Chris McCandless’ Romantic Appeal
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a nonfiction narrative following the life of Christopher Mccandless. McCandless’ life was considered significant because he was a high achieving college graduate who abandoned his old life for a new one, roaming about in the wilderness. Readers find McCandless appealing because he lived life following his gut and searching for his true self in the natural world. McCandless was remembered by Wayne Westerberg’s wife--knows Chris through Wayne-- as a person who “insisted on living out his beliefs” (67). He didn’t let anyone deter him from finding himself in solidarity, despite what the average person may think. McCandless also discovered that “it is impossible to to live
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He was a person who followed his natural calling and acted on his beliefs. McCandless is often compared to Everett Ruess--a solo traveler like Chris-- who “went out and did the things he dreamed about” (90). Men like McCandless and Ruess are motivating because they actually had the courage to break away from the norms of society and do what it takes to become truly self-reliant. McCandless knew that when he graduated college that he needed to find time and a safe place to understand himself. As an experienced traveler himself, Krakauer described the trek into the wild as, “ a trancelike state settles over your efforts; the climb becomes a clear-eyed dream. Hours slide by like minutes. The accumulated clutter of day-to-day existence-- the lapses of consciousness, the unpaid bills, the bungled opportunities , the dust under the couch, the inescapable prison of your genes-- all of it is temporarily forgotten, crowded from your thoughts by an overpowering clarity of purpose and by the seriousness of the task at hand.” (142-143) The wilderness was perfect for McCandless; it gave him the peace of mind he needed to think clearly and gave him something to appreciate in