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Who Is Chris Mccandless Self Reliance

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Mccandless’ Odyssey of Solitude

“To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society” , Emerson on Nature. In the biographical narrative, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless, an unprepared teenager, walks into Denali, Alaska and never returns. After McCandless’ body is discovered in Fairbanks Bus 142, Jon Krakauer follows McCandless’ footsteps in an attempt to learn what he did and why. Krakauer discerns that McCandless’ ideas and philosophies were closely aligned with the teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Both Emerson and Thoreau are pioneers of Transcendentalism, the belief that the reality of oneself is discovered through nature. McCandless left his home and walked …show more content…

McCandless’ self reliance is the cornerstone of his philosophy and contributes to his ultimate demise when he walked into the wild with nothing but his wits and basic supplies. His main influence for this ideal came from Emerson’s aptly named essay Self-Reliance where he writes, “But a cultivated man becomes ashamed of his property, out of new respect for his nature. Especially he hates what he has, if he see that it is accidental, — came to him by inheritance, or gift, or crime; then he feels that it is not having; it does not belong to him, has no root in him, and merely lies there, because no revolution or no robber takes it away”. When Mccandless is offered charity in the form of food and clothes he refuses to take them, when he does he does so begrudgingly and in some cases leaves it behind. A similar example of his shame for property he didnt earn was the money he got to go to college. He donated the leftover $24,000 dollars of his college founding to OXFAM America before he left on his trip. Another idea McCandless procures from Emerson is: “Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can

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297 Words | 2 Pages

(Pg 26). McCandless left his car full of supplies and went across the country, which would have taken a lot of courage. McCandless was also noble for doing what he did because he never doubted himself

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1297 Words | 6 Pages

McCandless focuses his life around himself and is egotistical. The reason he may think only of himself is due to his ability to detach himself from society’s norms. He was in a position to do so by returning to nature and leaving cities and industries behind. It was his own choice to become an independent individual and break free from the chains of society. McCandless “tried to follow” his “dream” and realized them (Krakauer 96).

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832 Words | 4 Pages

Ultimately, McCandless’s refusal of any help allowed even the smallest accomplishment to be a big deal. McCandless found happiness in doing everything alone, which helped him live a good life, full of value and

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315 Words | 2 Pages

In into the wild by Jon Krakauer christopher mccandless had abandoned his old life and started a new life as Alex. He ventured all the way to alaska and had eventually died their. Christopher Mccandless was inspired by Henry David Thoreau a lot and did some of the things that henry did in his life when he went into the wilderness himself.. Mccandless tried to live without modern day technology,and he didn’t ever let society tell him what he needs to do. Chris actually took one of henry’s book with him when he went to alaska.

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1601 Words | 7 Pages

In the Non-Fiction by Jon Krakauer, Into The Wild, we are introduced to the eccentric mind of 24 year old Christopher Johnson McCandless. Chris came from a family who was financially stable. When he graduated from Emory University, Christopher Johnson McCandless took off without the awareness of his loved ones, gave all his savings to OXFAM, destroyed everything in his wallet, and reinvented a whole new life for himself. In my opinion, I think what McCandless did is something to be admired. He did so many things without the need of a companion or society in general.

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498 Words | 2 Pages

McCandless says, “I don’t want to know what time it is. I don’t want to know what day it is or where I am. None of that matters” (Krakauer 7). This shows that McCandless does not think that one needs material possessions to be successful. That is similar to that of Thoreau when he says, “men think that it is essential that the Nation have commerce, and talk through a telegraph, and ride thirty miles an hour without a doubt…”

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McCandless lived in a upperclass neighborhood. He had a privileged life, he never experienced such like most americans. Although McCandless does not care for such thing such as wealth or social class. McCandless’s decision

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154 Words | 1 Pages

Throughout all of McCandless’s adventures he often meets new people who take a liking to him, despite McCandless having trouble with the concept of intimacy, as he would rather be secluded from everything. Everytime he is confronted with a new acquaintance, he is always offered goods to help him on his journey. However, McCandless is against the fact that you need to have money to be successful in this materialistic world, and he is trying to challenge that idea by going on adventures without any money, as it would be to easy. In this passage he is resenting the fact that he himself cannot make it in this world without money, but he still chooses to live in that lifestyle because it is a much more free life, away from everyone.

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959 Words | 4 Pages

McCandless values education and is an intelligent man who graduates Emory University with a degree in a grueling major (Krakauer 20). He never contributes much effort into school since the work was easy for him, unlike his colleagues. This makes him extremely confident in all his abilities and is never faced with any problems. The absence of conflict affects him and provides a belief that to find his individuality and identity, he should find something to test his life skills. McCandless is also able to gain traits of being stubborn.

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256 Words | 2 Pages

Chris McCandless was someone who didn’t believe in having money, and items that were materialistic. He was considered an idealist because he didn’t put judgement on people based on how they look, he did it based on his personal values. In the author’s note Krakauer also believed Chris was a “intense young man and possessed a streak of stubborn idealism that did not mesh readily with modern existence”. After getting your degree in college, and your parents buying you a new car you don’t think to just throw it all away to go live in the wild on your own, but that’s exactly what Chris did. Items that would seem extremely important to everyone one else in society didn’t matter to Chris, because it wasn’t a necessity for him.

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McCandles always stays away and avoids collecting materialistic objects. Not only is he anti-materialistic, but he also encourages others to do the same. He gave away all of his belongings, demonstrating that having many possessions is not something he cherishes. This is especially portrayed when McCandless leaves his privileged life, which is hard for anyone to do. In a letter to Wayne Westerburg, McCandless writes, "My days were more exciting when I was penniless" (Krakauer 33).

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899 Words | 4 Pages

Into the Wild Christopher McCandless is a son of wealthy parents which were graduates from Emory University as a top student and athlete. Chris McCandless was seeking into the wilderness to show people he can really do it. Krakauer’s statement was proven to show his actions and support his courageous from living in the wilderness. McCandless wanted to walk to Alaska to start his journey on the hike. His adventure lasted 113 days in the wilderness which turned into something that shouldn’t have happened.

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785 Words | 4 Pages

Kevin Sun Mrs. Cohen English 2CP --D February 22, 2018 Another Perspective The film Into the Wild is based on the life of Chris McCandless, a young man who rejected the consumerist society of America in order to live a more simple life. Through his travels, Chris carried essays by Transcendentalist philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, suggesting that McCandless is impacted by Transcendentalist ideals. Two key tenets of Transcendentalism that clearly influenced McCandless’ choices are the value of simplicity and the importance of self-reliance.

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1754 Words | 8 Pages

Romanticism was a movement during the late 18th century that encouraged imagination, exploration, individualism, and emotion. From it derived Transcendentalism, one of the first movements to originate from America and which bore the first American philosophers. These movements are often present in many pieces of American literature and this is no exception in Jon Krakauer’s novel Into the Wild. The historic account retells the story of a young man named Chris McCandless, who adopts the pseudonym Alexander Supertramp and takes to the road, only to die of starvation in Alaska. On the surface it appears to be cautionary tale, but Krakauer literally retraces McCandless’ steps, talking to the people who Chris spoke with and even traveling to Chris’ final resting place.

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783 Words | 4 Pages

This is just one of the many people who comment on McCandless’s small weight. This shows that McCandless was constantly hungry, but he still did not decide to go home. He enjoyed living this way. Also, he encountered many unpleasant events in the wild such as “a crown [falling] off one of his molars” (Krakauer 164) and “fly and mosquito hordes” (Krakauer 166). These events were months before his death, so he could have decided to go home before it was too late, but he does not.

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