How Did Chris Mccandless Change In Into The Wild

In the beginning of the story McCandless is painted as a strong, intelligent and strong-willed young man who had no choice but to flee from an overbearing family and a cold and merciless father. “At long last he [Chris] was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents” (Krakauer, pg 22). The reason this seems bias is due to Krakauer drawing similarities between his father being similar to McCandless’s father. “By the time…. I enrolled in a distance college where no Ivy grew, I was speaking to my father with a clenched jaw or not at all” (Krakauer, pg 147).

Into The Wild is a nonfiction novel about the events of Chris McCandless’s life, written by Jon Krakauer. The novel is about a man named Christopher McCandless, Chris for short, and his refusal to live an ordinary life like everyone else. Since Chris McCandless did not want to accept an ordinary life, he felt that he needed to take action, so he traveled to the Alaskan Wilderness to live a life of solitude. Consequently, McCandless’s actions forever changed the outcome of his life (Krakauer). The conflicts between Chris McCandless and his family, himself, and nature caused him to live a dangerous life of solitude.

It has been very perplexing reading this novel and trying to truly understand the motives one would have to have to make the decisions McCandless made. I am questioning Chris’ motives for cutting ties with his family and travelling all around the country. I think that he truly had a deep love and spiritual connection with nature. It began as a young child when Walt McCandless (Chris’ father) took Chris on many excursions in the outdoors, such as hiking in the mountains. Chris immediately fell in love with nature and all of the pleasures it had to offer. Also, Chris was motivated by his withering relationship with his family. Early in his life his parents worked tirelessly and it was difficult for Chris to spend time and build a solid relationship with them. Throughout his young life he had disagreed with his parents about many aspects of life. It was said that he

McCandless also needed to face his demons alone without the loving Carine who was constantly by his side. Chris McCandless cut communication with Carine to detach himself from his family and be in true isolation. McCandless lived in an abusive household for

McCandless never accepted society and the way it worked. He was the perfect look in society, he had good grades, was a great athlete and attended university. Despite the fact, McCandless always had a clear goal and knew his own destiny, regardless of society and its morals. After four years, McCandless graduated from college. Upon his graduation it is stated that, “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.”

McCandless is arrogant and stubborn and his father is the same way, so there arrogance and egos clash and they have never chose to try and figure out the problem and they have just been living life without communicating to each other. Wayne Westerberg and Jim Gallien are two key people in Chris McCandless’ life that affect him in a positive way and that have guided him to try to make his life more

One of the many reasons he left was to get away from his parents he recently started hating. After finding out about his father's affair, and his mother's weakness for staying in the marriage, Chris was affected in such a negative way, that he immediately thought his whole childhood was a lie. McCandless also read a lot of books by Henry David Thoreau and other transcendentalist. He read them so often, sometimes more than once, that he became obsessed with the idea of finding himself in nature. The obsession with the books raises another psychological question.

Chris was aware that this was a physically demanding journey, and he wanted to take it. Since he was perceived as ambitious, it is only right to assume that to Chris, “into the wild” meant adventure, and in order to adventure, there must be ambition. As the story progresses, it is apparent that McCandless enjoys solitude. “He needed his solitude at times, but he wasn't a hermit. He did a lot of socializing” (Krakauer 36).

McCandless’s ideas of adventure and freedom sprouted from the disagreement with his parents about needing materialistic items. In reality, his parents just wanted Chris to be successful and show them their appreciation for his hard work. Chris wrote his sister, “Once the time is right, with one abrupt, swift action I'm going to completely knock them out of my life. I'm going to divorce them as my parents once and for all and never speak to either of those idiots again as long as I live. I'll be with them once and for all, forever” (Krakauer 64).

Chris McCandless was seeking in the wilderness for peace of mind. He was trying to find himself and what made him happy and want to go on living. When he says his parents didn’t understand him he was probably being fake and not himself. He got tired of being their “perfect” son and did not want to continue living a lie. He faked a “little” trip for the summer and disappeared without a trace.

When McCandless found out about his father’s second family is when he lost all respect for his father and was never able to forgive him. Many people believe that his relationship with his father is what initially drove him away. However, it was both parents who tried to control every aspect in his life which set him off. After graduating college, just

Christopher McCandless, a wayward and determined adventurer, set out on a journey to test his ability to endure the wilderness of many extreme climates and to explore his willingness to test fate itself. In short, McCandless survived his first excursions into inhospitable lands, but ultimately perished during his final trip, the trip to Alaska. McCandless’ upbringing and his relationships with others shaped him into the man he was and dictated what impact he wanted to make. Along his path to self-discovery, McCandless’ expeditions brought him into contact with numerous people, all of differing ages and backgrounds. As well as forming new relationships with individuals, McCandless also kept in touch with others he already identified with.

Into the Wild features Chris McCandless, a man who stopped contacting his family and went on grand adventures until one finally took his life. In the final adventure he went out into the Alaskan wilderness ill prepared and paid dearly for it. Many people feel that he was an insane idiot who did not respect nature and had a suicide wish while others thought that he was an outcast who did not fit into society. Ultimately, Chris McCandless was an adventurer who was trying to escape society in order to find true happiness.

Have you ever pondered the idea of exploring the vast Alaskan Wilderness? Hiking the Denali national park, boating the Prince William Sound, or catching some trout at in the wild. Before you go, you might want give some thought of preparing yourself before you go, unlike Chris McCandless who ventured out on a rash decision on his own. The book and film Into the Will, Jon Krakauer writes and explains the story of McCandless during his travels and explaining them. Now he went to go find himself and get away from the city life, but he made a big mistake, he had very little experience on how to survive in the Alaskan tundra. Shaun Callarman has some thoughts on McCandless’ actions, " I think Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He has no common sense, and he had no business going to Alaska with his romantic silliness. He made a lot of mistakes based

McCandless experienced tremendous conflict with others. Throughout the book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer mentions how it was difficult for Chris to get along with others. This is described through Chris’s family. From a young age McCandless had a rough childhood with his family. His family was authentically wealthy and they believed in a proper education. Chris on the other hand, believed in a humble lifestyle and adhered optimistic views which would always lead to arguments with his parents, especially his father. The conflict with others was not mainly with his family. Throughout the journey McCandless met people galore, including Jim Gallien, Wayne Westerburg, Jan Burres, and Ronald Franz. With all the people he met he would always avoid having a close relationship with them because of the relationship he had with his parents. The people he would meet would always try to be courteous to him, like Jim Gallien, he offered him an “old pair of rubber work boots” (Krakauer 7) and Jan Burres offered him