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Chris McCandless lived a life that can be examined in many different ways. He was an adventurer from the heart, and he didn’t want to conform to society’s views of how the world should be run and how each person should live their life. McCandless was able to stray from the normal progression of life, seen as going from graduating college to getting a 9-5 job and starting a family, by completely disappearing from his family’s life and trying to control his own life. In order to truly live life, one must be able to break free of the constricting confines of society, which control individuals and try to shape their life. There are so many adventurous people in this world who never give into their urges to explore the world simply because they …show more content…
McCandless believes that many people are unhappy with their life because they don’t think they can do this. In a letter written to Ronald Franz, Chris states, “so many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous within a man than a secure future” (Krakauer 57). This letter was sent to Franz to make him rethink how he had been living his life for many years. McCandless understood Franz well, and knew that he was extremely lonely and unhappy with his life. …show more content…
Franz doesn’t have the same physical abilities that McCandless does, as he is much older. Therefore, the idea of truly living life has the same baseline meaning of gaining happiness, but the way that a person can take hold of that happiness changes with age. Franz was 81 years old at the time of meeting McCandless, so he would have been unable to run off into Alaska like McCandless did. Instead, he was able to buy a GMC Duravan and live off the grid. In doing so, Franz was able to feel more meaning in his life, as he was doing more than just the same thing he had been doing for countless years, day after day, always knowing what tomorrow had in store. In short, the way that a person can truly live their life changes with age, but it always has the same
For example, he strays away from Robert Franz 's offer of adopting Alex to become his grandson, after the two of them form a close relationship: “ 'So I [Franz] asked Alex if I could adopt him, if he would be my grandson. ' McCandless, uncomfortable with the request, dodged the question: 'We 'll talk about it when I get back from Alaska, Ron '” (Into The Wild) McCandless shields himself from any sign of attachment to other people he encounters in order to follow Transcendentalist ideals. He treats human bonding as a distraction from his real goal, which is to achieve total independence and a spiritual connection with nature. Charlie, a man who McCandless has briefly acquainted himself with during his journey, reports his observations that McCandless is not much of a people person: “ 'Didn 't like to be around too many people, though. Temperamental...He 'd get moody, wouldn 't like to be bothered '”(Into The Wild). Being normally antisocial becomes a trait for McCandless because he values and follows the Transcendentalist ideal of minimizing human contact. McCandless mirrors the typical Transcendentalist because he prefers solitude over socializing, believing that being alone is a much more meaningful and spiritual
He also did not have a typical childhood, he witness his parent’s fighting and he also developed a poor relationship with his father. Krakauer was able to find important connections that helped him find the roots of McCandless’ rational actions. “The boy could not pardon the mistakes his father had made as a young man, and he was even less willing to pardon the attempt at concealment… But he did not confront his parents with what he knew, then or ever. He chose instead to make a secret of his dark knowledge and express his rage obliquely, in silence and sullen withdrawal” (Krakauer 122). McCandless did not have a good relationship with his parents, which might have been the reason he decided to go into the wild. Krakauer was able to find clues that caused McCandless to make dangerous
Human nature tells us to want what we can't or don't have. Everything from people to a toy to a kind of hairstyle – we just always want what isn't ours. Chris McCandless from Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild is no exception. He lives his life as part of an upper-middle class family, is smart, and goes to and does well in college, but he still feels like something is missing from his life. He want something completely opposite of the life he's used to. Chris McCandless spent a lot of time looking for something entirely different from what he already had and while he found true happiness it eventually lead to his demise.
McCandless wanted to escape his life full of expectations. McCandless followed under his parents rule until he graduated from Emroy University. After he graduated, Walt and Billie felt that Chris should attend law school. “He had spent the previous four years, as he saw it, preparing to fulfill an absurd and onerous duty: to graduate from college. At long last he was encumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from the raw throb of existence” (Krakauer 22). McCandless feels that he is escaping a material world. McCandless took courage to go against what his parents wanted for
McCandless views life as a true transcendentalist and embraces the natural world and steps away from society while Franz keeps to himself and fears stepping out of his comfort zone. McCandless sets on that journey to prove nothing but to find himself. McCandless respects Franz for even trying to make a difference in his life, even if he doesn’t join him.
To begin with, McCandless’s decision to walk into the wild was acceptable because he wanted to become an inspiration and an individual. Emerson states, “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance: that imitation is suicide” (Emerson). Chris McCandless left to shun the conformist society that he could feel changing him. Chris wanted the chains that bound him to be broken. Society takes the individual and locks it up and destroys it. According to Emerson, “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion: it is easy to in solitude to live after our own: but the great man is he who in the midst of the crow keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude” (Emerson). McCandless left his materialistic family to be his own person ad to be unique. The world’s opinion does not make the man wh...
