In the book Into The Wild, there is a man that had ventured off when he was about 22 years old. He had a pretty good life prior to him venturing off. His parents had fairly well off jobs; his father being an antenna specialist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and his mother worked as a secretary at Hughes Aircraft. After some time, his mother and father started their own business that was a home-based consulting company that ended up being very successful. His parents, and family friend (who gave him $24,000 to continue into law school) wanted him to pursue the opportunity to go into law school, which everyone had high hopes for him. He had the great grades in college, awesome work ethics, he had it …show more content…
He was given a large amount of cash for college purposes, and he donated that. He had an offer of a new car for himself from his parents. He had a clear path for himself that was set by his loved ones. After he graduated from college, he came up to his parents, and said “I think I’m going to disappear for a while” (Krakauer, 21). Now, some people would think that his life was perfect, and that he had it all going for him at that point. So some people think when he told his parents that he was going to disappear for awhile, that's where he slipped up, and he lost everything that was good for him. The ignorance started shortly after that; he stopped writing to his parents, and family in June, 1990. His accomplishments that he had made, and worked hard for for his whole life leading up to this, was all for nothing because he just abandoned everything, and let go of everyone for a silly idea he wanted to follow through …show more content…
His parents and family had no idea what was going on through his head, and then he just disappeared like it was nothing. Abandoning your family, and friends would be tough, but maybe he just got pushed away from some of the people that meant a lot to him. That too could have an affect on someone to do something of an affect, but I wouldn't imagine that it would be so drastic like this. It’s not like he stopped all ties he had with humanity, or even family. He traveled around, found a job, and started to connect with people again; even mailing to his
Was he a reckless idiot? That is the big question. This is what people always seem to talk about when they talk about Chris McCandless. There are many people who think that Chris McCandless was a reckless idiot who was mentally ill, or something else was wrong with Chris. It seems that almost everybody that met Chris thought maybe Chris was crazy or had problems. Here are just a few things that people said about Chris and his state of mind. Pg 40 Zarza admits saying, "he was always going on about trees and nature and weird stuff like that. We all thought he was missing a few screws. Pg 42 Charlie said, "seemed like a kid who was looking for something." Pg 45 Burres said "I thought Alex had lost his mind when he told us about his 'great Alaskan odyssey, ' as he called it."
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...
...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.
The book Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, was a very interesting story about a young man going to live out in the wild of Alaska. This young mans name is Chris McCandless also known as Alex Supertramp. He had a lot of courage to go out this trip facing the wild. He has set high hopes for how young he is. Graduating college than leaving directly after graduating and burned all of his money and left his car and most possessions behind. His bravery definitely had a big impact on the story. With his bravery, it seemed like he has done this before and has no weariness. Chris was very independent on his trip. He received little help from people. He got work a few times to buy gear for his trip to Alaska, other than that he was either hitch hiking or walking.
In terms of psychology McCandless was not crazy as many people thought he will be. Psychologically speaking based on Maslow pyramid of needs, Chris was able to reach self-actualization which is a concept that not many people get to fully experience. Such need is to fulfill one’s unique potential. Thinking about it’s actually hard to met this concept when you have society right on your ears. Chris’s accomplishment of getting out of society's materialistic ideals and going into a state of nature made his life worth even more. In my psychology class, I came across with the term mentioned above and with the peak experience which roots from Self-actualization. Just as the term that is rooted from Peak experience, it can also be rare as well. This
Life is a form of progress- from one stage to another, from one responsibility to another. Studying, getting good grades, and starting the family are common expectations of human life. In the novel Into the Wild, author Jon Krakauer introduced the tragic story of Christopher Johnson McCandless. After graduating from Emory University, McCandless sold of his possessions and ultimately became a wanderer. He hitchhiked to Alaska and walked into the wilderness for nearly 4 months. This journey to the 49th state proved fatal for him, and he lost his life while fulfilling his dream. After reading this novel, some readers admired the boy for his courage and noble ideas, while others fulminated that he was an idiot who perished out of arrogance and
Kleinfeld tries to categorize Chris McCandless as a hero, dumb jerk, or soul searcher. She uses pathos as well as blatantly stating her opinion to achieve her goal. In Jon Krakauer’s book Into the Wild we see many aspects of Chris McCandless that both support and contradicts these categorizations given by Kleinfeld. Jon Krakauer shows us every aspect of Chris McCandless’s journey as well as his life before, by doing this Krakauer shows Chris McCandless is not just one category, he is not any category at all. Kleinfeld’s condescending tone expresses the lack of heroism she sees in McCandless. (Adjust thesis to fit new purpose).
