Have you ever been so confident that you took a risk that might have not been a good idea? In the nonfiction book Into The Wild, Jon Krakauer describes the life of Chris McCandless and the journeys he went on. Chris McCandless was an intelligent guy who would rather have been living and surviving in the woods somewhere rather than in a nice suburban house. He found peace and challenge in living in the wild which made it enjoyable for Chris. Chris McCandless was guilty of hubris. Chris McCandless has been hubris mostly his whole life. Chris McCandless was good at mostly everything he did in life which led him to be overly confident even for himself. Chris being very smart, stubborn and in good physical shape made it easy for him to go off …show more content…
Jon Krakauer described many of Chris' trips while he was in highschool and college. He describes how Chris was set on anything he did and no one could talk him out of it because he was confident in all of his adventures, school work, and life in general. The author wrote “”Chris was almost good at everything he ever tried,” Walt reflects, “which made him supremely overconfident”. This shows that Chris was very much guilty of hubris when it came to things, especially his adventures. When he was traveling through Texas and New Mexico he got stuck in the Mojave desert. He wasn't prepared and suffered severe dehydration but he still made it out which boosts his ego making him hubris. Jon Krakauer portrayed how Alex was living before his big trip to explore Alaska. Alex was working many tedious jobs and settled down a bit with Westerberg. When he decided to leave, Westerberg asked him to stay a little longer but McCandless made up his mind and refused. Krakauer wrote about a letter Alex had written to Westerberg saying, “If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again, I want you to know you’re a great man. I now walk into the wild”. This shows that even though Chris knew that his adventure could've been dangerous or even fatal he still had confidence that he could do it with the lack of supplies and tools that he had. Unfortunately Chris’s act of being hubris had led to the end …show more content…
He was not overly confident but passionate about living his way of life. However, Chris was in fact guilty of being hubris. Many times while hitchhiking people have told him to be more prepared with food and weapons/tools or he wouldn't survive but he didn't listen and said he'd be fine. Gallien, talking to Alex had said “ “I said the hunting wasn’t easy where he was going, that he could go for days without killing any game. When that didn’t work, I tried to scare him with bear stories. I told him that a twenty-two probably wouldn’t do anything to a grizzly except make him mad. Alex didn’t seem too worried” ”. This shows that Chris was guilty of being hubris because he was really confident that he could survive on a 10-pound bag of rice and a .22 caliber that would do nothing to a big animal but make it mad. After surviving harsh conditions in his explorations before he became too confident and always thought he'd be fine with what he thought would help him survive. Although Chris was really passionate about his way of living he was too confident for his own good. Instead of listening to the people who tried to help him he'd brush them off because he thought he didn't need help and knew everything he needed to
With all the information gathered, I believe that Chris made a mistake of going out into the Alaskan wilderness because he lacked supplies, didn't have enough knowledge of our natural survival, and he didn't have a map. One of the largest reasons Chris’s adventure turned fatal was because he lacked supplies like food. Hence
He liked having a challenge and was why he decided to start his journey towards Alaska with nothing but a backpack. In the documentary, Chris’s sisters say how their parents used to take them out into the wilderness, like going hiking, and they explained how they always felt more at peace because there was less fighting going on between their parents. I think Chris grew a relationship with the wilderness because it was his safe space, a space where he knew things were going to be okay. The novel says, “Chris was fearless even when he was little. He didn’t believe the odds applied to him.
Chris moved out of his apartment in Atlanta, Georgia and hit the road, leaving his life behind to start a more ominous and adventurous one. The author wrote, “Five weeks earlier he’d loaded all his belongings into his little car and headed west without an itinerary,” (Krakauer 22). This shows that Chris went with the flow when he left. He traveled to different locations based on instinct and intuition. Chris took a huge risk by packing his stuff and traveling west because, if anything, he knew that danger was the one thing on his itinerary and could not be avoided.
