Chris McCandless (a.k.a. Alexander Supertramp), the main character of Into the Wild was very much alike to Gregor. He was more adventurous and didn’t share his family loyalty, but Chris did not enjoy being an active member of society, and wanted isolation, just like Gregor did. McCandless was just more willing to pursue it than him. He preferred being alone in the wilderness to having a job and an apartment, and he hated all the social conventions that came with being an active member of the human world, such as wearing socks. Throughout his travels he transforms from a respectable college graduate, anxious to break away from his family and become independent, into an experienced hitch hiker and mountaineer. He changes his name multiple times, from “Chris McCandless” to “Alexander McCandless” to “Alexander Supertramp”. All the changes of his own name document his change in character and speak volumes to the creation of his new identity. When he finally got rid of his family name, Alexander …show more content…
And even though McCandless eventually ends all contact with his friends when he goes to test himself in the tough Alaskan wilderness, his later journal entries make it seem like he was coming to terms with his want for human interaction and that he might be ready to reenter society. One passage from Family Happiness by Tolstoy reads, "He was right to say the only certain happiness in life is to live with others." The fact that Chris finds a need for human interaction through his self inflicted isolation in the wild shows the unification of his tendency to self-isolate and his deep need to connect with others. Near the end of his life, Chris makes a note in his journal that states “Happiness only real when