Chris McCandless’s personality traits can described many different ways, and his actions of going into the wild can not always be interpreted. Why did go into the wild, what was he seeking is a question for many. I believe that McCandless went into the wild to start a new life. After reading the novel, “Into the Wild” I strongly believe that Chris McCandless is adventurous, rebellious, and overconfident.
McCandless portrays the trait of adventurous all throughout the novel. McCandless portrays the trait of adventurous because in the novel he states this,”When you want something in life, you just gotta reach out and grab it”(). This shows that he would do whatever he wants in order to get what he wants. The author Krakauer states”[McCandless] intended to invent an utterly new life...master of his own destiny”(22). This quote basically shows that he was seeking a
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In the novel McCandless explains to Franz,” No, man. Alaska, Alaska. I'm gonna be all the way out there, all the way fucking out there. Just on my own. You know, no fucking watch, no map, no axe, 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.” This shows that he has no doubt in his mind where he wants to go, not knowing about what harsh conditions he will be going through while there. All though him being overconfident led to negative situations, i believe that it also led to him finding what he was seeking for during his whole adventure. In the novel it states,”It is the experiences, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found.” This shows that his overconfidence led him to find what he was seeking for which is the joy of living. If he never had the confidence to go in the wild he would have never found the true meaning of life in his
Chris McCandless was a man who had everything to have a successful life. However, Chris McCandless decided to leave it all behind. Chris thought that he was going to go leave all society behind to go live in the wild. Chris thought that it was going to be very hard. Krakauer He was arrogant and ignorance toward the nature and society. In Into the Wild Chris leaves his life behind to live a life alone in the wild. In Into the Wild Krakauer’s message from Chris’s journey is for people to never get too ignorant or too confident because anything can go wrong at anytime.
Krakauer creates suspense by withholding McCandless’s fate until the very end of the passage. When Chris McCandless ventured into the wilderness alone he ended up trapped due to the heavy flow of the Teklanika’s River blocking his path. The narrator theorizes that perhaps McCandless was unconcerned with his only escape route being cut off due to his adequate
Adventurer and journalist, Jon Krakauer, in his novel, Into the Wild, shares the story of McCandless’ journey. Krakauer’s purpose is to convey that McCandless was in fact an idealist and not insane to his Outdoor Magazine readers. In chapters 1-7, McCandless encounters several people as he goes along his journey. Krakauer uses the rhetorical strategy of characterization to explain McCandless’ personality to the readers.
In John Krakauer's novel, Into The Wild, the reader is presented with a captivating character named Chris McCandless, or Alex Supertramp. Krakauer noted that if McCandless “wasn’t incompetent-he wouldn’t have last 113 days.” Although one could agree with Krakauer when stating that McCandless is not crazy, or an outcast, one could also argue that he is still incompetent in some ways, which is seen in how he interacts with nature, rather than with people. McCandless had a unique charisma and charm to him that made him get friends easily and as a result had a strong effect on people. The quote, “the more they talked, the less Alex struck Gallien as a nutcase,” shows how other people perceived him.
Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, describes the adventure of Christopher McCandless, a young man that ventured into the wilderness of Alaska hoping to find himself and the meaning of life. He undergoes his dangerous journey because he was persuade by of writers like Henry D. Thoreau, who believe it is was best to get farther away from the mainstreams of life. McCandless’ wild adventure was supposed to lead him towards personal growth but instead resulted in his death caused by his unpreparedness towards the atrocity nature.
Hailey Altenhof Mrs. Flores English 12 6 March 2024 Into The Wild Final Essay Chris McCandless was not reckless, he was not an idiot, and should not be considered as such. Chris McCandless left home after graduation in the search of adventure. He wanted to test his limits and prove to himself that he did not need the help of society to be able to survive. This is shown in Jon Krakauer’s novel Into The Wild. Chris McCandless is not reckless or a narcissist for three reasons that can be found in Krakauer's writing.
