Losing one’s self in the wilderness, is more risky than euphoric. In the book, “Into The Wild”, by Jon Krakauer, Jon tries to retell a glimpse of Chris McCandless’s story. Chris McCandless came from a wealthy family and he attended a prestigious college. At this point, he had it all. His parents offered him a new car, but he became enraged and refused to accept it. He knew that money did not buy happiness and with that perspective, he decided to donate twenty-four thousand dollars to charity. He felt entangled in society and its social norms. He felt like people were holding him back. Chris McCandless felt a desire to venture out of the states as Alexander Supertramp, which was his way of starting a new lifestyle and identity. Although we see America as the land of the free, McCandless still feels entrapped. He did not venture out ignorantly, because he has a sense of where to go. The dream was to live among the wilderness in Alaska. Despite the decision to migrate, Chris had nothing to lose. He is a man …show more content…
With all that knowledge in his head, he seemed like he would be well off into the wild. Throughout his journey, he met numerous people. Chris McCandless was not the easiest person to converse with. He had a very narcissistic attitude. Nonetheless, Chris was able to make friends. It was very unlikely for the friends he made to ever see him again as he was destined to live a life of isolation from society. On one of McCandless’s letter he wrote, “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 conservatism, all of which may appear to give one piece of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.” I feel like Chris is trying to inspire people to live the life they want and
Another one of the reasons Chris left was to pursue a life of adventure. Chris liked the wilderness he probably thought that it was peaceful and a spiritual enlightenment just a quiet place to reflect on life and think or not think at all. Life of adventure was where he can live life differently and explore the wilderness. This adventure made McCandless think about life in a different perspective and when he was in the woods he lived more traditionally, with no gadgets, no making his life simpler. “McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as
In April 1992, a young man hitchhiked to Alaska and walked into the wilderness alone. His decomposed body was found by moose hunters 4 months later. The novel, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer tells the story of the rebellious man, who lived a very abstract life. After Chris graduated high school he developed ideas of philosophy from authors, Thoreau and Jack London. Chris took his philosophic beliefs and abandoned society and his family to find the true meaning of life and happiness. Going into the wilderness he took nothing but a ten pound bag of rice and a backpack. But, little did he know that his “romantic silliness” would lead him to his death.
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
Chris McCandless went on and what lead to the motive of removing himself from society. Chris McCandless was an educated young man, he had just graduated from college. He was very smart, driven, passionate and ambitious. Chris was distressed with society and how materialistic it was, it’s one of the reasons he wanted to live in the wilderness for a while. Another situation that made him crave social isolation was the mistakes his parents had made. McCandless experiences many challenges during his time in the wild. In addition he also meets new people and makes an impact on their lives. In some ways Chris is stubborn although the challenges he faces are
Jon Krakauer, fascinated by a young man in April 1992 who hitchhiked to Alaska and lived alone in the wild for four months before his decomposed body was discovered, writes the story of Christopher McCandless, in his national bestseller: Into the Wild. McCandless was always a unique and intelligent boy who saw the world differently. Into the Wild explores all aspects of McCandless’s life in order to better understand the reason why a smart, social boy, from an upper class family would put himself in extraordinary peril by living off the land in the Alaskan Bush. McCandless represents the true tragic hero that Aristotle defined. Krakauer depicts McCandless as a tragic hero by detailing his unique and perhaps flawed views on society,
In the brighter spectrum of Mr. Chris McCandless, is his deep and intellectual personality, shining through on most every occasion with cynical value or an interesting opinion every now and then. In Chris’s deep scholarly thought he decides to give up many things for his own self righteousness in attemp to make himself free of any evil or distraction as well as anything that may hold him down. As a younger boy in high school he proved his good Samaritan self by spending weekends taking to the the streets, spending nights with prostitutes, the homeless, and the addicts, feeding them and experiencing a little of what they felt. As I mentioned before he gave up what he thought would ruin his dreams and soil his life, he rid his life of luxury and wealth along with long-term relationships with people. As one of the things that he had apparently given up was the desire of sex and all of it’s evils, and proclaimed that his need was much to great for something so petty. Truly I believe traveling as a child with his family engineered a mind set within Chris that made him feel as if familiarity was just a weight holding him down from the flight toward his dreams. He also thought that being lost in such a superficial and trivial society could help no one
This is one reason why he decided to leave home; he wanted to experience the life of not having anything to his name, this is also shown through out the book during his journeys, however this not the only reason why he left home. The ultimate reason why he left home was because of what his father had done. A cab driver name Stuckey whom helped McCandless reach Alaska elaborated that McCandless said that he found out that his father was living a bigamist life and that it went against Chris’s beliefs (159). This was ultimately one of the reasons why Chris left home and had no feelings towards his parents. This exhibits the hatred and no remorseful attitude McCandless had through out the book towards his parents, especially his father. However, this attitude towards his father and civilization is justified completely when he decided to leave home and take on the wilderness.
