A Journey Of Admirations: Ron Franz's Perspective Of Chris: Book Analysis

1060 Words5 Pages
Eric Dewar
Mr. Darling
ENG4U
22 October 2014

A Journey of Admirations : Ron Franz’s Perspective of Chris

Ronald Franz is first introduced in Into the Wild when he decides to pick up Chris McCandless as a hitchhiker in Salton City, California on his way home to Colorado. Franz drops McCandless off at “Oh My God Hot Springs”, an encampment in the middle of the desert full of nudists and hippies. At first, Franz attempts to persuade McCandless to leave the camp because he argues that it is a bad influence; however, McCandless disputes his argument and says, “you do not need to worry about me. I have a college education. I am not destitute. I am living like this by choice” (Krakauer 51). Chris begins to grow on Franz as he begins to respect his feelings and goals. Chris believes that the true meaning of life can be found in “the experiences, the memories and the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent” (37). Throughout Chris’ adventures, he comes across many different people who both applaud and discourage him for his actions. Franz admires Chris because of his persistence to escape society, his intelligence and ability to survive in the wild, and his commitment to keep himself away from human relationships.
As Chris goes about his journey, he is commended and criticized by people he meets for his persistence to escape societal norms. In many cases, people that read about Chris in the media believe he is wacko, narcissistic and downright stupid. In a letter from