Chris Mccandless Is Considered A Hero

In Jon Krakauer's novel Into the Wild, the main character, Chris McCandless, seeks nature so that he can find a sense of belonging and the true meaning of who he is. However, it is the essence of nature that eventually takes his life away from him. At the end of his life, he is discovers his purpose and need of other people. After Chris McCandless death in Alaska, Krakauer wrote Into the Wild to reflect on the journey that McCandless makes. Krakauer protrays McCandless as a young man who is reckless, selfish, and arrogant, but at the same time, intelligent, determined, independent, and charismatic. Along with the irony that occurs in nature, these characteristics are the several factors that contribute to McCandless death.

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.

Heroes cannot be simply defined in a few words; being a hero is not being perfect, it is holding some specific, heroic qualities that people can look up to. Especially in the case of Chris McCandless, one must understand that he was a real person, a person that possessed certain negative aspects of human nature; he is not a figure in a fictional piece of work that can be sculpted to the idea of a hero. Using this definition of a hero, Chris McCandless does in fact, embody the idea of a hero as someone to be admired to a certain extent; he is a figure that has shown noble qualities and strength through adversity.

The story of Chris McCandless has become a pop culture phenomenon. Many are fascinated by his desire to abandon his family and society and “walk into the wild” (Krakauer 69). Newscasts, magazine articles, movies, and books have tried to define what motivated him to give up everything for his Alaskan odyssey; however, the answers died with McCandless. People make assumptions about him without knowing his entire story. McCandless chose to do the unconventional, making people think he was either foolish or brave and determined, but ultimately he was selfish for doing what he did.

Chris was independent and the fact that he went out and was able to support himself was courageous. His bosses claim that he was “the hardest worker they have ever seen” and enjoyed his determination to get the job not only done, but done right. “In a matter of a few months, half a dozen other students were working under him, and he’d put seven thousand dollars in his bank account...he used it to buy the yellow datsun.” (Krakauer, 116). McCandless worked hard, and he appreciated being able to do things for himself. This explains the reason why he went out on his own and didn’t tell anyone or let anyone help him. It wasn’t that he was stubborn or ungrateful, he truly loved being independent and he valued the luxuries he was able to provide for himself. Chris McCandless was hardworking and determined, which is inspiring because he was able to accomplish the goals and dreams he set his mind on.

Not only did Chris McCandless sacrifice so much for the future that he wanted, but he remained focus on his goal and he never ever regretted a minute of it. Even close to his death he was always smiling in the pictures he took and he never looked for a way out. He came into the wild and learned to be one with it. He respected it and learned from it all while staying at his peak of happiness. Chris McCandless’ did not necessarily have a bad life, but it was clear that he was not always happy. When he was truly happiest, he was alone. His disapproval of modern day society is evident throughout the book; “I told him ‘Man, you gotta have money to get along in this world’ but he wouldn’t take it” (46). He realized he needed to be separated from these people and live on his own. He decided to change his course for the future into an isolated lifestyle all without notice to the people that loved him. He was set up for a great life, but he ended it all to follow his dreams and fulfill his purpose. Not

Jon Krakauer, fascinated by a young man in April 1992 who hitchhiked to Alaska and lived alone in the wild for four months before his decomposed body was discovered, writes the story of Christopher McCandless, in his national bestseller: Into the Wild. McCandless was always a unique and intelligent boy who saw the world differently. Into the Wild explores all aspects of McCandless’s life in order to better understand the reason why a smart, social boy, from an upper class family would put himself in extraordinary peril by living off the land in the Alaskan Bush. McCandless represents the true tragic hero that Aristotle defined. Krakauer depicts McCandless as a tragic hero by detailing his unique and perhaps flawed views on society,

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.

