How Is Chris Mccandless's Adventure Into The Alaskan Wild

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Into The Wild Essay 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 …show more content…

Those that celebrate what he stood for, his courage and perseverance to survive against all odds. There also is a group that condemn him for not being prepared, and believe that he is in fact stupid. The latter group address his underpreparedness and confidence as stupidity and arrogance. What this group does not see is that based on Chris’s philosophical views, his goal was to live in the most natural way and live off the land for as long as he could. Idealism fueled his journey. Writers that Chris viewed as prophets are Leo Tolstoy and Wallace Stegner. Two very important quotes for Chris came from these two, which help outsiders better understand him. From Tolstoy, “I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life” (13). And from Stegner, “being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led west” (13). Tolstoy’s quote provides us with the mindset of Chris McCandless and his unrest in normal life. An example of his discomfort in society is when Chris worked in Bullhead city and rejected his McDonald 's associates, deeming them “plastic” people. Stegner’s quote can describe the type of life that Chris admired, such as that of Jan Burres and her life in the Slabs. The Slabs was described as being a capital for rubber-tramps and car salesmen. It was said that, “ Its constituents are men and women and children of all ages, folks on the dodge from collection agencies, relationships gone sour, the law or the IRS, Ohio winters, the middle-class grind” (31). This, for the most part, free life was one that Chris sought after. Coming from wealth and intellect, Chris valued the simple things in life, primarily nature and relationships

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