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Chris mccandless hero's journey
Unique characteristics of chris mccandless
Chris McCandless and his journey
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Into The Wild As Chris McCandless was embarking on his journey, people have labeled him as stupid, crazy, incompetent, but I disagree with that. Chris wasn't crazy, he did do crazy things, but that shouldn't be how he was known. Chris was intelligent; he had a college education. The people that Chris met along his journey had good things to say about him. Westerberg gave Alex a job, "He was the hardest worker I've ever seen. Didn't matter what it was, he'd do it..." (18). Alex was a hard-working kid who constantly tried proving to himself that he could do the impossible. Chris didn't like how people desperately tried to help him, however. "After an extended argument Burres also got McCandless to accept some long underwear and other warm clothing …show more content…
Ronald Franz was one who deeply admired Chris. Franz lost everything: his wife and son were killed in a drunk driving accident. He was extremely lonely. " 'He seemed extremely intelligent' Franz states..." (51). Franz enjoyed McCandless' company because the boy was intriguing to him. "Over the next few weeks McCandless and Franz spent a lot of time together" (51). Franz couldn't let go of the boy, " 'When I'm gone, my family will be finished, gone forever. So I asked Alex if I could adopt him, if he would be grandson' " (55). He desperately wanted to Alex to be a part of his …show more content…
"He was right in saying that the only certain happiness in life is to live for others" (169). He was ready to go home. Unfortunately, he came across death by eating potato seeds. "According to a paper published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association, livestock of 'depression, a slow staggering gait, rough coat, dull eyes with a staring look, emaciation, muscular incoordination, and nervousness. In addition, affected animals may become solitary and hard to handle, and may have difficulty eating and drinking' " (194). Chris knew he was dying. " 'DAY 100! MADE IT!' " " 'BUT IN WEAKEST CONDITION OF LIFE. DEATH LOOMS AS SERIOUS THREAT. TOO WEAK TO WALK OUT, HAVE LITERALLY BECOME TRAPPED IN THE WILD. - NO GAME' " (195). "'I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!" (199). Chris McCandless thought about life deeply and lived accordingly, mostly without harming others, that's not being crazy. However, many local people would have survived the conditions he was in if he had more
Chris believes that if he too the ticket from Wayne that would be a shortcut, an easy way out. Chris believes that the voyage is just as important as the destination. One example of this is on Page 67 Chapter 7 “Once Alex made his mind up about something, there was no changing it.” This quote shows Chris’s stubbornness and how he is determined to get to Alaska as he intended, the long way. Another quote showing that he lives to his own words, and wouldn’t take a shortcut is on Page 68 Chapter 7, when Chris sent a postcard to Wayne saying “April 18 Arrived in Whitefish this morning on a freight train. I am making good time. Today I will jump the border and turn north for Alaska. Give my regards to everyone.” TAKE CARE ,
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
In John Krakauer’s novel Into The Wild, the reader follows the life of a young man who, upon learning of his father’s infidelity and bigamy, seems to go off the deep end, isolating himself by traveling into the wild country of Alaska, unprepared for survival, where he died of starvation at 67 pounds.
“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, it’s what’s inside counts” This quote reminds people about how they should not judge other people from the outside but look deep into their true personalities. Looking from the appearance and how Chris lives, everyone would assume that Chris is a crazy, foolish person and does everything without thinking. If people try to know more about Chris, they would have different perspective. Chris is intelligent, determined, independent and follows what he believes. He went into the wilderness to escape from the society that tries to suppress him and look for the meaning of life.
Was Chris McCandless deranged? Was he delusional? Or was he a hero? Since Chris’ body was found in bus 142 in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, he has been called many things. Those who knew him believed that he wasn’t crazy; that his impulsive actions and aspirations to explore the world, were no more than the natural inclinations of a young and idealistic spirit. However, his desire to venture into the unknown with no source of human contact and nothing but a ten-pound bag of rice, is not considered normal behavior. Jon Kraukauer’s, Into The Wild, manifests how Chris McCandless’ antisocial demeanor, lack of remorse, and impulsive actions are directly relatable to behaviors associated with a sociopath.
