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Chris Mccandless Character Analysis

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There are several relationships that reveal about Chris's personality. “He always wore shoes without socks- just plain couldn’t stand to wear socks. But McDonald’s has a rule that employees have to wear appropriate footwear at all times. That means shoes and socks Chris would comply with the rule, but as soon as his shift was over, bang!-the first he’d do is peel those socks off.”(40) Here George Dreeszen, the assistant manager at McDonald’s where McCandless used to work, describes how McCandless had strong distaste for wearing socks. He also describes how Chris would only wear the socks as long as absolutely necessary and then take them off. Chris McCandless’s distaste for socks and other such societal “norms” shows his dislike to conformity. …show more content…

Furthermore,“He also turned the tables and started lecturing the grandfatherly figure about the shortcomings of his sedentary existence, urging the eighty-year old to sell most of his belongings, move out of the apartment, and live on the road.” (51) Here Ronald Franz recalls how McCandless would lecture him about the ills of following a traditional sedentary lifestyle. McCandless would encourage Franz to adopt his form of nomadic existence. Here McCandless shows his distaste for materialism and sedentary lifestyles. McCandless talks about the “shortcomings” of settled life implying that he feels that sedentary life is incomplete and not fully satisfying. McCandless encourages Franz to adopt his nomadic lifestyle because McCandless feels that the only true way to live is to become one with nature. Besides,“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…but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.” (57) Here in a letter to Ronald Franz from McCandless, McCandless talks about how scheduled structured lifestyle prevents man from embracing his wild and adventurous

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