Chris McCandless was a man who made his own destiny, who seeked the challenges and thrill of adventure life had to offer. He was morally driven, and was not tied down by the dogma of society. McCandless’s hubris, his ultimate downfall in his quest to shake off the clashing ideals of materialistic culture, allowed him to live a life without regrets. Brought up in a home where his parents pushed their ideals onto their children, McCandless developed morals quite differently than that of his parents. His ideals clashed between that of a libertarian and a transcendentalist. McCandless did not leave it at “beliefs” however, and “...was the sort of person who insisted on living out his beliefs.” (Krakauer 64) He viewed money as “shameful, corrupt, and inherently evil,” and believed that only the hard earned money via one's own work was acceptable.(Krakauer 115) He made profits off his naturally grown vegetables …show more content…
Chris, however, had no interest in pursuing a suburban lifestyle of comfort. He was bored with the life he found himself in. The life of being financially stable, and the life of conforming to a materialistic society, and the only place he could find his freedom was in the wild. As he inched his way towards Alaska, McCandless lived the life of a squatter. Only holding on the necessities, and working when needed. His lifestyle during that time betrayed everything he originally had: inherited money, a college degree, a home, a family. At the beginning of his journey, after graduating from college, he gave all of his bank savings to charity, burned all his cash, and abandoned his car and possessions. McCandless would reside in abandoned RV homes, in his tent in the middle of the desert, and hitchhike his way to Alaska. Rarely did he ever accept money or equipment from those who attempted to help him. Rather, he would earn it himself by taking up any jobs, no matter how dirty it
“Whoso would be a man, must be a non-conformist” (Emerson). McCandless defied society by, living in the wild and rarely cared about possessions. Chris McCandless is a true transcendentalist because he existed off the land in Alaska, the west coast, Mexico and he did not want to have any else but happiness in life; he found this through his experiences in wilderness. In Emerson’s Self-Reliance it states, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of ever on its members.”
Or maybe he did but he just didn’t care. Nobody will ever know the true reason why he went into the wildness unprepared, knowing what he was getting into. I one hundred percent believe that McCandless was crazy, he denied any type of help anybody tried to give him. He has resources that could have helped him survive and get out of there alive and didn’t take them, he didn’t want to be around anyone or anything, he didn’t want to see a single trace of civilization, he wants to be completely alone...what kind of person would want
In the book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer a young man from a wealthy family hitchhiked to alaska and walked into the wilderness. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. McCandless gave all his money to charity, abandoned his car, and burned his wallet. Many things are revealed about McCandless throughout the book. One thing that is revealed about McCandless is that he was ashamed of the fact that his family was wealthy and always wanted materialistic items.
He was not one to accept help from anyone because he thought it would decrease the value of his accomplishments. Krakauer mentions an instance where Wayne Westerburg, an old boss of McCandless’s, tried to give McCandless some assistance: “‘I even offered to buy him a plane ticket to Fairbanks, which would have let him work an extra ten days and still get to Alaska by the end of April, but he said, ‘No, I want to hitch north. Flying would be cheating. It would wreck the whole trip.’” (67).
McCandless was a man who likes to be independent ever since he was a kid. “... He didn’t seem to need toys or friends. He could be alone without being lonely” (Krakauer 107) explains he was not like an average kid who relies on their family or friends but did almost everything by himself. His personality made choose certain decisions such as doing things on his own, “ He resisted any instruction of any kind” (Krakauer 111).
This is incredibly wrong. McCandless is not brave or inspiring. Krakauer simply projected himself―his experiences, emotions, and values―onto a person he never met. He drew heavily from his own experiences, creating
He was a person who followed his natural calling and acted on his beliefs. McCandless is often compared to Everett Ruess--a solo traveler like Chris-- who “went out and did the things he dreamed about” (90). Men like McCandless and Ruess are motivating because they actually had the courage to break away from the norms of society and do what it takes to become truly self-reliant. McCandless knew that when he graduated college that he needed to find time and a safe place to understand himself. As an experienced traveler himself, Krakauer described the trek into the wild as, “ a trancelike state settles over your efforts; the climb becomes a clear-eyed dream.
McCandless was happier living a life with complete independence, then a life fenced by people. He was incredibly ambitious and followed his heart. He did not relish restraints or rules set out in front of him, but instead he did what he wanted to do. He ventured out into the wild and fell in love with nature; a tragic story for a tragic hero. As Chris breathed his last breath, he was finally able to find his inner happiness.
However, McCandless’ actions were not exactly out of the ordinary. There are various souls who also desire to backpack across a country and their escapades might even mirror the actions of McCandless. It is a given that although McCandless wasn’t cautious about going into the Alaskan wilderness, he was not the only person on Earth to take on similar terrains. In fact, Jon Krakauer, author of “Into the WIld”, mentions that a white writer known as Nick Jans claims to have “run into several McCandless types out in the country” (71). Therefore; McCandless’ endeavor was just another to add into the list of fatal attempts to take on nature.
The risk that that lifestyle imposed was exactly what McCandless craved. Even though Krakauer sheds a compassionate, and forgiving light on Chris McCandless’s story, I believe he was not mistaken in his approval for McCandless’s way of life. Maybe our author’s bias in his writing of the story came from the similarities he found
Chris Mccandless Chris Mccandless was a bright young man, who graduated college. He was a hard worker, who was brave, and adventurous. His adventurous side took him on a journey into the wild as he hitchhiked his way to Alaska, where he planned to endure off the land. He met a bunch of people on his way who grew to care very deeply for him. When he left his home, he hurt his family, who did not know of his whereabouts till his end.
He went into the wilderness to experience adventure and to find things he was searching for; nature, the path to happiness and freedom. Chris’ determination, self will, pursuit of happiness and the urge to break free are all explored. He did everything he could, so people wouldn’t be able to find him. Changing his name to Alex Supertramp, eliminating everything he had, and only taking things that he needs. Jon Krakauer's “Into the Wild” is an excellent book about how McCandless traveled to Alaska, and how he conquered his dreams.
Krakauer believes that McCandless main reason to reinvent himself and have an
The revelation that he was merely human, and frightfully, so beyond my power to forgive (148 Krakauer ).” And how McCandless could not accept how his father wanted to used money to get Chris to be someone that he is not or control him. Another example for the distaste towards authority, “Like McCandless, figures of male authority aroused in me a confusing medley of cork fury and a hunger to please... If something captured undisciplined imagination, I pursued it with a zeal bordering on a obsession, and from the age of 17 until my late twenties... (134 Krakauer
Chris McCandless was someone who didn’t believe in having money, and items that were materialistic. He was considered an idealist because he didn’t put judgement on people based on how they look, he did it based on his personal values. In the author’s note Krakauer also believed Chris was a “intense young man and possessed a streak of stubborn idealism that did not mesh readily with modern existence”. After getting your degree in college, and your parents buying you a new car you don’t think to just throw it all away to go live in the wild on your own, but that’s exactly what Chris did. Items that would seem extremely important to everyone one else in society didn’t matter to Chris, because it wasn’t a necessity for him.