To begin, Chris McCandless was hubristic and belittled those who so much as attempted to help him. In chapter three of the text, more than twenty-four thousand dollars remained in the bank account intended to aid Chris in furthering his college education. Shortly after his completion of the schooling required for him to transfer into law school, Chris unexpectedly donated “all the money in his college fund to OXFAM America, a charity dedicated to fighting hunger” (20). Instead of continuing his college career and applying the money provided for him to do so, Chris outwardly disrespected the family friend who provided the money to him by donating the remains to charity. When this money was used for means other than its intended purpose, it showed …show more content…
However, he lacked experience and preparedness for his adventure in nature, which ultimately led to his death. Chris’s attempt to ‘find himself’ in the Alaskan wilderness was approached in an uneducated and philistine nature. The text illustrates that “the only food in his pack was a ten-pound bag of rice”, and the man who picked him up while hitchhiking noticed that “his gear seemed exceedingly minimal for the harsh conditions of the interior” (5). Consequently, his ostensible preparedness for the excursion he attempted to survive proves to be inadequate when he dies in the wilderness. His recklessness left him unmoved by the fact that he was able to afford and obtain the knowledge that was imperative to his …show more content…
Chris’s relationship with his father was strained at best, and left him socially distant and unable to connect with others. Both Chris and his father were stubborn and strong willed, creating emotional differences between the two (64). When McCandless meets Westerberg’s longtime girlfriend Gail, she recalls that he was “shy at first,” and acted as if “it was hard for him to be around people.” In the time Gail spent with Chris, she could tell that “something was gnawing at him,” and it was fairly recognizable that “he didn’t get along with his family” (63). These unappealing social skills he had developed set him apart from others, causing him to be an inadequate conversationalist and feel left out in society. No feeling to belong in the social concepts he had been raised in subsequently prompted an unflinching urge to escape to a place where near nothing is similar to civilization. Lastly, in a final letter to his sister Carine, Chris wrote in regards to his parents, "I’m going to divorce them as my parents once and for all and never speak to either of those idiots again as long as I live. I’ll be through with them once and for all, forever”
During his journey, McCandless was a leather tramp, he travelled on foot and he would
The McCandless family all loved and cared about Chris deeply. The McCandless family was constantly distressed over Chris and the choices he made I life, as they knew they could not change his mind on any decision no matter how much they resented said decision. As shown in the book, “And then he left on his trip. . . We had our hearts in our mouths the whole time he was gone, but there was no way to stop him.” Page 118 Chapter 12. These quotes showed the constant worry they had over Chris fully knowing they could not change him. Chris’s feeling about his family weren’t as strong in return. Chris was more distant from his parents, Chris eventually grew a distaste for his parents when he discovered that his father never told him about his previous marriage. “He seemed mad at us more often, but he wouldn’t tell us what was on his mind and spent more time by himself.” Page 121 Chapter 12. Thoreau’s quote is similar to Chris’s viewpoint as Thoreau’s quote talks about lack of truth, which is why Chris is upset with Walt, lack of truth from his previous
Chris didn’t think this trip through. A regular trip to Alaska would take months to prepare for lodging, food, and packing the necessities. Chris was not a regular person though. He believed the necessities were just worldly things therefore he could survive without them. He headed out on his challenging excursion only two months after he got back from Arizona.
Jon Krakauer, the author of the novel, Into the Wild, portrays Chris McCandless, a young man who travels into nature unprepared and foolishly to find his true identity and dignity. Chris McCandless wants to evade and fled the claustrophobic confines of his family. He has a grudge against his family, except his sister, which caused him the desire of vanish. Nature, the wild, is a place where he believes he can find his true self and his proper status in the society. Sean Penn, the director of “Into the Wild”, shows his remarkable journey of Chris McCandless, allowing the audience to experience his unwillingness to give up in searching his dignity. Through the use of Chris McCandless’s characterizations in both Krakauer and Penn’s works, they
McCandless’s utter repugnance for his parents caused something to snap within him resulting in his desire to remove them from his life, thus becoming free of their demands, judgments, and inquisitions. Krakauer explains; “Children can be harsh judges when it comes to their parents, disinclined to grant clemency, and this was especially true in Chris’s case" (122). The standards some parents set for their children are often unattainable and often come from a place of their own failures and shortcomings. In McCandless’s case, this is exactly what happened. Walt and Billie had demanded so much of Chris physically, academically, and morally, that when he was made aware of their i...