Chris McCandless running away into the wild was very selfish and self-centered because he didn’t just leave his old life, he left his caring family, friends, and even gave up a hard earned scholarship, which eventually led to his death. Because of these actions this verified the fact that Chris McCandless purposely cut himself off from civilization in a journey to find himself, In doing so, he made a big mistake of never completely clarifying his whereabouts to others, preventing them from knowing where he was while he adventures alone in Alaska. Some also see this as a strange way of suicide, based on the death note he had written, “If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again I want you to know you’re a great man. I now walk into the wild.
He was every headstrong, he didn’t like listing towards other people rather than himself or even considerate to other people's opinions. Chris was trying to pursue happiness which leads him towards this death by lack of supplies and lack of this understanding of his surroundings. Even though Chris did some things that are controversial to the readers. Chris inspires people to find their happiness, but many believe that he didn’t achieve it.
Five weeks earlier he’d loaded all his belongings into his little car and headed west without an itinerary. The trip was to be an odyssey in the fullest sense of the word, an epic journey that would change everything.” (22). This quote demonstrates to us that Chris had planned out his trip to an extent but wanted the wild to guide him. This way he could find what he truly needed to find which was himself and
Chris set out on this trip as a way to run away from his family and find out who he was, and in doing so ended up in Alaska alone. Many people along the way tried to join him or help him, but he rejected them all because he felt he had to go upon this trip alone. However, after some time in Alaska had passed, Chris wrote in his journal “HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED.” After writing this, Chris came to the sudden realization that maybe he made the wrong choice coming out “Into the Wild” alone. Just because he was regretful about his decision does not mean that it was a flaw in his nature and him coming alone was not the reason for his demise.
Chris only had a backpack with a few books, basic clothes, personal care items, and some other camping supplies. He also had a .22 caliber rifle with 400 rounds of ammunition. Chris 's intention was to live off the land as much as possible. He even Gallien, who was the person who gave him a ride to the Stampede trail a few things "Alex insisted on giving Gallien his watch, his comb, and what he said was all his money: eighty-five cents in loose change." (Krakauer 6)
He wanted to go in there without really anything so that he can make things that were in the nature. “Chris didn’t think twice about risking his own life…”(Carine McCandless 128). I absolutely think that this quote about Chris is very true because he was so into finding new adventures to take, to enjoy and be happy with
As Callarman stated, “he (Chris) had no common sense.” What is the definition of common sense that Callarman is arguing against? Perhaps Callarman believed that Chris lacked the ability to perceive, understand, and judge a topic, issue, or subject. Evidence found in Chris’s journal, acquaintance 's accounts, and the preparation taken all conflict heavily with Callarman’s statement. Perhaps the most critical piece of evidence suggesting that Chris was not actually crazy, but was actually trying to prepare for the expedition can be found in an account by Gaylord Stuckey.
People believed that he ate potato seeds that were possibly poisonous (Hedysarum Alpinum) due to it being a resource around and he was starving. Chris wouldn’t have known they were poisonous but he most likely wouldn’t have eaten them if he would have accepting money, food, or have been better prepared. They think the seeds cause his stomach to weaken then eventually his body weakened, at one point he was too weak to leave the bus to try to go find food. If Chris would have saved some of the $24,000 or kept his map he would have had a better chance of
He made a lot of mistakes based on arrogance. I don’t admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy,” shows that Shaun believes Chris had no common sense in his doing since leaving society for the wild. I agree with Callarman’s position of thinking “ he had no common sense” and that
There were many people he met who tried to talk Chris out of it but since it was just him he never really listened. Shaun Callarman is just one of many people who agree with my ideas of who Chris really was. Shaun says, “I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense,
Chris displayed his arrogance all throughout his journey. His arrogance from the start was that he didn’t rely on Human materials. Humankind may not make things perfect every time but they make things because they need them. So Chris was being very arrogant by not using the things created just for his purpose by thinking he could do everything on his own and in the end that was what got him killed. But by the same standard anyone can understand Chris’s thinking.
“Really, I think he was just plain crazy,” I do agree with Callarman because I think Chris was a little crazy for doing these actions. He was a very courageous for doing this because not many people would take a random trip to the wilderness because people would rather be in