In what could have been Chris McCandless’s last contact with humanity he tells his new comrade, Wayne Westerberg, “If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t hear from me again I want you to know you are a great man. I now walk into the wild” (Krakauer 3). For 112 days Chris lived off the harsh Alaskan land. For anyone who is brave enough to travel on the stampede trail and cross the treacherous Teklanika River you will come across the Fairbanks City Transit System Bus 142. Once a backcountry shelter for hunters, trappers, ranger patrols, and for a short time Chris McCandless, Bus 142 now serves as a memorial for Chris McCandless. Travelers will make the trip to witness the basic resources Chris had at hand and the courage it took to

Chris McCandless came from a very different lifestyle compared to that of Perry Smith and the Clutters. He was obedient and listened to his parents for the most part. However, Krakauer viewed McCandless’s parents as too demanding and ultimately implies that part of his death was brought on by his parents. Chris’s relationship with his father was stressed at best and Krakauer equally “believe[s] we were similarly affected by the skewed relationships we had with our fathers. And I suspect we had similar intensity, a similar heedlessness, a similar agitation of the soul" (159). Chris was a highly opinionated and willful young man with little room for negotiation with his father sharing those same qualities. His criticism towards his parents eventually turned to outright anger, and after his father’s secret double life is revealed Chris begins viewing his father as a

Starting off with the idea and question of ‘’Do we owe our families anything?’’ In some cases yes. When you grow up with the same or at least similar mind set as your parents, it is not difficult to stick around and respect them after they raise you. However ,in McCandless’s case, we see that he is nothing similar to his parents. They are materialistic which is a direct offence to what McCandless believes. His mother Billie McCandless say, “Chris was very much of the school that you should own nothing except what you could carry on your back at a dead run.” This clearly illustrates what his opinions were on materialism.

Into the Wild, written by John Krakauer tells of a young man named Chris McCandless who 1deserted his college degree and all his worldly possessions in favor of a primitive transient life in the wilderness. Krakauer first told the story of Chris in an article in Outside Magazine, but went on to write a thorough book, which encompasses his life in the hopes to explain what caused him to venture off alone into the wild. McCandless’ story soon became a national phenomenon, and had many people questioning why a “young man from a well-to-do East Coast family [would] hitchhike to Alaska” (Krakauer i). Chris comes from an affluent household and has parents that strived to create a desirable life for him and his sister. As Chris grows up, he

Actions whether wrong or correct affect the life lived, each one of us as decides what to do with our lives and control what is done. As we live our lives we make choices and these choices are permissible because of what we wish to achieve. Through decades and centuries humanity has wondered the exact question, why do people do what they do? Is it just an urge of adrenaline? Even so what is to happen or said when said person never appear ever again. In the case of Chris McCandless, was an admirable millennial and person of character seen as a role model through which by his form of adventure perceived to heal his past and live his life’s future.

Being selfish is a common human trait. The freedom many people want has now become a basic need. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer showed that Chris McCandless was selfish to look for the experience of ultimate freedom. In the search for freedom, Chris coldly broke many bonds with friends. He broke the hearts of his family and made them worry to an intolerable extent. McCandless did not want to be found and he wanted to be a nobody. Chris McCandless’ trip to Alaska was selfish because he did not care about who he abandoned or hurt in the search of freedom.

McCandless being the independent person he was, wasn’t a family man. “Once Alex made up his mind about something, there was no changing it.” (Page 67) He was a stubborn person and because of that he didn’t have a very good relationship with his parents. “McCandless’s face would darken with anger and he’s fulminate about his parents or politicians or the endemic idiocy of mainstream american life.” (Page 52) Chris didn’t care about having money, the latest electronic, or about wearing new clothes. His parents cared about all of those things but he felt like all of these things controlled him, and that’s why he decided to go live in the wild, to feel free. “Chris McCandless began to put away materialism and eventually virtually dispensed with it altogether when he hitchhiked to Alaska and walked unaccompanied into its vast wilderness.” (enotes) Chris prefered to live an non materialistic life and for that i admire him because not many people can do that. Krakauer said that Chris more than held his own and i agree because he left home all alone without telling anybody or his family where he was going and he lived his life with very little