When you see yourself living out your dream, the thought of what you're most passionate about pulls you in. Passions in one's life change based on what had affected that person. Dreams are defined to change. However, the benefits of these thoughts is that they belong to you and only you. Not one person's opinions matter but your own. Chris McCandless simply was living out his own ideal life, the way he wanted; not to the idea of his parents, his friends or of society. McCandless wanted to escape society and civilization which he felt was tying him down, while also trying to discover himself. McCandless is not by any means a wacko. He was simply defying society and its ideal expectation it holds upon us as a whole.
The gripping tale of a young man who leaves all that he has and goes to live amidst the natural world, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer showcases the two years Christopher McCandless had spent journeying throughout the United States before his unfortunate death. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, McCandless disconnected with all of his past relations and abandoned the majority of his possessions. McCandless’ decisions either seem extremely unwise or extremely courageous. He had a comfortable life with few worries yet he still chose to toss it all away and venture into unknown territories. What many wonder is why he would do such an irrational thing. Maybe, McCandless’ was simply trying to run away from his perception of reality.
After graduating from college, McCandless had left his Datsun, donated all his savings to charity, and burned all the spare cash he has on him, and took off. Leaving Chris McCandless behind, and beginning the life of Alexander Supertramp. Alex had made lots of new friends that he had grown bonds within a short amount of time, such as Franz, Gallien, Westerberg, etc. But Alex had obstacles and messes that he had gotten himself into.
Chris McCandless was a very unique individual. In Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, he tries his best to make sense of McCandless’ journey to the Alaskan wilderness. However, he never really figured out what McCandless’ purpose of the trip was. Looking at McCandless’ life throughout the book, I believe that Chris McCandless went on his journey to find happiness within his own life and did achieve it in the end.
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
Not only did Chris McCandless sacrifice so much for the future that he wanted, but he remained focus on his goal and he never ever regretted a minute of it. Even close to his death he was always smiling in the pictures he took and he never looked for a way out. He came into the wild and learned to be one with it. He respected it and learned from it all while staying at his peak of happiness. Chris McCandless’ did not necessarily have a bad life, but it was clear that he was not always happy. When he was truly happiest, he was alone. His disapproval of modern day society is evident throughout the book; “I told him ‘Man, you gotta have money to get along in this world’ but he wouldn’t take it” (46). He realized he needed to be separated from these people and live on his own. He decided to change his course for the future into an isolated lifestyle all without notice to the people that loved him. He was set up for a great life, but he ended it all to follow his dreams and fulfill his purpose. Not
Chris’s lack of caringness for others all starts before his Alaskan journey however, starting just before it. “The final two years of college had been paid for with a forty-thousand dollar bequest left by a friend of the family’s… what nobody knew was that he would shortly donate all his money in his college fund to OXFAM America” (20). With no regard to his parents hard earned money, that they specifically saved for him to go to college, he donated it all to charity. Rather then donate all the money to charity, could Chris not at the very least given it back to his parents, but he decided to be selfish with the money and donate it. Along the way, Chris’s selfish behavior started to become more open towards. “He didn't thinks the odds applied to him. We were always trying to pull him back from the edge”. Even people who had just met Chris tried to make him more comfortable, as well as make sure he was okay. But Chris just saw this as them interfering in his life choices, as well as being nosey. He never listened to others, as he would rather give advice then take it. Chris McCandless never listened to others, only continued to care for himself, making him inherently
Into the Wild, written by John Krakauer tells of a young man named Chris McCandless who 1deserted his college degree and all his worldly possessions in favor of a primitive transient life in the wilderness. Krakauer first told the story of Chris in an article in Outside Magazine, but went on to write a thorough book, which encompasses his life in the hopes to explain what caused him to venture off alone into the wild. McCandless’ story soon became a national phenomenon, and had many people questioning why a “young man from a well-to-do East Coast family [would] hitchhike to Alaska” (Krakauer i). Chris comes from an affluent household and has parents that strived to create a desirable life for him and his sister. As Chris grows up, he