How Is Chris Mccandless Selfish

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

Into the Wild is a story about a guy named Chris McCandless runs aways from everything that he has worked for or earned. Chris runs away in Alaska into the wilderness. So that Chris could get away from all of his problems. Jon Krakauer believes that Chris was brave and had a lot of inspiration. Krakauer says that Chris didn't have any supplies or a plan for when he went on his trek into the wilderness. There are two opinions of Chris being a hero or not. Chris was brave and courageous but what Chris did without the proper supplies and training it was a suicidal mission. Even tho it was a suicidal mission Chris met his goals and made his life out to what he wanted it to be.

Chris wanted to live out the books he read of living in the wilderness without taking

Many readers of the book “Into the Wild,” have different opinions of Chris McCandless. Some say he was an idiot, crazy, adventurer, inspiration, ignorant, rash, and many other titles that people could label Chris as. I believe that Chris was a smart, competent, and for the most part an adventurer. Although he was emotional, rash, and daring, this didn’t help him at all probably led to his demise on his trip to Alaska. Chris was a very smart man who graduated from a very prestigious school named Emory in Atlanta Georgia.

Until, when he finally decided that it was time to escape society, and start living independently, to find out exactly who he was. “Hey, Guys! This is the last communication you shall receive from me. I now walk out to live amongst the wild. Take care, it was great knowing you. ALEXANDER” (Krakauer, 69). The day Chris said those words he was finally living his own life, instead of the life his parents gave him. He was proud to walk out of the life he didn’t want anymore and live the life that he always wanted to live. Besides Chris living his own life instead of his parents, he also lived to find his inner self.

In Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction book, Into the Wild, we follow how humans love the wilderness, the strain of father son relationships, and for the majority of the book a young adult named Chris McCandless. We see mostly through Chris’ eyes just how much the wilderness can entice young adults as well as how important crushing news of one’s father can change your life. McCandless was an angry pseudo adult who couldn’t handle a sizeable change in his life. He was too stuck on it being his way that he rarely could bring himself to accept help and improve his ability to actually survive. However, there was some good about McCandless. His search for himself and the truth were great intentions despite the flawed approach.

Therefore, I agree with the statement that Chris was an angry, misguided young man whose attempt to hurt his parents, in combination with his arrogance, led to his untimely death as a result of McCandless failing to inform his family about his plans, heedlessly ignoring rules and people that cared about him, and was not preparing to live alone in the

In nature, Chris focused only on himself and survival, rather than his troubles at home, the needs of others, or the standards of society. In a way, he was forced to go into the outdoors because of these poor relationships and inner conflicts within himself. Although Chris sought nature to help him, it destroyed him. He never returned from Alaska to put into practice what he had finally learned about himself and his need for others. Nature and his plan had worked against him, since, he eventually died of starvation.

Chris’s age contributed a great deal to his death. Because Chris was so young, he was also a bit naive. He didn’t have enough experience to be knowledgeable about the world yet, let alone surviving in the wild. When it came to preparation, McCandless didn’t know the first thing about surviving in the great outdoors. For example, he was not aware of the harsh weather conditions and inconveniences up ahead.

Chris McCandless was possessed by a nomadic existence and was trying to share his principle of life to his friend by telling that the truth about life was to explore the nature. Chris McCandless's last letter to Wayne revealed his true passion of nature. "This is the last you shall hear from me...I now walk into the wild"(pg 69). Some people concluded that it was Chris McCandless's suicide letter. However, in my opinion, Chris McCandless was just a victim of his own ego, pride and confidence that made him to neglect basic precautions that keep one person alive. He was controlled by his own delusions and that made him eager to test himself into strenuousness which proved fatal to him.

For any reason, even if one is upset with their family, an individual should never leave for the wild without providing some type of information for their family. “Billie, [Chris’s mother], never left the house without leaving a note for Chris posted on the door” (125), which asserts the fact of how desperate she would have been to find any information about her own son. Carine, Chris’ sister even discusses about a letter “Chris once wrote to her, ‘I like to talk to you about this because you are the only person in the world who could possible understand [me]’” (129). With this in mind, Chris and Carine were clearly close to each other, so it is high unreasonable and crazy of Chris to not contact Carine later during his life in the wild- to leave her with worry and anxiety on how he could possibly be

     During Chris’s journey he never really opens up to anyone about his family. He doesn’t really show any affection towards them and if any it would be toward his sister Carnie. He writes in a letter to her stating that he is going to divorce his parents. The last time his parents saw him was after his graduation. Chris told his parents “ I think I’m going to disappear for a while” and that is the last they ever heard of him again.

On the other hand, for those he did care about, he left a positive impact on their lives. Chris was raised in an environment where“...hideous domestic violence hidden behind a mask of prosperity and propriety” (Mcalpin). While some believe that going to Alaska was a way to take revenge on his parents, it is hard to imagine those actions taken by Chris who is someone independent and holds neoteric ideals. It is more presumable to suppose that Chris just wanted to cut off ties to those he thinks contravenes with his ideals and ambitions. On the other hand, for everyone he met on the journey, he built a positive relationship; he maintained those relationships up until his death, even telling Wayne, “‘Till then I’ll always think of you as a friend” (Krakauer 33). He consistently sent postcards and shared his current status and new thoughts to Ron, Wayne, and Jan Burres. In his long letter to Ron detailing his pilgrimage, he gave heartfelt thanks and sincere hopes to see him again, writing “Ron, I really enjoy all the help you have given me and the times that we spent together….But providing that I get through this Alaskan Deal in one piece you will be hearing from me again in the future” (Krakauer 56). What makes this letter so special is the fact that Chris

Introduction: Throughout the book of Into The Wild Chris McCandless is known to be a wacko reckless idiot, and is also known to be courageous and heroic. However does a courageous person go out into the wilderness knowing that the outcome will be fatal? People viewed him from different perspectives and also have broad range of opinions of this young man. Some deemed him to be incredibly dim-witted or a man that simply just followed his heart. Evidence shows that Chris McCandless is actually a mix of both. The first opinion that described McCandless was brainless, idiotic, and extremely foolish. Many passages from Into The Wild can support this outlook.

Chris McCandless traveled to Alaska in April of 1992 for isolation from society, and unfortunately died in Fairbanks Bus 142 in August of 1992. His death is not what angers readers, but his lack of preparation and arrogance about the wilderness is what proves his “reckless narcissism”. His selfishness to not abide by his parent’s wishes for college and a decent job, his unpreparedness for wilderness survival, and his manipulation and lack of empathy for others is why readers believe he is a “reckless narcissist”. However, many people see him as a “noble idealist” for leaving society and all its amenities to live out his dream of in the wild.