Chris Mccandless underwent his own personal frontier by coming to the realization of the importance of others. Chris and his family had a very complicated relationship, specifically between him and his father, Walt. His father deeply betrayed Chris and his family by having an affair with his ex wife, and as a result, Chris resented him. His father tried multiple methods to gain his forgiveness such as buying him nice things, however Chris forcefully rejected his materialism and overbearing nature and had no interest in pursuing any sort of relationship with him. His father’s betrayal is one of many reasons that lead him to sever all ties with his family and old life and head out west, for he felt he did not need human relationships in his
...e wilderness.” Krakauer stats this in the book to explain what Chris was up against walking into the wilderness. No ordinary man would do this to survive out on his own facing the wilderness. Kleinfeld made an extraordinary remark in her article “McCandless: Hero or Dumb Jerk” “Jon Krakauer's best seller "Into the Wild" immortalizes this young man, who walked into the wilderness with no map, no ax, no mosquito repellent and no first aid equipment.” She makes a good statement about his bravery because not many men would go out with no supplies to make them survive. He went out by himself, no supplies and try to pull off to live in the wild.
Many people thought that Chris had no idea what he was doing and that he was very unprepared. In an article, written by Peter Christian, an Alaska Park Ranger, he talks about how Chris was unprepared for his trip: “First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament using one of several routes that could have been successful. …A bag of rice and a sleeping bag do not constitute adequate gear and provisions for a long stay in the wilderness.” Christian believed that Chris was very unprepared and if he would have had a map, he could have made it out of the wild alive. No one really knows if Chris could have, indeed, made it out using the map. But it could have helped him find one of three cabins located within a few miles of the bus. Christian also points out that a bag o...
As reading the final pages of Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer stated in the beginning of the novel he was for McCandless’s free spirit and adventure. In some occasions, Chris was a free spirit although on many occasions Krakauer has misjudged Chris’s knowledge of the wild. Throughout the novel, Chris was taken in by strangers and was almost near death. When Chris was found he was suffering from starvation. McCandless couldn't have stayed alive and prospered in the bush if Chris hasn't of met those
Living in the wilderness is difficult, but understanding the meaning of such lifestyle is even more difficult. One of the Christopher’s admirable qualities was that he was well aware of what he was doing. He knew about the difficulties and dangers that he would face into the wilderness, and was mentally prepared for that. Author Jon Krakauer says that “McCandless was green, and he overestimated his resilience, but he was sufficiently skilled to last for sixteen weeks on little more than his wits and ten pounds of rice. And he was fully aware when he entered the bush that he had given himself a perilously slim margin for error. He knew precisely what was at stake” (182). McCandless was an educated youth, who loved nature and dreamed of living in the Alaskan wilderness. Although he ignored to take many necessary things with him on this
... 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.
According to others, Chris McCandless was inherently selfish. Please, let’s beg to differ, for goodness sake, he was a grown man! It was his life and he was living it the way he wanted to. Chris gave his sister fair warning. He bid to her, “Since they won’t ever take me seriously, for a few months after graduation I’m going to let them think they are right, I’m going to let them think that I’m “coming around to see their sides of things” and that our relationship is stabilizing. And then, once the time is right, with one abrupt, swift action I’m going to completely knock them out of my life...” (Krakauer 64) He knew what he had to do. He had to show his parents how they had made him feel his whole life. As a graduation present they offered him a new car, his old Datsun apparently was to their standards. Chris became infuriated. That was his pride and joy, how dare them try and take that away! They ignored what he was saying, as he did many times before, he o...
Chris had a different childhood compared to typical children. In the interview with Carine McCandless (Chris’ sister) she lets us in on how Walt, their father, would be violent with Billie, their mother, while they were growing up (Book Circle Online). Chris, along with his siblings, grew up in a traumatizing home environment causing him to go out on his journeys alone. Billie McCandless was Walt McCandless’s mistress for some time, causing Chris to become uncomfortable in his home. Chris was angry when he discovered this family secret because, “long after falling in love with Billie… Walt continued his relationship with Marcia in secret, diving his time between two households, two families” (Krakauer 121). This seemed to fuel Chris’ anger, causing him to create some type of resentment toward his parents. The life McCandless lived as he grew up was a definite cause as to why he enjoyed living and being on his
Christopher Johnson McCandless, a.k.a Alexander Supertramp, “Master of his Own Destiny.” He was an intelligent young man who presented himself as alone but really he was never lonely. However, he believed that life was better lived alone, with nature, so he ventured off throughout western United States before setting off into Alaska’s wild unprepared where he died. Some may say he was naive to go off on such a mission without the proper food and equipment but he was living life the way he wanted to and during his travels he came across three people: Jan Burres, Ronald Franz, and Wayne Westerberg. McCandless befriended these people, it is believed that he made such a strong impression on them that their connection left them with strange feelings after finding out about McCandless’ death.
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.