Into The Wild Chris Mccandless Character Analysis

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Chris McCandless was a intelligent, idealistic young man who lived his life alone, in nature. Chris rejected the ideals of society and had a yearning for a nomadic lifestyle. McCandless went into the wild seeking a life without materialism and a life without rules. He does find what he was looking for; but his journey leads to death in the end. Most people wouldn’t have made the journey that Chris made; nevertheless survive as long as he did, with as little as he had. This is what makes Chris stand out as a hero and a person with redeeming qualities. Chris McCandless’s walks into Alaska’s wild with almost nothing to eat and nothing to shelter with. Before he enters the wild he writes to Wayne “this is the last time you will hear from me… …show more content…

Chris’s father notes “Chris had so much natural talent.. But if you tried to coach him, to polish his skill, to bring out that final ten percent, a wall went up. He resisted instruction of any kind”(111). Out in the wild there are no rules, no one telling you what to do, no authority. This is the life that Chris wanted to live at a very young age; this wasn’t some idea he got as a teen. Krakauer also notes that “nuance, strategy and anything beyond the rudimentaries of technique were wasted on chris. The only way he care to tackle a challenge was head on, right-now, applying the full brunt of his extraordinary energy”(111). His challenge was family and rules. Instead of finding a way to overcome these challenges, he decided to tackle them head on; he thought that going into the wild would solve his problems, but it ended in his death. Chris wanted to be free, he wanted to end conformity in his life. He grew up doing the things that his family thought were best for him. Chris turned down most help all his life, when he was offered to have his college paid for if he stayed in town and worked for a company; he turned it down. He told his boss he “had other plans”(116). As soon as high school was over chris declared that he was going to get behind the wheel of his new car and spend the summer driving across the country(pg.116). People saw how hardworking and talented Chris was, so they offered him help, to allow him to live a nice life; but what those people did not understand was, that was the kind of life Chris was trying to avoid when he set out on his