The wonders of how literature readings, emotional and emotionless music, as well as television shows can affect the way individuals ponder about their lives and the world is quite an awe-inspiring, yet uncanny fact. In other words, such influence can ultimately change the way individuals in the world think and take action upon. Chris McCandless, a daring character from Into the Wild, endeavored to run away from the comfort of home and seek for danger at the age of twenty two. Such endeavor, such courage, and such determination of McCandless is derived from authors of literature. Although, I have never been persuaded to run away from home because of a reading(s), I had once watched a show, Gray’s Anatomy, a medical show that started showing …show more content…
Meredith Grey and her best friend Dr. Christina Yang, dealt with diverse, yet strenuous medical situations. The ways in which the characters in the show dealt with such difficult situations in the medical field- especially their daring moves to do what they desire to do in order to fulfill their curiosity- is definitely awe-inspiring to me. Similar to how McCandless believes how remarkable the “writings of London, Thoreau, Muir, and Tolstoy” was enough to make him “abandon the comforts of home and purposefully seek out mortal danger,” watching each season, episode, minute, and second of Gray’s Anatomy is enough for me to seek to become like the surgeons (Miller 429). Of course, my own journey is quite different from McCandless’ journey. I did not “hop in a car and head west, embarking on a journey that...has become a cliche for the dispossessed male…[I did not tell] no one where [I] was going or what [my] plans were” (Miller 429). In fact, I stayed where I was, stationary, and I told my friends my plans, plans that I assure were not as far-fetched and unrealistic as McCandless’ plans: to perform a dissection. When I watched multiple …show more content…
(A cadaver is a dead human body donated for scientific research and study). I already knew such desires of mines could not yet be fulfilled by a young adolescent me. Instead of taking such a far-fetched approach, I chose to approach my desire by dissecting a dead animal, and it just happened to be a coincidence that I had to dissect a dead cat for my Anatomy and Physiology Class. Of course, a cat is not the same as a human being and a dead cat is even farther from an a human being. Nonetheless, I was content with a cat because according to Animal Corner, “A cat’s skeleton is very similar to that of a human being” (1). Also, I thought of it as the very first stepping stone into a world of medicine, a world of endless surgeries, a world of saving lives. In my attempt to be a surgeon, I wores gloves and a mask during the dissection. My goal was to perform similar surgical techniques and use similar, if not the same, surgical tools utilized in real surgeries as close as possible as well as actually visualizing body parts with my own naked eye. Throughout weeks of careful, meticulous dissections that my group and I performed as well as the recorded multiple videos of, I was gradually feeling content, gradually fulfilling my
In society, people tend to follow the people's footsteps and apply new characteristic or methods that they obtain from there person. In the story, Into the Wild, Chris McCandless was a boy who favors several literacy heroes. He was able to understand each hero and apply there knowledge that they obtain from other people. He was favoriting Henry David Thoreau, Jack London, Leo Tolstoy and much more. Henry David Thoreau was an American poet and an essayist and wrote numerous books based on his philosophy. However, in the book, he plays a crucial role in giving Chris McCandless life lesson throughout his journey. Jack London is a worldwide celebrity and a famous novelist and journalist. He also has some characteristics that Chris has also obtained from him. In addition, Leo Tolstoy was one of the greatest Russian authors of all times. He has inspired Chris with some of his quotes which reflects him during his journey. There are more heroes that Chris mentions in the story but these are three which he tends to reflect more on.
Chris McCandless died doing what he loved, but was it worth all of the pain and uncertainty he caused his family? Chris embarked on a journey through the Alaskan wilderness, which resulted in his demise. He cut ties with his family due to personal differences in opinion and travelled all around the country living off of the land for the most part. People have formed many different opinions of Chris McCandless, but its up to you to decide whether his actions were selfish or purposeful. In this Journal, I will be questioning the motives of McCandless, connecting with him, as well as evaluating the author.
