Chris McCandless’s journey into the wild was a very self-centered action that was not well thought out. He put his own feelings into consideration and did not think about his family and those that cared about him. Even though he documented some of his activities in a journal, there are still so many questions that will never be answered. His family has to wonder for the rest of their lives why Chris left, or why he did not at least say good-bye. He went into the wild without any preparation and with very little decency. He showed the audience what pure selfishness is. Anyone that read Into the Wild can thank McCandless for teaching a valuable lesson on how not to act. He made the choice to not tell his parents which broke their hearts. They …show more content…
Gallien told him that he was lacking very many things. His choices were not well thought out, and that was proven when he was struggling to make a meal out of a deer. He had no idea how to preserve the meat. More food, clothing, and tools would have been helpful, and that is what Gallien tried to tell Chris. Gallien gives McCandless a little advice to help him with his journey and even sends him a pair of better hiking boots because Chris’s were not waterproof. Gallien tells Chris, “wear two pairs of socks, and your feet ought to stay halfway warm and dry” (Krakauer 6), to help him solve the problem of his big boots. Gallien plays an important role in Into the Wild because he foreshadows how his trip will go. The minute he knew Chris was serious about going into the wild, he told him he was not prepared. Going with a 10-pound bag of rice is not enough to survive, and Chris didn’t have much experience with hunting prior to his …show more content…
He was selfish and careless for not telling his family and friends his plans. Chris did not write to anyone in his family while he was gone and did not add anything meaningful into his journal about anyone that loved him. His family was left heartbroken without any answers as to why he left. No one knows why he did not try his best to make his journey one that he would walk out alive from. Now, he is dead with no answers. His family must suffer for the rest of their lives and wonder what they could have done to change what happened. Chris was so self-absorbed and did not want to make it out alive. He enjoyed being alone and was okay with dying
Although Chris McCandless' life at home growing up was hounded by his so called "ignorant" father or his "bigot" parents, made the best out of his life whenever he could. He was on the cross country team when he was younger, and they all ran out into the wild almost, purposely getting lost. Being on that team and experiencing that made him happier and started his interest and passion for embracing nature. Chris even found solace and was content with providing food, such as hamburgers, stated by his cross country teammate Eric Hathway, providing company to people less fortunate than him. Taking hikes with his grandfather and doing things as mentioned previously (cross country), eventually influenced him to make his greatest adventure and unbeknownst
Throughout Into the Wild, Krakauer portrays Christopher McCandless as an infallibly eager young man hoping to distance himself from the society he so obviously loathes, to "live off the land," entirely independent of a world which has "conditioned [itself] to a life of security." Chris, contrarily to this depiction, is disparagingly viewed by some as a "reckless idiot" who lacked the sense he needed to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. This derogatory assessment of Chris's mindset is representative of the society he hopes to escape and contains all the ignorance that causes him to feel this way. Nevertheless, he is misjudged by these critics, allowing Krakauer to hold the more accurate interpretation of Chris's character, his goals, and his accomplishments.
Chris went into the wild, he didn’t seem to grasp the freedom or the beauty he was searching for.
In Into the Wild, Chris McCandless was a young man from Virginia who loved living his life on his own. On an adventure to Alaska, Chris ran into the some trouble and perished. While Chris’s death is a horrible event that will burn in the memory of his family and friends, it could have been easily prevented. If Chris was smarter he would have thought about his preparation, his motivation, and the possibility that he was mentally ill. He could have been able to live out in the Alaskan Wilderness and survive his adventure and return home safely.
He went through many obstacles that could have proved fatal. From canoeing in the Colorado River to picking the right berries, he was testing his intelligence. Chris had a true confidence in the land and in himself to set out on a mission so dangerous. “Wilderness appealed to those bored or disgusted with man and his works. It not only offered an escape from society but also was an ideal stage for the Romantic individual to exercise the cult that he frequently made of his own soul. The solitude and total freedom of the wilderness created a perfect setting for either melancholy or exaltation” (Nash; Krakauer 157). Chris longed to escape from society and rely on only mother nature. An innumerable amount of people desire to withdraw from society as Chris did; but they are so comfortable and secure with a normal life they do not dare take such a gutsy
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, the main character of “Into the wild” was angered by his father’s infidelity and bigamy. As a result, Chris McCandless wanted to separate himself from his family and he begins a spiritual adventure to search for his identity. Chris McCandless isolates himself physically and emotionally to find freedom and peace by adventuring into the wild. Therefore, McCandless escapes from Emory University and immediately flees his dull and predictable life, heading west without a word to his family. Although, McCandless journey ends in a tragic ending, he fulfilled his ambition by pursuing his ambition and inner peace. In conclusion, McCandless journey was both a search for inner peace and transition to maturity.
