As the fourth section progresses we are introduced to a variety of characteristics that define a rebel. My personal take was that you know you are truly rebel when you cannot be easily defined by stereotypes of a rebel. In addition, a rebellious person may rebel against multiple ideals but in rebelling against those ideals they support different ideals. Chris McCandless is a paragon of a rebel seen in his rebellion against societal norms but also his rebellion against characteristics of individuals that rebel against societal norms.
McCandless based many of his actions on things he read by his role models. He developed an ideal society on the teachings of authors like Estwick Evans. Estwick Evans says, “I wished to acquire the...virtues of savage life; to divest myself of the...imperfections of civilization...and to find...more correct views of human nature” (Krakauer 157). McCandless, therefore, rebels against society in order to enjoy the savage life. Chris
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He rebelled against the typical ways individuals who go into the wild behaved. According to Stuckey, “Alex was clean-shaven...and I could tell by the language he used that he was a real sharp fella. He wasn’t what you’d call a typical hitchhiker”(Krakauer 158-159). Chris rebelled against typical adult behavior seen in how he did not cuss or use a lot of slang that was prominent at that time. He rebelled against dependency which is the primary reason he tried to avoid accepting help that unless it what absolutely necessary. This rebellion also transcends as to why he rebelled against his parents because he did not want to live in the secure lifestyle they had developed.
Essentially, a rebel is someone like Chris McCandless. An individual who is willing to go against the usual while still not entirely behaving in a manner that is best associated with going against the usual. He exercised a mentality of being untouchable seen in the way he pushes the limits of his