Into The Wild Chris Mccandless Essay

937 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays written on christopher mccandless

Alexi Wong
Freshman English
Mrs. Pratt
March 29, 2017
Chris’s Upbringing Shaped His Life

In April 1992, 24-year-old Chris McCandless decided to hitchhike his way north to the harsh lands of Alaska. After 114 days in the wild and losing touch with his family for more than two years, McCandless reached the end of his life. Chris's journey to Alaska inspired many people including author Jon Krakauer and director Sean Penn. In 1996 Krakauer publish a book, Into the Wild, following McCandless’s story to Alaska. Shortly after, a movie and a documentary based on Chris’s adventure were released. In all three mediums it was evident that Chris’s decision to hitchhike to Alaska was strongly based on his upbringing. Since a young age, Chris’s …show more content…

Even though Chris McCandless’s family had more than enough money, he did not think wealth was important. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, Chris denied his parents graduation gift of a new car. He claims he worked very hard to get enough money to buy his 1982 Datsun and will never replace it. “ ‘I can’t believe they’d try and buy me a car,’ he later complained in a letter to Corine, ‘or that they think I’d actually let them pay for my law school if I was going to go… I’ve told them a million times that I have the best car in the world, a car that has spanned the continent from Miami to Alaska, a car that has in all those thousands of miles not given me a single problem, a car that I will never trade in, a car that I am very strongly attached to - yet they ignore what I say and think I’d actually accept a new car from them!’ ” (Krakauer 21) Aside from not wanting a new car, Chris also didn’t want the extra money for law school. A family friend gave Chris forty thousand dollars to pay for his last two years of college but more than twenty-four thousand dollars remained after he graduated. Chris’s parents thought that Chris would use the remaining money for law school. They were terribly wrong. Instead, McCandless donated the rest of his college funds to OXFAM America, a charity for hunger. Chris McCandless “believed that wealth was shameful, corrupting, inherently evil” …show more content…

All the hard times as children, made Chris and Carine extremely tight siblings. The documentary, Return to the Wild, revealed that Carine received many letters referencing their childhood from Chris when he was in college. Carine shared that “Chris would be my protector” while their parents fought. Their relationship was very close which is why Sean Penn decided to have Carine narrate the movie. Having Carine narrate the movie would make the audience feel closer to Chris because they shared much of the feelings and emotions. During Chris’s journey to Alaska, he created some friendships that were similar to his and Carine’s. Wayne Westerburg, Ronald Franz, and Jan Burres all became great friends with Chris. Even though Chris only saw them for a couple days, they all felt the distant relationship that he had with his parents. After going his own way, Chris would make a great effort to stay in touch with them through letters like he did with Carine when he was in college. All three mediums included these letters because they showed that Chris didn’t cut off all communication and cared for them. Everyone who ever met Chris knew that he and his sister had a very strong bond, one that would never be

Show More
Related

  • How Did Chris Mccandless Change Society

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chris McCandless, as described in John Krakauer’s book “Into the Wild,” endured many grueling tasks and hardships throughout his odyssey in the wild, but ultimately died of starvation and exposure from the elements. What would have happened if Chris survived and came back to society? If Chris changed his thought’s on how society worked, he might still be here with us today,but it would be difficult to imagine him changing his mind. During his time in the wild, Chris became inspired or enlightened by being alone. If he came back to society, he would be disappointed just like he was before. Quoting from Chris’s journal, Krakauer writes that “[t]o get an ID and a job feels extremely uncomfortable in society now [to chris] and must return to the road

    Read More

  • Comparing Chris McCandless, Jon Krakauer and Everett Ruess

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many individuals decide to live their life in solitary; though, only a few choose to live in the wild. The book, Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer vividly paints the adventurous trek Chris McCandless went on. From the friends he made, to the hardships he went through, McCandless is portrayed as a friendly, sociable person despite the fact that he was a vagabond. Other than McCandless, there are even more individuals that have taken the risks to live in the wilderness such as, Jon Krakauer and Everett Ruess. All three of them had both similarities and differences between their own qualities as a person and their journey.

