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