Throughout McCandless’s adventure in the Alaskan wild, he made a series of choices. His survival was made possible by his ability to adapt to harsh conditions. The fact that he survived all his ventures and hardships might have been due more to good fortune than his actual preparation and skills. It is theorized that it was his point to make the Alaska trip so difficult, and so barebones, that he wasn’t sure whether he would have been able to survive it or not. This journey, though reckless, makes his adventure into the Alaskan wild that much more admirable. For Chris to live a life with little to no material objects and survive on his own, in itself, is an act of extreme bravery and determination. Some may say that the
Initial Reaction: In the first chapter of Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer the author begins by presenting the main character Chris’ last human interaction before entering the wild. This interaction is very interesting as it highlights Chris’ traits through indirect characterization. This is seen when Chris receives advice from Gallien before entering the woods. Chris’ reluctance to listen to the advice given by Gallien exposes his sense of self-reliance.
After reading the story Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the main character Chris McCandless did, in fact, have a lot of brave and courageous ideas. In the story, Krakauer retells a story of a young man that hitchhiked his way to the wild in Alaska in order to achieve his goal of living separate and apart from the civilization. He left his home and family to find a new life himself. Due to his actions and decisions that have told in the story by Krakauer, McCandless should have been a courageous and noble person.
Chris was bitter at his family life. Angry that his parents had lied to him his whole life,he resented them and perhaps they were the reason for his odyssey. Although, McCandless set out alone on his journey he met many people along the way to provide him comfort. Surprisingly, this is the case. Looking at the statement made by the author in the novel, “McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well—relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it”(Krakauer). This quote illustrates McCandless’s contempt for anything emotional and his wish to isolate himself from family and friends, whose closeness challenges his wish for separation. He describes any form of intimacy as “messy,” escaping before anything is asked of
Chris McCandless lived a life in which he disgusted by human civilization, and left it, eventually being led to his death in Alaska. McCandless entered the Alaskan wilderness severely unprepared, a brutal error that cost him his life. In the novel, Into the Wild by John Krakauer, Chris glances into his mindset by they way of his journal, history, and analysis of his life reveals that Chris McCandless as an arrogant and judgemental narcissist, while not mentally unstable, had a condescending attitude towards society and perished not only from his reckless stupidity but also from his unparalleled ego. Chris McCandless was immune to love and had an obsession with nature and society, him showing characteristics that created the appearance of McCandless
Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, is the story of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless who ventured off to Alaska and tried to survive in the wild. McCandless grew up in Annandale, Virginia where he attended school and made very good grades, rarely bringing home anything below an A. His father, Walt worked for NASA for a little while, before starting his own business with Chris’s mother, Billie, out of their own home. They worked hard and for long hours to get the business up and running and it finally paid off. The McCandless family was wealthy, but had many emotional problems. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, Chris McCandless donated twenty-four thousand dollars from his savings account to charity, changed his name to Alexander Supertramp, and then disappeared. This book tells the story of his life and travels. Some critics say that Chris McCandless was a very admirable person. He was a brave man that followed his dreams. However, given all of his flaws, attitudes, and actions, he is un-admirable. McCandless walked into the wild very unprepared and stubborn. He also treated his family poorly as well as anyone who got emotionally close to him. Chris was additionally too impressionable in a way that he admired authors along with the books they wrote, and tried to imitate them. He was very rebellious in his actions as well, and did not try to change the world or help others.
Chris McCandless was a graduate from college whose dream was to go into the Alaskan wilderness and live there to get an overall experience of living off the land. McCandless wanted to experience how to hunt and gather everything that he needed to live in the Alaskan Wilderness. However was it a good idea when Mccandless went into the wild. Many people on his adventure tried to help him by giving him some equipment or buy him some because he wasn't prepared for his adventure. After McCandless’s death to this date people would say that McCandless is an idiot or stupid for not being prepared for the Alaskan wilderness.
All in all, it is interesting how the trials of life can lead a person into an awakening that inspires millions. Many people believe that walking “into the wild” to live off the land and find himself alone in nature was arrogant, foolish and irresponsible. Chris lacks of knowledge about the wild was a major factor in his death. Chris did not plan how he will survive in the wilderness without proper equipments. He misunderstood that he would have no problem in setting in the wild. Chris immature manner and decisions lead him to starvation and ultimately death. If he planned it out in the beginning he would have saved his life.