Chris McCandless does not wish to follow defined life structure that society enforces to simply be alive, instead, he chooses to take a seek a path to live a life with purpose. Such an eagerness to seek detachment from what is expected by society, is enforced by not only McCandless but also Thoreau. A primary factor resembling this, is McCandless’ view that many people “live within unhappy circumstances...yet will not change…they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism...damaging to the adventurous spirit(40).” The detesting tone risen through the confliction of “unhappy circumstances” and “damage,” to “safety, conformity and conservation,” emphasis his will to separate from a lifestyle lacking change. This is done
In conclusion, based on the information collected by Krakauer, he believes that McCandless was a unique and determined individual. I agree with this statement 100%. Not many people attempt the wild and unwise journey McCandless did. When taking this risk it cost him his life. I believe that Christopher McCandless was not going to change for anyone. I think Krakauer understood McCandless and his difficult temperament. "...But Christopher Johnson McCandless came into the world with unusual gifts and a will not easily deflected from its trajectory" (Page 110). This final quote is one that explained McCandless in one little sentence. He was a human being who was determined to do something and he went after what he wanted.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James has been the cause of many debates about whether or not the ghosts are real, or if this is a case of a woman with psychological disturbances causing her to fabricate the ghosts. The story is told in the first person narrative by the governess and is told only through her thoughts and perceptions, which makes it difficult to be certain that anything she says or sees is reliable. It starts out to be a simple ghost story, but as the story unfolds it becomes obvious that the governess has jumps to conclusions and makes wild assumptions without proof and that the supposed ghosts are products of her mental instability which was brought on by her love of her employer
...fe for oneself. McCandless primary tragic flaw being his unwillingness to form long-term relations brought him both to the happiest moment of his life, but also to his demise. McCandless never had a problem with people, but rather with the status quo of society, the idea that a man or a woman has to live inside of a coordinate plane. McCandless left home and went on his adventure simply for his own well being, he achieved both what he wanted to accomplish while learning a valuable lesson along the way. He learned that happiness must be shared, and while everyone has his or her flaws, it is important to let these go. Christopher McCandless should teach people the importance of following your dreams, and the importance of enjoying the natural serenity of life.
Chris McCandless was a young man who did everything in his power to try and represent that freedom he was searching for. McCandless had everything before we went out but he decided to go out and travel by choice. He was considered a selfish man because when someone offered him to help him he rejects it in a nice way since we wants to do things himself. In the book Into the wild he states that,"You don't need to worry about me. I have a college education. I'm not destitute. I'm living like this by choice."
...elligence to help him last an extended period of time in the Alaskan wilderness. In truth, McCandless was someone who wanted to find himself. He wanted to get away from a life in which he could not find fulfilment, which is something many others would be able to relate to. Although most people would not go to such extremes to find fulfilment, everyone has a different way of finding happiness and going after what their heart truly desires. For McCandless, his desire was to live out in the wild. Unfortunately, this man of great character did not succeed in getting out alive. However, that does not change the fact that he tried. McCandless knew what he wanted for himself and he persisted, regardless of the obstacles he faced. He put an incredible amount of effort into accomplishing his goals and never gave up, and that is why Christopher McCandless is someone to admire.
Chris McCandless had a reputation for being overly ambitious since grade school. His teachers noticed at young age he was abnormally strong-willed which he coupled with intense idealism and strong physical endurance. In high school, Chris served as the captain of his cross country team asking them to treat each race as a spiritual experience. After graduating high school Chris continued on to college where he would graduate with a bachelor’s degree, doub...
...se, McCandless replies, “Hell no…how I feel myself is none of the government’s business” (Krakauer 6). With this statement, Chris demonstrates that he is the ultimate non-conformist, that he is an individualist. “He needed his solitude at times, but he wasn’t a hermit. He did a lot of socializing. Sometimes I think it was like he was storing up company for the times when he knew nobody would be around” (Krakauer 45). With that said, Chris understood the importance of being his own person, with his own ideas and views and his own way of thinking so that others could not manipulate him along the way. He realized that the only way for him to find his own freedom and peace was to be self-centered and to put himself before others without others polluting his sense of existence.
Consequently, he also shows us the difficulties that most do not expect upon leaving for such a journey. Many speak about the advantages, like the freedom they enjoy, and the wondrous relationships formed along the way; but even so, some disadvantages outweigh the advantages, like the It creates such a unique situation for everyone that you would have never known otherwise. Such was the case of Ronald Franz and McCandless, when their paths crossed in January of 1992. In the text, a bit of dialogue was, “When he returned to McCandless’s camp and launched into the self-improvement pitch, though, McCandless cut him off abruptly “Look, Mr Franz,” he declared, “you don’t need to worry about me. I have a college education.