Wayne Westerberg was Chris’ boss when he worked in South Dakota. He ran a harvesting business going around South Dakota combining grain. Wayne was very appreciative and understanding of Chris and what kind of person he was. He did not think Chris was stupid or out of his mind for wanting to travel and eventually go to Alaska. Wayne really admired him. “You could tell right away he was intelligent… I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking.” (Krakauer 18) Wayne really tried to encourage Chris to accomplish his goals and live his life the way he wanted. Wayne, to this day, is still affected by the remarkable person that Chris McCandless was.
Where we’re from, who we know, and how our mental makeup is, is very important in our lives. It can be the deciding factor between life in prison and a life dedicated to giving back to others. In The Other Wes Moore, The lives of two young men are examined through three distinct lenses, how the role our environment, social capital (How we get ahead by helping each other) and how our mindset can dictate who we become later on in life. Both of these young men grew up in roughly the same environment, the ghettos of Baltimore, Maryland and the Bronx, New York, respectively.
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.
Chris McCandless: A Reckless Idiot Chris McCandless was a reckless idiot and there is no denying that basic truth. Chris McCandless was a man born into a middle class family. Chris had parents that loved him, a roof over his head, and food to eat. Despite all those riches he had, he threw them away. Chris was a very selfish man.
"I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going to Alaska with his Romantic silliness. He made a lot of mistakes based on ignorance. I don’t admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy."
Chris had a huge impact on everyone he knew, but he would not let them influence him or his decisions at all. He rebelled against his family because his father was too controlling. Later on, when any of his companions told him not to go to Alaska, or tried telling him to do anything that he did not want to, he would totally ignore them, and change the subject. As Krakauer writes in chapter 6, “McCandless…relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it. He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family.
He made a lot of mistakes based on arrogance. I don’t admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy,” shows that Shaun believes Chris had no common sense in his doing since leaving society for the wild. I agree with Callarman’s position of thinking “ he had no common sense” and that
According to Walt, there was a point where he was getting tired and wanted to turn around but, Chris wanted to keep going all the way to the top. It has been said that the reason high-risk activities attract young men is because it gives them the sensation and adrenaline rush they are looking for. If you can't tell Chris McCandless was one of these sensation-seekers. Ever since Chris was little he had shown much interest in nature and wanting to be independent, but that wasn't the only thing he showed interest in. Westerberg said that him and Chris "talked about books for hours...
I believe Shaun Callarman whom focuses on Chris McCandless is quite harsh in saying Chris had no common sense and saying that he does not admire him for his courage when Chris McCandless was a brave, wise and intelligent man. He knew exactly what he was getting into when he started his journey on going to Alaska. I think that he wanted to explore the wild and experience a different life other than the one he had. I disagree with Callarman saying McCandless was bright and arrogant at the same time. He had no business going to Alaska but that was his tactic for getting away from society.
There were many people he met who tried to talk Chris out of it but since it was just him he never really listened. Shaun Callarman is just one of many people who agree with my ideas of who Chris really was. Shaun says, “I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense,
Page 52. “Franz grew increasingly fond of McCandless. ‘God, he was a smart kid,’ the old man rasps in a barely audible voice.” This piece of information given by Ron Franz helps give background on Chris and provides some insight on how he affected people.
The upbringing of a child contains many factors, many of which correlate to where a child grows up. The people, culture, and experiences of someone’s childhood are the greatest determining factor for what kind of person they will become. So how does the nature and nurture of one’s upbringing impact the decisions that they make, and their life in general? Author Wes Moore explores this question in his memoir, The Other Wes Moore, as it relates to two lives in particular. Moore main purpose in this book is to explore the overarching impact that a collection of expectations and decisions, not always one’s own, can have on someone’s life.
In the movie Into the Wild by Sean Penn you see Chris’s life unfold into what i think was ignorant but to some extent i get why he wanted to run so hard “He didn’t want to be the person his parents wanted him to be, he most
Even some people thought that McCandless was mentally unstable that was not the case. To begin with, Chris McCandless’ self-reliance embodies him because of his need to live off nature. On his journey into the wild, Chris relied on himself and nature to survive. He was disciplined when it came to what he needed, and didn’t have to communicate with others all the time. In the
He made a lot of mistakes based on arrogance. I don’t admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy,” shows that Shaun believes Chris had no common sense in his doing for leaving society for the wild. I agree with Callarman’s position of thinking “ he had no common sense” and that he was “bright and Ignorant” because Chris thinks he did not have much to offer in his society, ditched all his possessions to take a trip into the Alaskan Wilderness and did not have much common sense or survival skills. Chris McCandless was very courageous for ditching all his possessions to take a trip in the wilderness.
“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell is a story about a man, Sanger Rainsford, whose ideals and overall character change throughout the story, specifically about hunting, due to his encounter with General Zaroff. At the beginning of the story Rainsford is a stuck up man. He could not care less about any other living things other than humans. He believes all living wildlife are expendable and only there for his pleasure of hunting. During the story Rainsford has to make many quick and overall difficult decisions during his encounters with the ocean, General Zaroff, and the island wilderness to survive, that change how he thinks about animals.