Analysis Of Chris Mccandless In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

Chris McCandless was a very unique individual. In Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, he tries his best to make sense of McCandless’ journey to the Alaskan wilderness. However, he never really figured out what McCandless’ purpose of the trip was. Looking at McCandless’ life throughout the book, I believe that Chris McCandless went on his journey to find happiness within his own life and did achieve it in the end.

Everyone personally wants something different. Chris wanted to be able to survive for as long as he could without utilizing the help of any human soul. He learned and studied how to butcher northern animals, which berries and mushrooms were safe, and how to survive in the harsh Alaskan cold; however, sometimes the limitations on specific goals needed to be taken into consideration. Believing that there was nothing he could not do, he may have had too much confidence, which could possibly be a bad thing. He exclaims to Jim Gallien, a truck driver giving him a lift just before he walks into the wilderness, "'I won't run into anything I can't deal with on my own'" (6). His inability to see the restrictions of what he cannot do may have eventually led to his death. In his defense, he was not on a suicide mission; he was prepared not to make it out alive. Chris knew the risks he was taking but saw it as a personal challenge that needed to be

     One of the chief reasons why Chris McCandles had died of starvation in Alaska was because he was reckless. He was reckless because he was so ill prepared for his journey, and arrogant because he refused to listen to the advice of natives, such as Alex. Chris was intelligent and he knew the conditions of Alaska, but he did not prepare for it. Even after Chris was warned he was determined in carrying out his plans. He was also reckless in thinking that he would be able to come out of Alaska alive. Krakuer writes that Gallien said, ‘I said hunting wasn’t easy that where he was going he could go days without killing any game’ (Krakuer 6). He adds that ‘Alex didn’t seem too worried and he wouldn’t give an inch. He had an answer for everything I threw at him’ (Krakuer 6). If Chris was properly prepared he may have made it out of Alaska alive, rather than dying of starvation. However, he traveled with cheap leather hiking boots, a .22 caliber that was

There are quite a few debates on how McCandless was responsible for his own death. I think the main one has to be that he simply did not know what he was getting himself into and that he had a specific kind of advantaged pride that led him to accept as true that he could “study up” on palatable plants and by dressing game, in order to survive in the wild. In the first chapter, the author interviews Jim Gallien, the gentleman who gave McCandless a ride to the trail that marked the beginning of his trip. Gallien noticed that Chris brought only a bag of rice for his food, and his gun was too small to hunt big game such as elk and moose. Even though he didn’t have a compass, or even a good map, McCandless could not be persuaded out of his adventure.

Chris McCandless was possessed by a nomadic existence and was trying to share his principle of life to his friend by telling that the truth about life was to explore the nature. Chris McCandless's last letter to Wayne revealed his true passion of nature. "This is the last you shall hear from me...I now walk into the wild"(pg 69). Some people concluded that it was Chris McCandless's suicide letter. However, in my opinion, Chris McCandless was just a victim of his own ego, pride and confidence that made him to neglect basic precautions that keep one person alive. He was controlled by his own delusions and that made him eager to test himself into strenuousness which proved fatal to him.

Chris acted recklessly when he walked off into the Alaskan wilderness. One major aspect of his journey that contributed to it being risky involved preparation. As Chris prepared, he didn’t think of all aspects for survival in the wilderness, such as changing seasons and traveling. This came apparent right away as he is about to walk into the wild without boots, luckily his ride offered him a pair. After spending more time in the wild it showed that Chris should have brought more food. Also, he should have bought a bigger gun or a gun that you could differ the ammo in. This would have been beneficial for hunting different sized game. During the summer it was harder for him to find food and prepare it fast enough to eat, he may have survived

If you attempted to talk him out of something, he wouldn’t argue. He would just nod politely and then do exactly what he wanted” (Krakauer 182). Chris did exactly as Carine stated he would when someone tried to stop his trip to Alaska. Chris understood what the trip to Alaska would entail but decided to continue anyway. He was confident in his abilities and constantly felt the need to challenge those abilities. According to Jon Krakauer, “He had a need to test himself in ways, as he was fond of saying ‘that mattered’. He possessed grand- some would say grandiose- spiritual ambitions” (Krakauer 182). Although Chris’s ambition is surely admirable it also could be credited as his tragic flaw. Chris strived for perfection in everything he set his mind to. He refused to listen to individuals who were trying to help him when saying he was ill prepared; instead he ignored their efforts and went into the wild. Chris’s unpreparedness could later be identified as the cause of his death but in his mind, his supporters would like to believe, it did not matter. Chris died doing what he loved, living in isolation with nature being his only companion.

Jon Krakauer wrote, “It is hardly unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders ... McCandless, in his fashion, merely took risk-taking to its logical extreme” (Krakauer 182). Chris did not think about dying much before he went to survive in Alaska. Many of Chris’s critics thought he was just a kid who overestimated himself and underestimated the difficulty of living in the Alaskan bush. McCandless went into the bush seeking answers and I believe he found his answers, but met fatality before he could leave. Chris McCandless was not ill-prepared for his odyssey and he was not a kook.

