Chris Mccandless Rhetorical Analysis

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The line between rational and irrational thought is often blurred for some more than others. Usually when we cross this line into irrational thought our brain will let us know that what we are doing isn’t within reason. While many believe that Christopher McCandless was crazy and his ideas were ludicrous; I believe that he saw the line between rational and irrational thought very clearly, and that all though some of his ideas may have seemed crazy to some, he carried them out in sane body and mind. Chris was an extremist, a radical youth with different ways of thinking, and often we as a society tend to identify someone as crazy when we cannot comprehend the reasoning behind why a person would do something. Chris was not crazy, but he was …show more content…

He was a bit selfish, narcissistic, and extremely egotistical. Be that as it may he was searching for a sense of purpose just as most people his age often do. While some may go backpacking through Europe or maybe experiment with illegal substances Chris knew the path he needed to take to find purpose was a nomadic one where a new sunset lay on a different horizon each night. Chris tried to convince others that this was the way to find true meaning in life. He wrote to a friend saying, “Once you have become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.” Chris was not just your average vagabond who didn’t know what he was doing or the dangers that lay ahead of him. He spent two years on the road learning and experiencing new things, finding out his strengths and weaknesses. He prepared every day leading up to his journey into the wild. The man who gave his a ride into town said that, “Alex said he wanted to go out to the university to study up on what kind of plants he could eat.” So you see, he did not underestimate the treachery of the wild, but instead did everything in his power to prepare for it. A mad man would not do as