In life some feel the need to prove something to others. That they are better, stronger, or even more intelligent. Whatever the case may be people will go through extreme measures to prove themselves. But who do we really need to prove anything to? Is it our parents? Friends? Enemies? Or is it even ourselves? Chris McCandless, deceased adventurer from “Into the Wild”, underwent many obstacles that seems highly ridiculous. Certain physical and mental challenges that could have prevented, Chris decided to do defying the chance of death or severe injury. But the real misunderstanding is who was Chris proving his manhood too? Coming from a comfortable family whose parents make a wealthy income, Chris McCandless had everything handed to him. For instance, In the beginning of the book it talked about how Chris was an intelligent student who strove for perfection and when he didn’t achieve the grade he wanted he was very hard on himself. But his mom would talk to teacher and make sure Chris got the grade he thought he should have earned. Another example was when Billie and Walt McCandless offered to pay for Chris’s law school. Highly offended, Chris declines the offer. I believe Chris was searching for something and thought …show more content…
Some of these situations could have been prevented yet he decided to do some sort of an “trial and error”. Whether it was kayaking through the colorado river or surviving under extreme weather conditions, McCandless made it his responsibility to beat the odds. So what and who was he proving that he could live within nature and survive? Simply that he is in fit condition and got lucky and cheated death a few times is an understatement. Chris simply conveys to the audience that he is more than a delusional backpacker who is going with the flow. Chris exemplified that he didn’t need basic necessities to blossom into the person he wanted to
Following the article “ Death of an Innocent Man”, written in Outside magazine, Jon Krakauer, an adventurous man himself, authored Into the Wild- a narrative regarding Chris McCandless. Twenty-four year old Chris McCandless embarked on what he saw as the adventure of his lifetime, and the opportunity for ultimate freedom- resulting in the end of his life. With his death, many criticized Chris saying he was a”kook”, and a fool for “entering the wild ill-prepared” (71). Krakauer however disagrees, in identifying himself with McCandless, he writes Into the Wild in order to divert readers from believing McCandless was crazy, vindicating Chris, and his reasoning, through personal encounters, background family history, and relativity to Krakauer’s
Chris wanted to live his life and find who he really is. He wasn’t becoming who he wanted to be. He was super smart, athletic, and went to a good college. His family had a lot of money and he did not care for money at all. He wanted his own life.
Chris McCandless may first be described as a rebel and his inclination to abstain from the family he was brought up with. Krakauer says that he 'believed that wealth was shameful, corrupting, and inherently evil '. Despite that, Chris always liked money. Chris was also a very independent person who had a strong relationship with nature. Chris was also the kind of kid to always get good grades, without even trying to.
He was a confused soul that had been lost for many years luckily on his journey Chris had found independence, and self-reliance he was able to create a new life for himself even if it was towards the end of the line, that life was filled with meaning, purpose, and, “the raw throb of existence” (Krakauer
When Chris wasn't treading in the wild, risking his life, he was busy leaving an unintentional and lasting mark on the people that he met without even knowing. At a lone bar in Carthage,
“Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer is the story of Chris McCandless’s life and journey. In 1992, this young man, Chris, from an average family in the East Coast decided to cut off contact with his family and give up all his possessions so that he could hitchhike into the Alaskan bush. A main reason many believe Chris went into the wilderness was because he was in search of his identity. From reading this book I have come up with my own opinion of what type of person he was. The conclusion I have reached about Chris is that he was a distant and ill-prepared person who had a very strong will.
He was reckless when it came to how his friends and family would react when he left because their emotions didn’t seem to matter to him when he made the decision to leave them. His narcissism, however, did not show solely through his recklessness with the feelings of others, but also through how unprepared he was. His stubbornness stopped him from accepting help, and his ignorance prevented him from realizing what he needed to do to survive. Chris’s decision to leave was his equivalent to Evel Knievel’s decision to try to jump over a box filled with rattlesnakes and lions. With that stunt, Knievel had put others at risk for the sake of his own personal goal: money and
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
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. One may ask what is courage.
The Alaskan Bush is one of the hardest places to survive without any assistance, supplies, skills, and little food. Jon Krakauer explains in his biography, Into The Wild, how Christopher McCandless ventured into the Alaskan Bush and ultimately perished due to lack of preparation and hubris. McCandless was an intelligent young man who made a few mistakes but overall Krakauer believed that McCandless was not an ignorant adrenalin junkie who had no respect for the land. Krakauer chose to write this biography because he too had the strong desire to discover and explore as he also ventured into the Alaskan Bush when he was a young man, but he survived unlike McCandless. Krakauer’s argument was convincing because he gives credible evidence that McCandless was not foolish like many critics say he was.
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.
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 rejected his father at first for being materialistic but the climax of the story is when Chris finds out that his father lived a double life as after the divorce of his first wife he continued seeing her while being together with Chris’s mother. This betrayal crushed Chris and as he saw things so black and white he could not pardon his father’s mistakes. “The deception committed by Walt made his “entire childhood seem like a fiction” (PG. 123). This trouble created a loss of identity and eventually a disconnect between him and his family. This rejection towards his father was centrally important to motivating Chris’s behavior in the next years and in the decision of going to Alaska after college.
Yes, he made some wrong decisions throughout his life, but who hasn't? Just like every other normal human McCandless wanted to get away and he actually did. Although he died along the way he was still able to experience a new journey most people dream of having. Being young makes one want to try out new things, according to the article, “Why the Teen Brain is Drawn to Risk,” it claims, “They may get lost in the details about specific risks and overly focused on possible rewards, while ignoring the overall gist of the problem, the ultimate consequences.” Which basically means that teens don't focus on the negative outcome, they think of the positive.
Chris Mccandless’ character portrays himself as an interesting character with his hidden passions and disinterest in social connections. Normally a person makes social connections to be apart of something. The human brain by instinct seeks human connection, and it by nature, it demands to be social . Chris went against his own genetic code to do what he wants and to prove to himself to his parents that his opinions matter just like their own. Chris’ love for the nature way of life makes him an unusual character in the face of others.