    Read More

  • The Success of Chris McCandless

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Into The Wild: Chris Mccandless

    582 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chris McCandless was someone who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. Because of this, he died sometime in August 1992. McCandless, who graduated college in 1990, spent the better part of two years traveling the country in preparation for his ultimate goal, surviving in the Alaskan Bush. Now, however, he is the main character in Into the Wild, where he merely represents overconfidence and ignorance. Chris McCandless was ignoble because he continuously ignored the advice given from others, and was too overzealous in achieving his goal, leaving him unprepared for the harsh conditions of the Alaskan Bush.

    Read More

  • Chris Mccandless In The Wild, By Chris Mccandless

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    In some part of everyone’s life, there originates a time where one starts to make decisions on their own. This point in someone’s life varies, but no matter what time it comes in your life there is always this realization that you have to become independent. Chris McCandless was someone who realized this, but unlike most people, he took this involvement to the extreme and it became something that he would not return home from. In college, McCandless was mostly separated from everyone. He didn’t have many friends, and was known by many as being a strange person. He was also brought up from a torn apart family. His father had a son besides him in a previous relationship. In Chris’s life, he was never really shown how to be independent. This is what urged him to take a trip to Alaska to survive on his own.

    Read More

  • Into the Wild: Chris McCandless is a Tragic Hero

    1654 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jon Krakauer, fascinated by a young man in April 1992 who hitchhiked to Alaska and lived alone in the wild for four months before his decomposed body was discovered, writes the story of Christopher McCandless, in his national bestseller: Into the Wild. McCandless was always a unique and intelligent boy who saw the world differently. Into the Wild explores all aspects of McCandless’s life in order to better understand the reason why a smart, social boy, from an upper class family would put himself in extraordinary peril by living off the land in the Alaskan Bush. McCandless represents the true tragic hero that Aristotle defined. Krakauer depicts McCandless as a tragic hero by detailing his unique and perhaps flawed views on society, his final demise in the Alaskan Bush, and his recognition of the truth, to reveal that pure happiness requires sharing it with others.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Into The Wild By Jon Mccandless

    1511 Words  | 4 Pages

    Each individual come to the point where they question the purpose of their life. In today’s century, most people find the pursuit of happiness through money and a successful career making those as the most important thing in their life. In the book of Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild, the protagonist in the story, Christopher Johnson McCandless, a smart young man who graduated from Emory University, who hated materialism in life and could not find happiness in the society where he exist. Believing that nature will provide him the truth, he pursues a journey to the wild in search of solitude in life. Wanting to prove that there are more life to live, he connected with the nature to find his true self. In achieving his journey, he depended on the

    Read More

  • Chris Mccandless Character Analysis

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Christopher Mccaandless Admirable Analysis

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Into the Wild

    1378 Words  | 3 Pages

    In April of 1992 a young man named Chris McCandless, from a prosperous and loving family, hitchhiked across the country to Alaska. He gave $25,000 of his savings to charity, left his car and nearly all of his possessions. He burned all the cash he had in his wallet, and created a new life. Four months later, his body was found in an abandoned bus. Jon Krakauer constructed a journalistic account of McCandless’s story. Bordering on obsession, Krakauer looks for the clues to the mystery that is Chris McCandless. What he finds is the intense pull of the wilderness on our imagination, the appeal of high-risk activities to young men. When McCandless's mistakes turn out to be fatal he is dismissed for his naiveté. He was said by some to have a death wish, but wanting to die and wanting to see what one is capable of are too very different things. I began to ask myself if Chris really wasn’t as crazy as some people thought. Then I realized it was quite possible that the reason people thought he was crazy was because he had died trying to fulfill his dream. If he had walked away from his adventure like Krakauer, people would have praised him rather than ridicule. So I asked the question, “How does Krakauer’s life parallel Chris McCandlesses?”

