I believe Shaun Callarman whom focuses on Chris McCandless is quite harsh in saying Chris had no common sense and saying that he does not admire him for his courage when Chris McCandless was a brave, wise and intelligent man. He knew exactly what he was getting into when he started his journey on going to Alaska. I think that he wanted to explore the wild and experience a different life other than the one he had. I disagree with Callarman saying McCandless was bright and arrogant at the same time. He had no business going to Alaska but that was his tactic for getting away from society.
There was no other way this journey could have ended for McCandless except if he just stayed home from the beginning. Overall, he was amateurish and incompetent person that could not accomplish his dream, but did inspire endless people to follow their dreams and achieve nature tranquility. Rest in Peace Christopher
McCandless made a choice to go into the wild and leave everything behind to go his own way to find himself. Chris McCandless took an adventure into Alaska and walked miles through nature knowing he is risking his life in the middle of nowhere. Chris truly wanted to live in Alaska nature and explore the wilderness. Christ risked his life willingly going into the wild. Chris knowingly went into the wild unprepared and not even close to having everything he needed to go into the wild.
Chris McCandless was in his early 20’s, he was the kind of that guy that wanted to learn and experience life without all of the material things. He wanted to be independent from his parents and friends so Chris did something that would be insane for most of us humans but to him, it wasn’t. He went into the wild of Alaska for months, in fact, McCandless even thought he could make it out alive at the end of his journey. As a matter of fact, he was known as being a risk taker and enjoyed being out and about in the nature side of the world. Many would believe that Chris McCandless went into the wild to purposely kill himself; however, I myself believe that McCandless did not do it purposely.
Throughout the book, McCandless acted as if he knew he was not going to survive his travel plans to Alaska by separating himself from friendships and relationships. Before he started to make his way up north, McCandless sent two cards with a similar message that "it was great knowing you" and "this is the last you shall hear from me" (69). These messages make the readers question if McCandless knew he was going to go die or planned on dying in Alaska. Saying goodbye to somebody is never easy; however, a statement to encompass forever is difficult to use. People may wonder how long he planned on staying into the wild.
Chris McCandless was a independent person and he was trying to get away from civilization because he felt like he never fit into it. Krakauer quotes from Ken Sleights when he talks about Chris McCandless, “A lot of us are like that, I’m like that, Ed Abbey was like that, and it sounds like this McCandless kid was like that: We like companionship, see, but we can’t stand to be around people for very long. So we go get ourselves lost, come back for a while, then get the
McCandless states that “I now walk into the wild” Christopher McCandless quote. (n.d.). I can see why he said that quote because he was ready for what was coming next.I admire Chris McCandless is his passion and creativity. He had a goal and a passion to explore the wild. Chris fell in love with nature but in also with god.
McCandless displays success throughout the book Into the Wild. Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild, produced a statement for those who disagree with McCandless’s decisions: One of his last acts was to take a picture of himself, standing near the bus under the high Alaska sky... His face is…skeletal. But if he pitied himself in those last difficult hours… it’s not apparent from the photograph. He is smiling in the picture, and there is no mistaking the look in his eyes: Chris McCandless was at peace... (Krakauer 136). Even though Chris’s body image became immensely gaunt, one can see in the photo that he was happy--genuinely happy.
If someone has not suffered a similar inner turmoil, it would be easy for them to misunderstand his actions and assume that he was just an uneducated, crazy man. Chris McCandless despised the phoniness of the world around him and wanted to escape it by engaging in a, “climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual revolution” (pg. 112). These thoughts are similar to those experienced by people who struggle with depression. Chris McCandless felt that he was living in a world full of superficial beings whose only concern was what other people thought of them.
Christopher McCandless’s was a young wise man and stubborn guy that was intelligent he knew the right answers to respond which got himself out of things but also got himself into difficult situations that were not processed right. McCandless was raised in a upper middle class family in Annandale Virginia by parents Walt and Billie. He had eight siblings which one he was super close to named Carine and the rest were half siblings from his dads first marriage. Growing up Chris had a rough childhood with his parents problems and the affairs they had. McCandless would question himself why people would treat each other bad he would try to make a sense of the world.