Chris McCandless was a young man who left society behind entirely to fulfill his dream of the Alaskan adventure and escape the reality of life. After burning the last of his money and changing his name to Alexander Supertramp, McCandless migrated throughout the states and unfortunately was immensely unprepared for his journey; he only carried a ten-pound bag of rice, a small rifle, and a tattered road map. Consequently, McCandless dies due to his overconfidence and unpreparedness, which in turn makes everyone curious as to why he embarked on a journey while being so vulnerable. Arguably, Chris McCandless was a noble idealist who wanted abandonment from the falsehood of society and a feel of what nature could give. Chris McCandless wanted to …show more content…
No one took the time to recognize his desires of freedom and solitude, which is why many were shocked when they found him missing. Merriam-Webster defines life as an overall vision of or attitude toward life and the purpose of life. McCandless’ view on life was extraordinary and he only lived the life he thought was suitable; he appreciated the underrated belongings of life itself and longed for a greater good. One may judge his decisions on foolhardy behavior, but McCandless knew what he wanted and went for it without reflection on others’ notions. “it is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God given right to have it” (Krakauer 155) In any case, Chris McCandless was recklessly bold and did what most could not. Ultimately, Chris McCandless’ was an audacious wanderer and effectively proceeding through his journey with aspirations and ambition for his own self. McCandless’ stance of life presents the real spirit of a bold
Chris McCandless was a complex figure who gained intense national attention after his death. McCandless was born on February 12, 1968, in El Segundo, California, and died at the age of 24 when he ventured onto Alaska wilderness in 1992. Chris was a young man who possessed many positive and negative characteristics that made him really unique. His personality was a mix of traits that made him both admirable and insufferable. One of Chris's most striking characteristics was his independent streak.
A trait simply described as the overestimation of oneself can be a quintessential element in understanding a character’s downfall. People such as Chris McCandless, Oedipus and Tiger Woods are key examples when trying to relate, understand, and analyze what we know today as “Hubris”. The connections that can be made between each of these characters describe the very nature of how a hero will ultimately meet their bane as a result of being blinded by their own flaws. The death of Chris McCandless was an extremely controversial subject that involved many different people. The justification of his death can be argued in a way .
A large amount of young people will hear McCandless’s story and become inspired. They become inspired to leave their homes, families, jobs, and money to go out and experience the world with just the clothes on their back. They do this to attempt a journey of self discovery. He inspires people to do things just as he did. The results were death and yet his story still encourages people to do as he did.
To summarize, nature can make a big game changer to ones future. Chris McCandless took the risk and got away from the society an government to create his own life. If I had my way I would live how he did because it is outstanding how someone can make a life for themselves from scratch. Wit the courage of leaving family and friends to live alone is a big decision that ones you turn one way, there are times that you can’t turn back.
Chris McCandless: A Reckless Idiot Chris McCandless was a reckless idiot and there is no denying that basic truth. Chris McCandless was a man born into a middle class family. Chris had parents that loved him, a roof over his head, and food to eat. Despite all those riches he had, he threw them away. Chris was a very selfish man.
Most people would think that’s a suicide wish to just go out in the wild, others just thinking it was crazy and wondering who his parents are. Then there are people that find him as an inspiration for going after his goal. McCandless thought it was finally a chance to go on his own and see what’s out in the world. People think that since McCandless died out in the wilderness , he didn’t accomplish his goal. McCandless on the other hand felt the complete opposite.
He had the courage to give up every bit of money he had by getting “A pathetic little stack of ones and fives and twenties- and put a match on it”( Krakauer 29). No normal person would undergo this process but McCandless did which shows the courage he has in trusting the wilderness. Not only did he give up his possessions but he did infact have the courage to take on a new name he had given himself. “No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny”( Krakauer 23).
We get to see how his home life impacted his decisions later in life. By learning parts of his story, we can piece together McCandless’ values. McCandless admired a few people, and obtained his values through others. One of the ideas Christopher McCandless values the most is his independence. He didn’t let anyone tell him what he could and
McCandless’s whole reason for his actions was how he was sick of reality. He wanted to experience a life without materialistic things like money and possessions. He knew that in order to live a life without responsibility, he had to leave everything behind including his family. In the chapter “The Stampede Trail” a friend of McCandless, Andy Horowitz, said that
After reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, I wondered to myself why I should even care about Chris McCandless. I can see how some think Chris McCandless was an idiot and he was trying to kill himself. After I dove deeper into this question, I learned that Chris McCandless story teaches us important life lessons. Chris McCandless teaches us to get out of our comfort zone. Ronald Franz was an older man who encountered Chris McCandless and gave him a ride from Salton City California to Grand Junction Colorado In Chris’s last letter to Ronald Franz, he says “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation…
“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” ―Maya Angelou. Jon Krakauer’s true story titled Into the Wild is about a man who decides to throw away his old life and escape the rules of conventional society. Twenty-two-year-old Chris McCandless came from a well-to-do family in Virginia and, without warning, abandons everything. He changes his name, loses contact with his family, gives away his car and all his money, and begins a two-year long journey hitchhiking to Alaska where he eventually dies of starvation.
Chris McCandless abandoned the modern world and chose the wild because he believed that he could improve himself through living in the wild, and found the true happiness of the life. McCandless abandoned his wealthy family because of his complicated relationship with his father, and he was ashamed with his father’s adultery. Therefore, McCandless believed that human relationship was not the only thing that forms happiness, instead a man’s connection with the nature brings joy as well. He also believed the habitual lifestyle was not what people were meant to do, and people shouldn't have more possessions than what they need. For this reason, McCandless traveled with little effects.
Christopher McCandless, the protagonist of the novel and film Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, is not your average guy. Driven by his minimalist ideals and hate for society, he challenged the status quo and embarked on a journey that eventually lead to his unforeseen demise. A tragic hero, defined by esteemed writer, Arthur Miller, is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on tragedy. Christopher McCandless fulfills the role of Miller’s tragic hero due to the fact that his tragic flaw of minimalism and aversion towards society had lead him to his death.
Chris McCandless was a college student with a need for adventure. On April 28, 1992, he left on a journey which would lead to the end of his life. After news of his death had reached public ear, most people came to the same conclusion: Chris McCandless was an uneducated, arrogant boy who went on a journey seeking death. However, in the novel Into the Wild, Jon Krakaur portrays Chris McCandless’ transcendental quest as a journey full of wonder. Throughout the novel, Krakaur defines McCandless as an intelligent, hard working, determined young man.
Doing everything flawless with no agitation and finessing the trip to Alaska to fall short to a poisonous plant. The only thing that McCandless could have done to survive would probably be not crossing the river because that was the main complication that got him stuck. To conclude, I would agree with Shaun Callarman at the end because there was plenty of evidence on how inadequate Christopher McCandless’s decisions were and how unpredictable his situation was. There was no other way this journey could have ended for McCandless except if he just stayed home from the beginning. Overall, he was amateurish and incompetent person that could not accomplish his dream, but did inspire endless people to follow their dreams and achieve nature tranquility.