Chris McCandless, the main character of Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, leaves his family, identity, money and much more to pursue his dream of living in the wild. But why does he do it? Chris is searching for his true self. Although very smart Chris grew up with a difficult childhood. He wants to escape his past, leave his family and start something new. His numerous tests of both his physical and mental abilities are proof of his determination. Simplifying and doing what he wants was what he knew he had to do to make the most out of his life.
Chris McCandless was a young man who left society behind entirely to fulfill his dream of the Alaskan adventure and escape the reality of life. After burning the last of his money and changing his name to Alexander Supertramp, McCandless migrated throughout the states and unfortunately was immensely unprepared for his journey; he only carried a ten-pound bag of rice, a small rifle, and a tattered road map. Consequently, McCandless dies due to his overconfidence and unpreparedness, which in turn makes everyone curious as to why he embarked on a journey while being so vulnerable. Arguably, Chris McCandless was a noble idealist who wanted abandonment from the falsehood of society and a feel of what nature could give.
Throughout the course of Jon Krakauer’s Into The Wild the reader can see that time and time again Chris McCandless is unprepared for what lies ahead of him, which is why he is not a noble man, nor should his journey be considered noble. While it is true that McCandless had gone on adventures before, nothing had prepared him for the bitter cold climate and the lack of food he had in Alaska. McCandless was not prepared physically or mentally and he did not bring anywhere near enough supplies for someone planning to spend the summer in the harsh environment of Alaska. While it wasn’t foolish for Chris to go out and try to find happiness for himself, it was foolish of him to have been unprepared to begin a difficult adventure in Alaska. Chris McCandless
Chris McCandless abandoned the modern world and chose the wild because he believed that he could improve himself through living in the wild, and found the true happiness of the life. McCandless abandoned his wealthy family because of his complicated relationship with his father, and he was ashamed with his father’s adultery. Therefore, McCandless believed that human relationship was not the only thing that forms happiness, instead a man’s connection with the nature brings joy as well. He also believed the habitual lifestyle was not what people were meant to do, and people shouldn't have more possessions than what they need. For this reason, McCandless traveled with little effects. In addition, McCandless thought he could found the solution to his frustration with the adultery of his father, and found the true happiness for his life through escaping into the wild.
In Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, he focuses on one main person, Chris McCandless. Krakauer explains most of Chris's life and even, at times, puts his own input into the pages of this book. Chris McCandless (a.k.a Alexander Supertramp) was from Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. Chris had a father, Walt McCandless, a mother, Billie Mccandless, and a younger sister, Carine. Chris's obsession with nature and high-risk activities was believed to start when "Walt took Billie and his children from both marriages to climb Longs Peak in Colorado."
Into the Wild Essay Most people go into the wilderness to go camping for a week or less than a week, then leave. Some stay for more than a week. Chris McCandless was in the wild for at least one hundred days. “ I’ve decided to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and the beauty of it is too good to pass up.”(pg.92)
An idea that played a big role throughout the book Into The Wild is the subtle line between hubris (excessive pride or self confidence) and deliberately living one’s life on the edge. Several Alaskans state that Chris McCandless brought about his own demise by going into the wild without sufficient respect for the wilderness. Others believe that Chris understood the risks he took and that he did so deliberately because he wished to push himself to the limits of his ability. The question would be which one is correct. The answer could be simple, and look for signs of hubris or deliberate risk, but depending on the parts of the book one looks at, one could say chris had a little bit of both.
Into The Wild was a tremendous story which Shaun Callarman did not have many positive things to say about Chris McCandless, the main character. He went on this adventure to find out what life is all about in his own eyes. He wanted to see how different living in the wild really was compared to society because he was not satisfied with his living arrangements and household. Shaun’s quote says that he thinks “Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his Romantic silliness.
Into the Wild Essay In 1992, 24 year old Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions and decided to hitchhike to Alaska and invent a new life for himself. Chris had just finished college and many thought he was going to further his education but instead he took a fatal trip into the wild. There are many questions still unanswered to why he felt he needed to go on this trip and people will never know the real reason why Chris McCandless hitchhiked to Alaska by himself with insufficient equipment.
A common thought among adolescents is the dream to finally leave home and discover who they are; I certainly share this dream. Though the concept is common, the reasons are unique; The differences in character and circumstances define who a person is. What may appear reasonable to some could very well be completely irrational to another. The story of Chris McCandless as reported by Jon Krakauer in the biographic novel Into the Wild is no exception. From the events in his childhood to the conflict with his father, we can see that Chris McCandless, a young man still discovering himself, became disillusioned with the structure of society and desired nothing more than to “no longer be poisoned by civilization” (163). Although McCandless had an adventurous, independent nature, it was his darker past, the conflict with his family, that influenced him to seek refuge in the wild.
I agree with the author that Chris McCandless wasn’t crazy for going out into the wild. He wasn’t a loner; he chose to be on his own. But Chris could easily make friends. He had the right to travel. All he was trying to do was get away from the corrupt world.
Into the wild, is a book by Jon Krakauer that later got turned into a film by Sean Penn, it follows the life of Christopher McCandless, who graduated from Emory University as a top student and athlete with wealthy pushing parents. Instead of continuing his life as a working man of society and taking his offers at top law schools, he decides to ultimately completely disconnect himself from society and instead tries to find his own meaning of life in the wild. Shaun Callarman says “ I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time.” and i really agree with him on that because
Into The Wild was a tremendous story which Shaun Callarman did not have many positive things to say about Chris McCandless, the main character. He went on this adventure to find out what life is all about in his own eyes. He wanted to see how different living in the wild really was compared to society because he was not satisfied with his living arrangements and household. Shaun’s quote says that he thinks “Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his Romantic silliness.
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.
In the book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless had many decisions to leave his old life behind and start over. Chris’ decision to leave was justified for the following reasons. When he suddenly disappeared, it made it easier for him to let go of his past and focus on what he wants to do in the future. McCandless could make all his own decisions, nobody had a chance to tell him that he could not leave and certainly did not allow anyone to find out where he was going. Finally he didn’t agree to social norms.