This quote reflects McCandless's belief in the power of embracing discomfort and uncertainty for the pursuit of a more understandable existence. However, it is essential to acknowledge the limitations of McCandless's wisdom and the consequences of his actions. While his journey may have been driven by many ideals, it ultimately resulted in unnecessary suffering and loss. McCandless's refusal to seek help or listen to warnings from experienced outdoorsmen demonstrates a dangerous level of arrogance that cannot be justified by his quest for rightfulness. As Krakauer himself admits, "It is hardly unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders'' (Krakauer 23).
--These words gives a clear and rational explanation of McCandless’s decision to venture into the wilderness. It shows that he was allured to the wild journey because of the pleasure it would provide him, tempted by a primal desire that could not be fulfilled by a mere human.
A good book is one where the reader sees themselves as the main character, causing them to be emotionally involved. The same happened to the readers of the book "Into the Wild". The reader sees great attributes, our self, and something in common with Chris. Chris McCandless has attributes that many people admire. Chris writes to Wayne Westerberg in his final letter that he wrote before he walked into the wild about how this may be the last time that Wayne will hear of him and says that Wayne was a good man and Chris even updates Wayne on his travel.
Many people traveled around the United States to escape from the life they know, but not many actually leave to find the meaning of their life. Into The Wild is about the story of a man named Chris McCandless who was an man that through his journey found friends that helped him get to his final destination of Alaska where he died. Christopher McCandless stands out because he left all his money, family, and bright future to live a life of constant traveling, being hungry, and sleeping most nights only having the stars as company on lonely nights with no home. This character can be described as having a thrill seeking, defying and even unstable life which shows in the story.
What drove him to the wild was his favorite authors. He was an inspiring person, he wrote things that were inspiring to other people. “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism...but in reality nothing is more damaging of the adventurous spirit within a mand than secure future.” (pg.57) He wasn’t lacking knowledge, he read a lot, and some of his authors had wrote book about the wild. There was no reason for Callarman to say that he had no common sense and he was ignorant. Every person he had met like him and said that he was a great friend. Franz was an eighty year old and that he had met and Franz said that he seem intelligent. He cared about Chris, he said he was to nice of a kid to be living in the hot springs the people who drink. “Look, Mr. Franz, you don’t need to worry about me. I have a college education. I’m not destitute. I’m living like think by choice.” (pg.51) He knew what he was doing, and the troubles he was going to face. He wasn’t clueless to anything. “He was smart. He’d figured out how to paddle a canoe down to Mexico, how to hop freight trains, how to score a bed at inner-city missions. He figured all of that on his own, and I felt sure he’d figure Alaska too.” (pg.46) He was smart enough to do everything on his own without someone telling him what
In Jon Krakauer's novel Into the Wild, the main character, Chris McCandless, seeks nature so that he can find a sense of belonging and the true meaning of who he is. However, it is the essence of nature that eventually takes his life away from him. At the end of his life, he is discovers his purpose and need of other people. After Chris McCandless death in Alaska, Krakauer wrote Into the Wild to reflect on the journey that McCandless makes. Krakauer protrays McCandless as a young man who is reckless, selfish, and arrogant, but at the same time, intelligent, determined, independent, and charismatic. Along with the irony that occurs in nature, these characteristics are the several factors that contribute to McCandless death.
Everyone in life, has a crazy dream or some journey beyond normal; rare or even impossible. In the novel, Into The Wild, McCandless had a dream: to find himself. He wished to travel to the wilderness of Alaska by himself. That was McCandless’ dream. The only thing that really made him stand out or make a commotion, was that he actually pursued his dream… but blindsided. Callarman believes McCandless was bright, and ignorant at the same time, and I somewhat agree with him. McCandless had no business in Alaska by himself. He had no survival skills and it was very foolish of him to have gone so blindly. He passed up many opportunities and life changing decisions for this journey. I do not believe it was ignorant of McCandless to have pursued his
McCandless too felt this need for refuge from his family, as he didn't grow up in typical or healthy environment. Krakauer used these personal anecdotes to not only justify what Chris McCandless did but also to challenge society's views of nonconformists, proving that it's human nature to deal with conflicts through isolated expeditions. Krakauer also used his own personal anecdotes to justify what McCandless’s sudden departure from reality truly was. He explains how he too “ felt oppressed by [his] old man’s expectations. It was drilled into [him] that anything less than success was failure”(148).
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.