Chris Mccandless In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

In Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless completely abandons the society in which he resides and goes off the grid. More specifically, he leaves his family, belongings, and societal expectations behind to pursue his purpose in life: head towards Alaska. After the death of McCandless, Krakauer delves into people’s opinions on his voyage; Many criticize what he did, saying that he was arrogant as he went into the wild completely unprepared. However, others praise McCandless’s courage and respect what he did. Although many believe that Chris appears to be an arrogant narcissist, he truly renders an admirable hero, because he went on a risky journey into the unknown with few resources to escape the oppression he faced – something many

Many people may believe that Chris was dramatic in regards to abandoning his family; however, he was in reality treated very poorly: “On the days we did not pick up signals of slamming doors and elevated voices fast enough, Chris and I were damned to bear the brunt of our parents’ latest battle” (The Wild Truth). Both Carine and Chris beared the burden of having to listen to their parents’ abusive fights. More specifically, Billie McCandless even deemed Chris a scapegoat, blaming the abuse she endured on him: “ ‘I’m sorry, kids, but when I got pregnant with Chris, I got stuck with your father’”(The Wild Truth). Not only did Chris have to live through this abuse, but he had to live with this false guilt that he was the reason for this abuse. Clearly, the McCandless home did not possess very nurturing or supportive qualities, but rather proved to be quite dangerous. Many people who face situations similar to this may fear escaping. However, Chris, obtaining many hero-like characteristics, removed himself from this cruel environment. Additionally, it was clear that McCandless did not find joy in conforming to societal expectations: “The meaning he wrested from existence lay beyond the comfortable path: McCandless distrusted the value of things that came easily” (Krakauer 184). Evidently, McCandless had his mind set– he knew that his purpose in life strayed away from this conformist society. Similarly, many people know what they want to do with their life. However, these people differ from McCandless immensely as these people often never end up pursuing their dreams due to the fear of straying from the conformist society. Chris McCandless renders an admirable hero, because he acquired the courage, which many people lack, to both escape his oppressive household as well as pursue his purpose in