didn’t yet appreciate its terrible finality or the havoc it could wreak on those who’d entrusted the deceased with their hearts.” – Christopher McCandless
51. “It should not be denied that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations. Absolute freedom. And the road has always led west.” – Christopher McCandless
52. “I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life.” – Christopher McCandless
Into the Wild Quotes That Zoom in on Materialism
53. “I don’t need money. Makes people cautious.” – Christopher McCandless
54. “A new car? Why would I want a new car? Datsun runs great. Do you think I want some fancy boat? Are you worried what the neighbors might think?” – Christopher McCandless
55. Ron Franz: “Well, how old are ya?”
Christopher McCandless: “Twenty-three.”
Ron Franz: “Twenty-three years old! Son, don’t you think you ought to be getting an education? And a job? And making something of this life?”
Christopher McCandless: “Mr. Franz, I think careers are a 20th Century invention and I don’t want one. You don’t need to worry about me; I have a college education. I’m not destitute. I’m living like this by choice.”
56. “I’m going to paraphrase Thoreau here—rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness—give me truth.” – Christopher McCandless
57. “My days were more exciting when I was penniless. I’ve decided I’m going to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and simple beauty is too good to pass up.” – Christopher McCandless
Into the Wild Quotes to See the Beauty Behind Solitude
58. “In early September, mom, and dad got a call from the Annandale police notifying them that Chris’ abandoned car had been identified by the Arizona Highway Patrol. A group of rare flower hunters stumbled upon it in the desert. There were no signs that Chris had intended to return to it. But there wasn’t any evidence of a struggle, either. The police thought Chris had chosen to leave it behind and not that it was taken from him. The initial comfort that gave mom and dad quickly turned to the realization that Chris was actually trying not to be found.” – Carine McCandless
59. “It was inevitable that Chris would break away. And when he did, he would do it with characteristic immoderation.” – Carine McCandless
60. “It would be Christmas in a couple of months, and the last news we’d had was about his car being found. I woke up a couple of days ago, and for the first time, it bothered me that it wasn’t only my parents who hadn’t heard from Chris. I wondered why he hadn’t tried to call in case I might answer. He could’ve hung up if it wasn’t me. Why wouldn’t he send a letter, maybe through a friend? It hurt a little, but I told myself it was good. He knew I loved him enough to bear with the not knowing. And it helped me remember that there was something more than rebellion, more than anger that was driving him.” – Carine McCandless
61. “At long last, he was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from the raw throb of existence.” – Carine McCandless
62. “He acted like it was hard for him to be around people. I just figured that was because he’d spent so much time by himself.” – Gail Borah
63. “Getting out of this sick society.” – Christopher McCandless
Also read: Solitude Quotes
More Into the Wild Quotes for Those Who Loved the Book
64. “I thought climbing the Devil’s Thumb would fix all that was wrong with my life. In the end, of course, it changed almost nothing. But I came to appreciate that mountains make poor receptacles for dreams.” – Jon Krakauer, Author
65. “But Everett and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That’s what was great about them. They tried. Not many do.” – Jon Krakauer, Author
66. “I have always been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. Always I want to live more richly and intensely.” – Jon Krakauer, Author
67. “Hours slide by like minutes. The accumulated clutter of day-to-day existence—the lapses of conscience, the unpaid bills, the bungled opportunities, the dust under the couch, the inescapable prison of your genes—all of it is temporarily forgotten.” – Jon Krakauer, Author
68. “He was unheeded, happy, and near to the wild heart of life. He was alone and young and wilful and wild-hearted, alone amid a waste of wild air and brackish waters and the sea harvest of shells and tangled and veiled gray sunlight.” – Jon Krakauer, Author
69. “We like companionship, see, but we can’t stand to be around people for very long. So we go get ourselves lost, come back for a while, then get the hell out again.” – Jon Krakauer, Author
70. “People soften with the forced reflection that comes with loss.” – Jon Krakauer, Author
Do You Think Nature, Traveling, and Exploring Help You Find Peace and Happiness?
Sometimes, our satisfaction does not lie in our assets, career, success, or our circle of friends. We can still feel lost and empty inside despite having these things. Perhaps, the way to find meaning in life again is to spend enough time in nature, alone with your thoughts.
Into the Wild encapsulated this idea through Cristopher, a man who tried to find solace in solitude. He may have gone too far in his choices, but looking beyond that, he inspired us to follow our dreams. Not everyone would agree with our choices in life, but do you want to live with regrets and what-ifs?
We put so much value in other people’s beliefs and perceptions and we fear that our worth might lessen if we don’t achieve material success. But, don’t let these opinions stop you from listening to your heart and doing the things that will make you happy.
Even if you fail, what matters is you tried, and you acted upon your beliefs and wants. So, take Into the Wild as an inspiration to get out there and live the life of your dreams.
What is the most beautiful place you’ve ever been to? What lessons did you learn from your travels? Please, share your thoughts below!
