Have you ever known a person who would leave everything behind to go on a journey to prove something? Adam Shepard and Chris McCandless did that exactly, but their journeys were very different. Adam was 25 years old while Chris was 24 years, both were college educated and were intelligent young men. Adam’s journey was to prove that the American dream was still possible, so in order to achieve his goal, he went to a new city with $25 and the clothes on his back, gym bag, sleeping bag. Chris’s journey was to travel to different places without needing so much money or sometimes no money at all.
Compare and Contrast Argument Essay Christopher McCandless and Adam Shepard were both two young men who graduated from college. Right after college McCandless left his family and left everything behind to show that one does not need anyone but oneself. McCandless’s goal was too show everyone that he was self reliant. On the other hand, Shepherd was a young college graduate that decides to embark on a year long project trying to prove that the American dream is still achievable.
Both Chris McCandless and Ralph Waldo Emerson are against modern society’s way of living and believe one should live their life in a non-conformist lifestyle driven by the awe of nature. Emerson wrote an essay called “Nature”. There he talked about the relationship one should have to God through nature, and was a popular role model of the transcendentalist movement. Emerson was anti-governmental, believing one cannot own nature or the land. He also writes about how he feels welcomed in nature, more so than he does in a village or society, favoring the natural land over the land humans created.
In particular Chris Mccandless should be supported for he had things happen to him that led up to the point where he wanted to go into the wild to get away from his old life and created a new one for himself to have more opportunities. Others may think he shouldn’t be supported just because he some bad flaws he had and also that he just left his sister who he actually got along with, but here are some reasons that are logical and reasonable to why Chris Mccandless should be supported. One of the reasons why readers should support Chris McCandless is because he is generous, he gave people inspiration, or felt inspired by others, and like in the book Krakauer tells us “Chris’s Father suggested the boy had probably been inspired. ”(94),his way of living inspired everyone that you can live anyway you want.
Christopher McCandless, the main focus from Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild observes the factors that impacted Chris McCandless to his unfortunate death at the age of 24 in August of 1992 on Stampede Trail, Alaska in attempts to live off the land. Richard Russo who grew up to write his own memoir Elsewhere describing his “American childhood, as lived in the Fifties by a lower-middle class that seems barely to exist anymore” (Russo, 12, 2012). Russo grew up with his mother, Jean Russo, who had Obsessive compulsion disorder, which he tries make sense of the guilt associated with his mother after her death. The two had been impacted developmentally different by the chronosystem and interaction of the microsystems. The unalike interactions explain the differing outcome of the two.
Even though Christopher McCandless was only an adventurous young man trying to chase his dreams, that still does not account for all the careless mistakes he made in the process. His incompetence did not allow him to last even a mere six months in the destination in which he had desired to live in. His inability to take one’s advice left him with no clue as to what to do next. It was like he was living in the dark. Also, his unpreparedness reached its magnitude when he died of starvation in 1992.
Chris Mccandless Chris Mccandless was a bright young man, who graduated college. He was a hard worker, who was brave, and adventurous. His adventurous side took him on a journey into the wild as he hitchhiked his way to Alaska, where he planned to endure off the land. He met a bunch of people on his way who grew to care very deeply for him. When he left his home, he hurt his family, who did not know of his whereabouts till his end.
What is a hero? A hero is a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities. There are many people who meet the characteristics of a hero, but Chris McCandless is not one of them. There are many reasons that prove why McCandless does not meet the characteristics of a hero and there is many other people who do meet the criteria of a hero. My idea of a hero is a someone who takes on large tasks and shows great bravery in his/her character.
Poet Anais Nin argued that eventually the day will come when, "the risk it [takes] to remain tight in the bud is more painful than the risk it takes to blossom". It is painful to stay in a life that seems unsatisfying; it is better to adopt new habits and progress as an individual. In Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the characters of Chris McCandless and the unnamed narrator decide to make a change in their lives. The process of tapping out is the most beneficial form of self-discovery in order for one to discover their truest self. The invisible man and Chris McCandless, at a crucial point in their lives, decided to tap out for a change.
Liz Addison’s essay, “Two Years Better Than Four,” was first published in the New York Times Magazine back in September of 2007. Addison went to two community colleges and majored in biology; earning her degree in 2008. In her essay, she is responding to Rick Perlstein's article “What’s the Matter with College?” in which he claims, “College as America used to understand it is coming to an end” (211). Addison refutes Perlstein’s claims by saying, “My guess, reading between the lines, is that Mr. Perlstein has never set foot in an American community college” (212).
The Greek Philosopher Aristotle identified “The years between puberty and age twenty-one as the formative time for mind and character.” It was customary for young Greek men to attend a series of lectures that resembled our notion of a college “course”(Delbanco 36). Aristotle is a believer of education and the power it has on the development of the young mind. Likewise, he believes college is a place to establish one’s character. Caroline Bird’s essay, “Where College Fails Us,” definitely does not correlate with the opinion of Aristotle.
they are both stories about a guy who dies both of the stories are written from another man 's perspective they both happen in alaska they are both excited to be out in the wild they are both looking for a challenge: both of them are looking for some type of challenge while mccandless’s in a soul searching sort of adventure, Jack’s character is just out there for the fun and the challenge and to meet up with some other guys. they both had an insufficient amount of food and knowledge: both of these men go out into the wild without the right amount of knowledge to survive in the weather of alaska and ultimately that leads them both to their deaths Mccandless took great interest in the writings of jack London and on more than one occasion
Firstly, it is evident that McCandless is financially independent. He pays for his own college education at Emory University with money received from a deceased family friend (20) and has enough left to proceed to Law School if he decides to do so. Thus, McCandless is in no way reliant on his parents and constantly makes it clear that he does not want to be. When offered a car as a graduation present, for instance, he repeatedly denies it, saying that he “already has a perfectly good one” (21), once again
McCandless and McCunn's ventures into the wild had similar intentions and strategies. Although, the outcome of their ventures were slightly different. Both men displayed a certain degree of common sense. They were both friendly, curious, responsible, educated and intelligent men. Having fairly average lives, with big aspirations for their future.
At first glance, it would be normal to assume McCandless was not very educated: he didn’t have a stable job, he didn’t prepare for his journey by packing supplies, etc. Jon Krakaur delves into McCandless’ story and reveals that
