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 is a visionary. McCandless has an inner call that visualizes himself doing something bigger and much higher than himself. McCandless is willing to undergo a complete life change going from one end of the spectrum to the complete opposite side just because he has this vision. That alone is considered incredibly heroic. He's chasing his vision, his dream, and he's willing to risk it all to reach it.
Chris McCandless was always being judged by his father. His father was never satisfied with what Chris would accomplish.
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.
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.
In every person, there is a desire to see what the world has to offer; that is what Chris McCandless had. After attending college and receiving a bachelor’s degree, Chris abandoned his family and possessions in order to search and see what "God has placed around us to discover" (57). Jon Krakauer explains his story in the nonfiction book "Into the Wild" by following his journal and interviewing people whom he met along the way. McCandless tried to keep from forming relationships with many people and his family, besides his sister; therefore, he clearly exhibits introvert tendencies. Before McCandless passes away in an old 'Magic Bus', he realizes how happiness works.
What really drove Chris McCandless into the wild? I believe the top three of the countless reasons that drove McCandless into the wild was the emotional damage from his parents, rebellion of the youth & risk taking tendencies, and his hubris and detestation against authority and/or someone telling him what to do. Some may believe that Chris McCandless went into the wild because of his literary heroes Leo Tolstoy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau , and Jack London but the real reason he left everything was because of those reasons. In this essay I will elaborate on why I believe those are the reasons that drove McCandless into the wild. The first reason that I believe drove McCandless into the wild was the emotional damage from his parents.
In the novel Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, many people thought that Chris McCandless was crazy for what he had done. Callarman's statement states that “McCandless was bright and ignorant” Long, C. (n.d.). I disagree with this quote. I believe that he did it because he didn't want to be bossed around, nor he didn't want to be his dad's puppet. He wanted to experience many new adventures outside of society.
Into the wild, a book by Jon Krakauer and a film by Sean Penn, features the journey of Christopher McCandless, the son of wealthy parents who graduates from Emory University as a top student and athlete. However, instead of embarking on a prestigious and profitable career, he chooses to give his savings to charity, rid himself of his possessions, and set out on a journey to the Alaskan wilderness. Shaun Callarman’s argument had a good point. " One should always be prepared to go into the wild ". McCandless made a choice to go into the wild and leave everything behind to go his own way to find himself.
In the beginning, McCandless starts his adventure by cutting himself off from all the human connections he had. He severs all ties from his family, including his sister which whom he was previously very close to. He burns his social security card, changes his name, and decides to travel across the country. Throughout his journey, Christopher often accounts for his parent’s wrongdoings for the reasons why he wanted to run away to Alaska. He subsists with a minimalist lifestyle and is disappointed in his parents’ behaviors and their materialism.