Krakauer writes that McCandless was, “consuming fewer calories than he was burning” (188). The other possible sequence of events is that McCandless was poisoned through ingesting potato seeds that contained solanine, “a poison that occurs in plants of the nightshade family, which causes, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and lethargy in the short term, and adversely affects the heart rate and blood pressure when ingested over an extended period” (190). However, the later course of events is highly unlikely given that McCandless would have needed to consume an incredibly high count of said seeds. According to Krakauer, “…given the light weight of his pack when Gallien dropped him off, it is extremely unlikely that he carried more than a few grams of potato seeds…” (190). Over the years, more explanations have come up, but there is no still conclusive evidence to point how he actually died. McCandless’ body was found in the abandoned bus by Gordon Samel, an employee at an auto-body shop in Anchorage, on September 6, 1992, two and a half weeks after Christopher McCandless passed away. Along with finding McCandless’ body, a couple from Anchorage, Alaska found a “disquieting note” taped to the door of the bus (12). The note read, “S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?”
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
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."
Some of the views on the death of Chris McCandless are harsh and some people call him insane or psychotic, while others think the exact opposite and think that Chris just might be a legend. “When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn’t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic and inconsiderate” (Christian). Considering that Chris was ill prepared, Peter Christian thinks that what Chris did wasn’t the smartest thing to do and this is why he thinks Chris’s choice to venture into the Alaskan wilderness was dumb. In addition, Craig Medred also happens to think Chris might have been insane. “Almost every p...
McCandless, an intelligent child to say the least, was frustrated with orders by anyone. He wanted to do things his way or no way and he does this throughout his life. Whether it was getting an F in physics because he refused to write lab reports a certain way (an F was something that was never on McCandless report card) or not listening to advice from his parents to the extreme of leaving society to go into the wilderness, McCandless definitely was not a follower. His parents were told by one of his teachers at an early age that Chris "marched to the beat of his own drummer". Chris never lost his ability to do things the way he wanted and when he wanted to do them. After receiving his diploma from Emory in 1990 he set off on a two-year escapade that would eventually end his life but in my opinion, if Chris could start over he would probably not do things much differently. I think he would still donate his $25,000 to an organization, leave his car in the woods, burn the remainder of his money, and hitch-hiked across the United States. The only thing he might do differently is finding a way not to starve to death at the end of the novel.
Chris McCandless was like any other human being. McCandless wanted to travel around the world and experience new things. Many of us can learn from being surrounded in nature and that is exactly what Chris was trying to accomplish and just like many of us he made a few mistakes.
McCandless is a very independent person, a person with high hopes, that has a lot of courage, and is a very brave man for going out by himself in the wild of Alaska of the Stampede Trail. Chris McCandless had a lot of courage on going to Alaska by himself at a young age. While Chris was at any city or anybody’s house, he was ready to go to Alaska. But while he was there, close to the end of his life, he left a note on the back of the bus saying, “S.O.S I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here i am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of god, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return by evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?” Chris McCandless was by himself at the time. He shows his courage because while by himself, he went back out even though he was near death. He went out for food. Food for his health. That shows how much courage he had for his trip. Chris McCandless encouraged many young men to ...
...ng a fire, and purifying water. He may not have mastered the skills, but he was experienced enough to get by. In order to see that Chris was prepared, you have to look past the gear that he packed. You have to go through his mental process and you also have to look at what he learned in order to live off the land. Had he not been prepared, he would have most likely died after he ran out of rice.
The cause of death was starvation by the consumption of expired wild potato seeds. At a glance, critics commented McCandless a naive individual who wandered through dangerous places for pure excitement. This assumption became debatable whether or not Chris McCandless was indifferent from other adventurers like Everett Ruess or Gene Rosellini. Based on the journal McCandless recorded of his adventure, there are numerous evidence that makes him unique from others. His original motive that drove him to leave home was the feud between McCandless and his abusive father whom McCandless was not proud of after the discovery of the double-family relationship. McCandless was not acceptable of his parent’s future plans sought for him, leading to the creation of Alex Supertramp, a man reincarnated to seek a new society. Chris McCandless was not simply an adventurer looking for truth; he was a trekking
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.