In the book Into the Wild the main character, Chris Mccandless, made a rational decision to exclude himself from human society because he believed that going beyond what his parents and society wanted he would live a happier life. Chris wanted to leave society and venture into the wilderness to find the true meaning of who he was. Chris Mccandless was neither crazy or ignorant to live off in the wild where there was no people or anything to interact with but nature. Chris wanted to find his inner self and not only was he a role model for kids all across the country but he also followed his dream. Even though it was selfish of him to leave his family, Chris Mccandless is not crazy because he followed his dream, lived his life the way he wanted to, and went into the wild to find who he truly was.
In the wilderness of Alaska, temperatures can drop down to thirty degrees below zero. Christopher McCandless lived in these conditions for four months after traveling through North America for almost two years. It can be seen in the novel, Into the Wild, that during his journey he had many brushes with death and burned bridges with people who deeply cared for him. For those reasons and many more, people assert Chris McCandless was unprepared, careless, and selfish on his personal journey across the United States, culminating in his death in Alaska.
Think about a time when you thought about resetting your life. Only having 25 dollars, the clothes on your back, and to move away from your state into a state your have no knowledge about. Goals that consist of you having a mandatory living apartment, a working vehicle, 2,500 dollars in cash, and in the position to attend college. Adam Shepard wanted to experiment with the American Dream. Or, imagine the feeling of society. Visually and emotionally congested looks and feelings you would get when thinking about that obstacle of having to take part in the bandwagon of the community u live in. Then you would stubbornly depart on foot and hitchhiked trains and vehicles to the last frontier that is well known as Alaska. Christopher McCandless felt the stress and abnormality that was contained in society.
The book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, tells the story of a boy, called Chris McCandless, who was someone that created an impact on many different people as he journeyed around the West. “You could tell right away that Alex was intelligent.” Westerberg recalls “He read a lot” (18). Because Westerberg was the second person Chris used his fake name upon, it shows that Chris McCandless doesn't want people to know who he really is and he wanted to reinvent himself as he wanted to be not as society wanted him. Chris McCandless has quite a few literary heroes who have helped him shape his own opinion on life’s philosophy and were constantly quoted and listed in Chris McCandless’s story. “He gave Westerberg a treasured 1942 edition of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. On the title he inscribed, ‘Transferred to Wayne Westerberg from Alexander. October, 1990. Listen to Pierre’” (19). It’s interesting that Chris wrote “Listen to Pierre” (19), because Pierre is a character who is an alter ego like Chris McCandless, who goes by Alexander Supertramp.
Chris McCandless was a hero to many people throughout his life and he was often considered a hero to most. But, a lot of people criticized his errors along the journey. When Chris died, his impact on society was mostly positive, and the people who he met remembered his accomplishments that he has made in their life. His passing let people remember him for what he has done to help others along the way. His mistakes and flaws added up from the first day he started this path of life. Throughout the story, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless is claimed to be a hero by many of the few he met across his journey to Alaska. However, a
In Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction book, Into the Wild, we follow how humans love the wilderness, the strain of father son relationships, and for the majority of the book a young adult named Chris McCandless. We see mostly through Chris’ eyes just how much the wilderness can entice young adults as well as how important crushing news of one’s father can change your life. McCandless was an angry pseudo adult who couldn’t handle a sizeable change in his life. He was too stuck on it being his way that he rarely could bring himself to accept help and improve his ability to actually survive. However, there was some good about McCandless. His search for himself and the truth were great intentions despite the flawed approach.
The plot line of a tragic story is one that enthralls a reader with the rise and fall of a tragic hero. After the death of Christopher McCandless in Alaska over 20 years ago, not only is there still discussion of what was the true cause of his death, but also the widespread debate of a much larger question: was McCandless a tragic hero? Some argue that Christopher McCandless is a selfish coward and ended up giving his whole life and education away due to his lack of knowledge of the wilderness, while others argue that he lived his life through pushing beyond the limits of a normal human being and seeking what is limited to most of society. In the novel Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer describes the travels of McCandless and writes about how past
Christopher Johnson McCandless is a respectable man in so many ways but, yet such a foolish man in many others. Chris McCandless possessed a seemingly ever-lasting bravery that constantly shined through his unique and matchless character. He was very righteous in himself to the point in which he kept himself from any sin or evil, committing his life to what seemed like an idea of celibacy, not just in refraining from any desire of flesh but also in all lusts of life with his diligent power of will that constantly shined through his exterior. Onto the contrary of his good characteristics, McCandless remained to be very foolish in his decisions and under takings, whether it be by his arrogance of sheer narrow mindedness.