Although nature can’t be rationally blamed (doesn’t have a brain to make intentional decisions) for the death of Chris Mccandless, it can be concluded that nature was somewhat at fault. Nature provides unexpected events that can either lead toward the tragedy, or benefit of others. Unfortunately, nature wasn’t too kind to Mccandless. This can be apparent when he tried to come back to society, but was stopped by a deadly river, whose rapids can sweep a full grown man toward rocks or potentially drown. Nature “forced” him to turn back and live off the land longer. This choice eventually led him to experience costly misfortunes that conclusively ended his life. Nature was the last factor, besides Mccandless himself, to deal a number on Chris. It became apparent that Chris wanted to conclude his journey when it was written on a birch tree that one of Chris’ plans were to “organize his pack” (Krakauer 169). He also foreshadows he would come back in a letter telling Ronald Franz, “But providing I get through this Alaskan ordeal in one piece, you will be hearing from me again in the future” (Krakauer 56) However, his tracks made a 360 degree turn when he saw the river and the rain cascading on him, which were noted in his journal. He noted that it “looked impossible” to cross, and this disaster caused him to feel “lonely, and scared” (Krakauer 170). There was nothing he could do; he was a poor swimmer,

Once deciding that he would not bring all the required equipment, it took many people scolding him before he even considered letting other people assist him. McCandless set out on the journey alone, and wanted to prove to himself that he could in fact make it alone in the wilderness. This is one of Chris’ critical faults. Too proud to admit defeat, Chris only lets others help him when in dire circumstances, eventually accepting clothes and other supplies from friends. At the end of his life, a very gaunt Chris finds it increasingly difficult to find game and records how butchering is “extremely difficult” (166). If Chris was adequately prepared for his trip, he would have taken th steps to learn these skills, and may not have resorted to the seeds that killed him. Another crucial mistake made by McCandless was not accounting for when he would not be able to get game. He went into the wild with a small bag of rice and the “heaviest item in his half-full backpack was his library” (162). While it is extremely difficult to read the last chapter of the book without feeling compassion and admiration for Chris, his death could have easily been prevented. His complacency towards “the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild” proved to be his biggest mistake (9).

Jon Krakauer describes Chris who decides to call himself Alex for his journey as “a man who has given away a small fortunate, forsaken a loving family, abandoned his car, watch, map and burned the last of his money before traipsing off into the wild” (50). By choosing to leave behind all these items some may say Chris is bound to fail, but we see throughout Into The Wild that Chris able to survive with little resources. Alex admitted that the only food in his pack was a ten-pound bag of rice.

Christopher McCandless was an adventurer no doubt. He spent the last few years of his life living purely off the land and exploring, doing what he felt called to do. However, to venture off on such an intense, dangerous, and wild journey, a person most likely has some deeply thought out reason as to why he or she is embarking on the mission. Chris himself seems to have had some reasons, besides his curiosity, as to why he explored. However, he made a decision to leave without truly thinking about just how dangerous his journey was going to be. Due to his rash actions, Chris eventually died in an abandoned bus out in the wild. Now, some folks today think that Chris was a hero for doing what interested him and for doing his own thing without worrying about the trivial things in life. However, I have reason to believe that Chris was indeed not a hero. Instead, I believe that Chris McCandless’s journey into the wild was rash, ludicrous and foolish.

Let’s begin with the supply's that Chris packed in his backpack. The pack itself was no heavier than 30 pounds. His gear seems extremely minimal for the harsh conditions of the interior, which in April still lay buried under the winter snowpack. He was carrying a 22 caliber rifle, too small to kill large animals, cheap leather hiking boots that were neither waterproof nor insulated and finally a 10-pound bag of rice. Alex was not equipped with an ax, bug

His risk taking tendencies also led him into going into the wild. It wasn’t because he was dumb that was just the kind of person he was. He definitely did some uncalled for risked but that is what he did and he can’t change it. Chris knew what he wanted to do, although he didn’t have much he still did what he did. Most people would find it outrageous what he did but he felt as society was too much for him, so he took a risk and went out to the wild with little to nothing. It wasn’t Chris’s first time going out and adventuring off to the wild, he did something similar when he graduated high school. All Chris wanted to do was, “return to a natural state,” (Krakauer 74) that was one of his goals to do. He didn’t like our society as it was, he preferred the early time periods, “‘[b]y the end his lifestyle had elements of the Neolithic’” (Krakauer 74). He did everything that he could to change his life so as Chris did he went out to the wild and tried proving to himself that he could. Although Chris did die it wasn’t his fault for eating a poisonous berry he didn’t know that would happen, that is how he died. Chris didn’t go to the wild to kill himself, he went to go enjoy himself and live life he wanted but he took multiple risk along the way. When Chris changed his name, burned all his money and cut up all his cards, would be a few of Chris’s risk taking tendencies/rebelliousness he had or did. He was never one to tell someone what he was planning on doing he just did it on his

Krakauer writes Chris McCandless’s story out of order to reveal his understanding of Chris and his story, and to shape how the reader views him. Before the book, Into The Wild, was written, Krakauer had written an article on the death of Chris, so the telling of the story, where the ending was already well known, would not hold the interest of many people. Therefore, the first time that Chris is introduced, he is right about to enter into the Alaskan woods for his big adventure, “Gallien thought the hitchhiker’s scheme was foolhardy and tried repeatedly to dissuade him…“But he wouldn't give an inch. He had an answer for everything I threw at him.””(Page 7-8, paragraph 7) There is not much that can be told about Chris from this first meeting