Review Of Chris Mccandless 'Life On The Road'

McKenna Vargas

Mr. Cagley

ERWC-Period 3

08 December 2015

Module 4: Life on the Road

In the biographical book, Into the Wild the author, Jon Krakauer, reveals the journey of the late Chris McCandless. McCandless chose to leave his privileged life for a much more rugged life in the Denali Borough of Alaska. McCandless’s ill-preparedness led to his journey’s end after only 113 days resulting in death. McCandless’s story begs the question, Is life on the road suited for everyone? As shown in Into the Wild, life on the road is tough and takes a special type of person, a determined and dedicated person; therefore life on the road is suited for anyone willing to take the risks in order to survive if they feel that life on the road would be the

Life on the road comes with freedom, self reliance and of course an opportunity to meet new people and create new memories. McCandless left his structured life in order to create a life that had no rules and no responsibilities. McCandless’s ultimate way of gaining freedom was by creating the persona of Alex Supertramp. The one way Chris left he could completely detach himself for his life as Chris was to no longer be Chris. By creating Alex, Chris released all of his ties to his old life giving him the ultimate freedom he wanted. Like Chris many people yearn for freedom that life on the road would provide. Additionally, life on the road lends itself to a self reliant life. Chris was able to get away from the “impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it” (Krakauer 55) when he went to Alaska. “He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family” (Krakauer 55) and even when he arrived and met new people he left before he became too attached to them, for fear of getting hurt. Many long to be self reliant but are hindered by the overwhelming amount of love and people who are around to provide for them. This overwhelming amount of help is not provided in the wild so for those looking to be independent the wilderness provides all the means necessary to do so. Lastly the road provides an opportunity to mean new

It takes a determined person who is willing to risk it all at the cost of adventure. Chris McCandless was this type of person, despite his lack of preparation. “Chris was fearless...He didn’t think the odds applied to him” (Krakauer 109) Chris stayed true to his initial goal and “didn’t think twice about risking his own life” (Krakauer 128) as long as it meant that he would be happy. “[Chris] was hungry to learn about things,” (Krakauer 67) and if he had educated himself a bit more before he set off on his journey it is possible that he would still be alive; however, Chris decided to live out his beliefs as soon as he was compelled to and knowing what was at stake continued to follow through with his plan. McCandless is a perfect example for a person who may decided that life on the road is for them. McCandless had the right attitude on the risk necessary to leave it all behind while also exemplifying that with the proper prior knowledge the journey may come to a fatal