Chris Mccandless Controversy

Schools in various cities around the nation have been investigating certain books and their literary merit to determine whether they are appropriate for the school environment. Countless articles in today’s news world contain information and evidence surrounding both sides of the argument for almost any book that is questionable. Among the negatives that researchers have found often include inappropriate language for the students to be reading and sexual content considered too explicit for high school and middle school readers. On the other end of the spectrum, people see good things from these books such as their ability to teach students certain things while relating to their intended audiences at the same time. Chris McCandless, the main character of Into the Wild, is a character from which readers take a lot away. Jon Krakauer's novel Into the Wild is controversial due to the poor ideas it gives to readers, but should continue to be read because of the inspiration that can be taken from it. Jon Krakauer

Official reports and articles have been written to criticize Krakauer’s theories, “Chemical & Engineering News published a report quoting various scientists who disputed his theory and challenged the procedure, the lab tests and the conclusion” (Cole). These tests consist of determining how exactly Chris McCandless died, which is an argument to be covered later. When there are groups of people bringing issues to the forefront, others are bound to follow in their path. Such people are not always scientists, either. Author Raymond Hilton is among this crowd, offering ideas that differentiate quite significantly from how Krakauer describes Chris’ death in his book (Cole). Countless other notable figures have voiced their opinions on the matter, and there are surely more to