...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.
... every aspect of his life whether it be his education, physical endurance, or making it through the Alaskan wilderness with nothing more than a rifle, a backpack, and a road map. Chris was aware of his differences and that he did not fit into society. He fully embraced that and and chose to lead his own path. Chris led a happy life according to one of his last journal entries he wrote, “I have had a happy life and thank the lord. Goodbye and may God bless all!” (Krakauer 199). Chris was willing to risk everything to gain that happiness. His ambition to enter the wilderness, in the end, took his life but that did not stop him. He would have rather died a happy man than lived a miserable one. Chris ventured out into the wilderness and found himself; a tragic story for a tragic hero.
Throughout the book Into The Wild, Chris McCandless repeatedly display his individual views and traits. Chris would purposely do things that society would look down upon to emphasize the fact that he was an individual and not mindlessly following the crowd like many people do. His eagerness to break societal rules wasn’t without purpose, in fact, Chris’ life “Hummed with meaning and purpose. But the meaning he wrested from existence lay beyond the comfortable path” (Krakauer 184). The quote is explaining that everything Chris did had a purpose even though it may have seemed buried or unreachable. Even though he did not value the things that most people deem as normal, he found purpose in his journey. One important trait, which influenced his individualism, was his disregard for what others thought about him. Chris did things for himself and not to please others; this disregard for other people’s opinions was present even when he was a sophomore in high school. His sister, Carine stated, “He didn’t care that it wasn’t a cool thing to do” (Krakauer 120). She then went on to say, “He didn’t seem interested in the money so much as the fact that he was good at making it” (Krakauer 120). It can be taken fr...
Ultimate freedom is an odyssey everyone, at least once in their lifetime, tries to conquer. Chris McCandless did everything in his power to try and capture that freedom he was searching for. He ultimately gave up his own life during that quest. Did he find what he was searching for? We may never know. Very many people have diverse opinions on this character. Chris McCandless was not selfish. He was a young, well-educated boy. His parents handed him everything on a silver platter; he wanted to prove not only to himself but to everyone else he could do things on his own. His possessions did not define who he was as a person. He thought towards everyone else he was just another brick in the wall, a pretty rich boy, and that did not “fly” with him. He had to prove his worth.
Chris McCandless is regarded as being something as a spiritual figure almost as a cult hero, some call him a disillusioned fool, some call him a great adventurer, and the debate still continues. As Matthew Power calls in his article, an article where he tells the story of McCandless,“The debate falls into two camps: Krakauer's visionary seeker, the tragic hero who dared to live the unmediated life he had dreamed of and died trying; or, as many Alaskans see it, the unprepared fool, a greenhorn who had fundamentally misjudged the wilderness he'd wanted so desperately to commune with.” Like so many stories covering Christopher McCandless’ death, both ends of the argument are discussed in an unfavored manner in the hopes to help develop an opinion on the McCandless story. This open ended question can only be answered open-endedly based on what the readers base for themselves as covered stories intend. Like Power has done, ...
...nt happens when McCandless starts his journey. Just like when he encountered Franz, and had a close relationship with him, McCandless met other people, and he made lifelong relationships with those people that he met. He even wrote letters to them so they could keep in touch. To him, all those people, like Franz, Westerberg, and even Jim Gallien all seemed like his family. Some of them gave him a place to crash for the night, gave him a job, and even assisted him on his journey like giving him a ride. McCandless being nice and appreciative to all those people for helping him throughout his journey shows how “saintly” he can be.
...can be a life-changing experience. McCandless entered the wild as an overly confident hitchhiker and left as a self-accepting and humble man. He thought that human relationships were futile, he was impervious to materialism, and that he could understand nature on a scientific level. However, McCandless left the wild with a newfound appreciation for humanity, some clarity on his purpose in life, and the ability to create his own legacy. Many people finish reading Into the Wild and form negative opinions about McCandless’ reckless behavior. However, it is important to focus on how being in the wild brought McCandless closer to understanding himself. Into the Wild should motivate humans to participate in explore the wilderness to discover the true meaning of life.
McCandless was a fearless human being. I think that most of the people’s ideologies and personalities have to do with how they were raised by the parents and everything that was taught to them. When a lack of love exists from a parent towards his child, a hate can be created without knowing it. McCandless could have gone away from society to escape reality or, for being in a place where he could find himself at peace. Either one, we can assume that he obviously had different ideas about civilization; the idea of having a life full of danger and adventure inspired and excited him.