    Read More

  • Christopher McCandless: An Admirable Man

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1992, Christopher McCandless set off on an odyssey into the backcountry of Alaska, an adventure that had proved fatal. After McCandless's corpse was found, Jon Krakauer wrote an article on the story of Chris McCandless, which was released in the January 1993 issue of Outside magazine. The article had received a negative response; several readers criticized McCandless for being foolish and ill-prepared, and showed no sympathy or remorse for his death. McCandless has been referred to as a nut, a kook, and a fool. However, McCandless was not a nonsensical man. In 1996, Jon Krakauer's novel, Into the Wild, was published. The novel uncovers more detail of McCandless's story. Into the Wild rebuts the idea of McCandless being someone who is foolish, and speaks of the many occasions where McCandless has demonstrated great perseverance and determination. The novel also proves the intelligence of McCandless, and brings insight into McCandless's psyche. The following examples will illustrate how McCandless was not a fool, but someone to admire.

    Read More

  • The Legacy of Chris McCandless of Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Chris McCandless is NOT a Hero

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    Into the Wild, written by John Krakauer tells of a young man named Chris McCandless who 1deserted his college degree and all his worldly possessions in favor of a primitive transient life in the wilderness. Krakauer first told the story of Chris in an article in Outside Magazine, but went on to write a thorough book, which encompasses his life in the hopes to explain what caused him to venture off alone into the wild. McCandless’ story soon became a national phenomenon, and had many people questioning why a “young man from a well-to-do East Coast family [would] hitchhike to Alaska” (Krakauer i). Chris comes from an affluent household and has parents that strived to create a desirable life for him and his sister. As Chris grows up, he becomes more and more disturbed by society’s ideals and the control they have on everyday life. He made a point of spiting his parents and the lifestyle they lived. This sense of unhappiness continues to build until after Chris has graduated college and decided to leave everything behind for the Alaskan wilderness. Knowing very little about how to survive in the wild, Chris ventures off on his adventure in a state of naïveté. It is obvious that he possessed monumental potential that was wasted on romanticized ideals and a lack of wisdom. Christopher McCandless is a unique and talented young man, but his selfish and ultimately complacent attitude towards life and his successes led to his demise.

    Read More

  • Theme and Setting of Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    The settings in the story have impacts on the theme of young manhood. Chris leaves his family and decides to go on a journey to find a new life. Christopher felt affected in his family presence so he sends his final school report to his family: “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,55). He believes that this is a way to find his true identity and peace of mind, which he thought could be achieved by fleeing into the wild. Chris seemed to have a bad relationship with his parents, especially with his father because Chris found out that he had a child with his first wife when Chris was born. This fact is revealed by his dad’s old neighbour, “Walt’s split from his first wife, Marcia, was not a clean or amicable parting. Long after falling in love with Billie, long after she gave birth to Chris, Walt continued his relationship with Marcia in secret” (Krakauer121). Chris knew about his father’s affair with another woman and this made it easier for Chris to not care about what his family has to say ...

    Read More

  • Our Relationship With Nature Explored in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer explores the human fascination with the purpose of life and nature. Krakauer documents the life and death of Chris McCandless, a young man that embarked on an Odyssey in the Alaskan wilderness. Like many people, McCandless believed that he could give his life meaning by pursuing a relationship with nature. He also believed that rejecting human relationships, abandoning his materialistic ways, and purchasing a book about wildlife would strengthen his relationship with nature. However, after spending several months enduring the extreme conditions of the Alaskan wilderness, McCandless’ beliefs begin to work against him. He then accepts that he needs humans, cannot escape materialism, and can never fully understand how nature functions. Most importantly, he realizes that human relationships are more valuable than infinite solitude. McCandless’ gradual change of heart demonstrates that exploring the wilderness is a transformative experience. Krakauer uses the life and death of Chris McCandless to convey that humans need to explore nature in order to discover the meaning of life.

    Read More

More about Into The Wild Chris Mccandless Essay

Open Document