In the novel Into the Wild, author Jon Krakauer writes,“They will think they have bought my respect” (21). In this quote by the protagonist in the novel, Chris McCandless explains that his parents tried to buy his respect and honor with gifts, however they did not understand Chris’s loathe for material goods. His parents did not understand that respect is earned, not bought, and they did not earn his respect. His poor relationship with his parents and his history with rebellion are some of the main causes for why he disappeared from his family, this also explains his narcissism as he only ever had to care for himself. In Into the Wild, Chris Mccandless believes that an individual’s purpose is to be unique and to avoid being conformed by
Is difficulty forgiving a driving force in people’s lives? People tend to have trouble letting things go and moving on. Instead they will bury things within themselves and walk in day to day life holding on to negativity. Chris McCandless sister Carine said in The Truth About Chris McCandless: “Perhaps I cannot escape the irony that as children, throughout dads gin, induced rages, we were told that he himself, was God, so his actions could not be wrong.” The home when they were younger was fairly stable, it included dad, mom, Carine, Chris, Shelley and Shawna but there father was a drunk and he kept secrets Chris could've never imagined. In a new memoir The Wild Truth, Carine writes that she believes her brother's sudden disappearance and journey reflected his determination to separate
Life is never easy, no matter how hard we try to short cut and escape the inevitable difficulties. After College is when life sets in, when work becomes a necessity and we all begin to find a place to settle down. People respond differently to different situations. Some of us embrace the freedom and the ability to earn money and spend money indiscriminately. Others crumple under the social pressures placed on us. Christopher McCandless is a perfect example. Settling down and raising a family, providing for that family and creating a sustainable lifestyle are important and high stress things that we all must deal with if we are to enjoy the finer things in life. Chris totally abandoned that, he gave away all of his possessions; even
Christopher Johnson McCandless graduated from Emory University in 1990. The son of well-to-do parents, it appeared that Chris was prepared to embark on the next chapter of his life. He had been editor of the student newspaper, earned honors with a double major in history and anthropology, and seemed destined for law school. Determined to rewrite his story, Chris eschewed conventional expectations. He divested himself of money and possessions and immersed himself in a new identity: Alexander Supertramp, Alaskan Adventurer. Four months after beginning his trek into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley, Chris's decomposed body was found. When the details of his story emerged, many people thought Chris was mentally disturbed, calling him a "kook," a "nut," and "a half-cocked greenhorn," among other things (Krakauer, 1996, pp. 71-72). Had Chris's story had a happy ending, he would probably be described differently. He brought the tragic ending on himself, and people called him crazy. "Crazy" is a non-clinical word often used to describe someone with an underlying pathology. In this sense, there was nothing wrong with Chris McCandless. What he did suffer from was the enthusiasm and over-confidence of youth. Combined with poor planning and insufficient skills and experience in the outdoors, his "affliction" became fatal. McCandless made bad decisions, but he was not crazy.
Introduction: Throughout the book of Into The Wild Chris McCandless is known to be a wacko reckless idiot, and is also known to be courageous and heroic. However does a courageous person go out into the wilderness knowing that the outcome will be fatal? People viewed him from different perspectives and also have broad range of opinions of this young man. Some deemed him to be incredibly dim-witted or a man that simply just followed his heart. Evidence shows that Chris McCandless is actually a mix of both. The first opinion that described McCandless was brainless, idiotic, and extremely foolish. Many passages from Into The Wild can support this outlook.