Cooper Welk Mrs. Thackery English 12 AP 22 June 2023 Chris McCandless: An Inspiration “The trip was to be an odyssey in the fullest sense of the word, an epic journey that would change everything” (22). This quote is from Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer. This novel is a true story based on the adventure of Christopher Johnson McCandless. Chris left society behind to escape societal normality and to search for a new identity. He wasn’t scared of the wild or the people that he would encounter, Insisting on making friends or peace with them instead. He had adventures and journeys that should be seen as inspirational and interpreted to fit the beliefs of many. I believe that Chris “Alexander Supertramp” McCandless should be viewed as a …show more content…
He traveled across the United States to the west coast to pursue a physical and mental journey that many would be too scared to do. Chris’s father, Walt, would have this to mention about him, “Chris was fearless even when he was little” (109). Chris believed that adventure was an answer to being lost in life and an essential activity for people to fulfill. Chris would say this in a postcard to Ron Franz remarking, “the joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon” (57). People should interpret this quote as a call to travel and to see and experience the joy and beauty of the world, not to get caught up in …show more content…
He was a very excelling student in college and read a lot of books like Walden, The Call of the Wild, and Education of a Wandering Man. On page 18, Wayne Westerberg spoke in his interview that “He read a lot. Used a lot of big words. I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking” (18), or this quote that voices “Chris was a high achiever in almost everything that caught his fancy” (109). This implies the thought that Chris was a very critical thinker and was very educated. His wisdom was also very prominent in the novel, with Chris often using genuine advice and sayings that would not be expected from him, considering his age. One example of this comes from arguably one of his most famous quotes that notes, “happiness is only real when shared”