Comparing The Risks Of Chris Mccandless And Jon Krakauer

Life on the road is an idealistic way to escape from societal problems. There is no denying that it grants individuals satisfaction by allowing them to fulfill their goals, as well as providing immense freedom and control over one’s life; however, it is a fundamentally illogical path to take due to nature’s malevolence. In Into The Wild, Krakauer writes a biography about a young man named Chris McCandless, in which he illustrates the similarities between himself and McCandless’s overly ambitious journey to accomplish feats in the wilderness. Coinciding with their similarities, they also faced an oppressive father figure at home, which lead the both of them to believe that their journey will provide them an answer to their problems at home. McCandless planned to survive in Alaska by living off the land while Krakauer wanted to be the first one to climb the Devil’s Thumb. What happened instead was that McCandless died at an early age, whilst Krakauer barely made it to tell the tale; proving nothing of value came from their journeys. While life on the road can offer solace to individuals who have struggled in their lives, it is unfathomable to think that the wilderness will offer them any embrace to their ambitions; therefore it should not be pursued as it leads to family issues and ignorant behavior.

Into The Wild portrays a man who went on a fatal unforgettable journey through the alaska wilderness. Chris McCandless was a man with great courage and the ability to live on his own made him more of a hero going on his fatal journey. Many would say he was foolish or not thinking right, but that is not the case. The case here is simply a man with courage wanting to fulfill is beliefs through his journey.

McCandless was inspired to take the risks he took in various journeys because of wanting to go against what his parents wanted him to do and prove that materialistic belongings that society believes we need to survive aren’t needed to live. He was seeking his true self, the true Chris McCandless and show how independent he could be.

Jon Krakauer has a high amount of respect for Christopher J. McCandless; not only because they have many similarities, but because McCandless searched deep for the meaning of life and did as he pleased. In the book, “Into The Wild,” Krakauer not only tells the story of McCandless, but also of his own life, and how he has been shaped into his own.

Even though Christopher McCandless was only an adventurous young man trying to chase his dreams, that still does not account for all the careless mistakes he made in the process. His incompetence did not allow him to last even a mere six months in the destination in which he had desired to live in. His inability to take one’s advice left him with no clue as to what to do next. It was like he was living in the dark. Also, his unpreparedness reached its magnitude when he died of starvation in 1992. If he had taken the time to appreciate the simple inventions of today- like clothing, weapons and shelter, he may have been able to survive for a longer time. However, he deliberately ignored society’s progress of making life easier through different

Here is a quote from the book in which Krakauer demonstrates his personal opinion of McCandless and uses his own personal past actions he made as a young man to help show the connection between his younger self and Chris and why he has these opinions about Chris. This quote shows that Krakauer believes based on his own experience that Chris did not want to die and was not on a suicide mission. Along with this opinion proven throughout the book through observations and personal experiences Krakauer continues to be a presence and incorporates other opinions and factual things to disprove the people who are against McCandless and prove what he thinks is right. He disproves the thought that Chris might have been on a suicide mission. He disproves

Christopher McCandless, the protagonist of the novel and film Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, is not your average guy. Driven by his minimalist ideals and hate for society, he challenged the status quo and embarked on a journey that eventually lead to his unforeseen demise. A tragic hero, defined by esteemed writer, Arthur Miller, is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on tragedy. Christopher McCandless fulfills the role of Miller’s tragic hero due to the fact that his tragic flaw of minimalism and aversion towards society had lead him to his death.

Christopher McCandless left presuming to leave his old life behind, change his name, make a new life for himself and live off the wild. Chris gave everything he owned away, leaving himself with nothing but a dream to go to Alaska. His remembrance of his past has left him with a deep feeling of being unwanted by his parents past and present. From his parents arguing about little things to going on his first road trip to where he grew up in California and learning about how his dad was cheating with his mom and had a son with his other wife, it really disturbed him giving him very mixed feelings. This ultimately lead to him wanting a new life away from his past. Krakauer uses the other people’s lives as examples of other people who did nearly

Christopher McCandless, a 29-year-old dreamer, went on the journey of a lifetime to involve himself with nature and being truly independent. He had lived a life of privilege, made amazing grades in school, and even went to school at Emory College, getting degrees in both history and anthropology. Even though he seemed to have everything good going for him, it’s not the life he wanted. McCandless decides after law school to go deep into the “wild”, with no map, no resources. All he kept was a small journal and camera in which he captured and recorded all of his experiences in, allowing people for the rest of time to read and learn about his journey in his book titled Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer. This impulsive decision that McCandless made would soon cost him his life, and most people would see him as being crazy for it. A man named Shaun Callarman, for example, believed that he “ had no Common sense. . . he was just plain crazy.” I disagree with this statement, however, and believe that Christopher had a very transcendentalist view on life,agreeing with most all of the great Henry David Thoreau and his ideals, but just made a few careless mistakes that would have been the difference between life and death.

“Chris was fearless…He didn’t think the odds applied to him. We were always trying to pull him back from the edge,” was how Walt McCandless described his ambiguous son before he abandoned everything his father had given him and left for a fresh nomadic life (qtd. in Krakauer 109). In 1990, a young man by the name of Chris McCandless graduated, with honors, from Emory University. However, Chris was not the typical college student, for he shied away from social norms that encompass materialism, vanity, dependency and government influence. After graduation, he proceeded to give away twenty-four thousand dollars’ worth of savings to charity, abandon his car and possessions, change his name, and invent

Krakauer justifies the actions of the young Chris McCandless, while exploring the many attributes and qualities that much of the audience overlooks in their evaluation of him and his journey into the Alaskan bush. He recognizes in writing the story of Chris McCandless that a majority of society already has a negative perception of McCandless, one built from misinformation and perhaps even fear. As best summarized by Romain Dial at the end of the account, “And I’m sure there are plenty of Alaskans who had a lot in common with McCandless... Which is why they’re so hard on him. Maybe McCandless reminded them too much of their former selves.” (186) Whether or not that remains true is unknown, but what is known is that Chris was a young soul in

Impartiality can be defined as “not partial or biased; fair; just” (Dictionary.com). When biographers tell someone else’s story, they often struggle to maintain impartiality. A biography will rarely be, if ever, a collection of truths in its entirety with no mention of opinion. A biographer can simply not remain completely neutral. Like many others before him and many following as well, Jon Krakauer clearly fails to hit the mark of impartiality.

Christopher McCandless undergoes many discomforts, risks, and sacrifices as he tramps around the continent. Although the protagonist enthusiastically justifies the vagabond lifestyle that ultimately kills him, his remarkable escapade, as told by Jon Krakauer’s book Into the Wild, is both cautionary and inspirational.

Robert Frost once said, “Freedom lies in being bold.” Being bold is when you risk something, your physical danger, embarrassment, or reputation for others. Bold actions are worth the risk because you can be called a hero and people may benefit with success. People take bold actions everyday, and people benefit with success by taking bold actions.

In the end, we only regret the chances we do not take. So be risky because it would be better to look back and say ‘’I cannot believe I did that.’’ Instead, of ‘’ I cannot believe I had the chances to do that, but I did not do it.’’ I think it would be better to take risk and perhaps make various mistakes rather than remain cautious and risk nothing, like a frog on a log. If I was hunting and seen this one deer, I would take a shot even if I thought I would miss. If I was hunting that deer, and did not even attempt to shot it, I would have a conscience. First, taking risk as a child would help children when they get older with future references. Second, by not trying, I will never know if I have the talent to be a doctor, veterinarian, or an entrepreneur without taking risk. Last, when taking risks I will teach myself to succeed, taking risk opens people up to opportunities people would not otherwise have. As can