Chris Mccandless Response

Chris McCandless was just a victim of his own obsession. The novel "Into The Wild" written by John Krakauer revealed the life of a young bright man named Chris McCandless who turned up dead in Alaska in summer 1992. In the novel, John Krakauer approached carefully McCandless's life without putting too much authorial judgment to the readers. Although Chris McCandless remained an elusive figure throughout the novel, I can see Chris McCandless as a dreamy young idealist who tries to follow his dream but failed because of his innocent mistake which prove to be fatal and irreversible. Still, Chris McCandless's courage and passion was something that we should all be proud of.

In one of the first few pages of Krakauer’s novel, he notes that Chris’ story was heavily criticised. “Some readers admired the boy immensely for his courage and noble ideals; others fulminated that he was a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity--and was undeserving of the considerable media attention he received.” (pg. 3). This, of course, was proven to not only limited to the negative feedback he received from Alaskans; but globally. In the case of Simpson’s article, it gave off a sense of disapproval. In her own words, “We were too cynical to read entry after entry from people looking for meaning in the life and death of a man who had rejected his family, mooched his way across the country and called himself “Alexander Supertramp” in the third person. I struggled to imagine the emotional currents that had carried people here to the bus, so far from their homes, to honor his memory.”. To interpret from this, it seems to be frequent that Alaskans hold no personal interest towards the meaning behind his death. More or less, Simpson generalizes the typical Alaskan take on his story. On the other hand, Jim Gallien was also an adventurer in Alaska who was the last to see McCandless before his journey, and his attitude was much more open minded.

He underestimates the terrain and climate, and, “…came into the country with insufficient provisions, and he lacked certain pieces of equipment deemed essential by many Alaskans…” (180 Krakauer). Chris lacked the necessities, so it made his survival rate drop. Information is key in the wilderness, which, “not only did McCandless die because he was stupid, one Alaskan correspondent observed, but ‘the scope of his self-styled adventure was so small as to a ring pathetic-squatting in a wrecked bus a few miles out of Healy, potting jays and squirrels, mistaking a caribou for a moose (pretty hard to do)…only one word for the guy: incompetent’” (177 Krakauer). Chris lacked the knowledge needed to survive the Alaskan frontier, which dropped his survival rate.

In 1992, when Chris McCandless abandoned modern society and fled to Alaska to find himself and, in the long run, lose his life, Americans from all over saw his death as a tragic downfall, and his story as a relatable and moving tale of a young man simply trying to make a difference. On the other hand, others looked at his journey to be an inevitable suicide-trip, considering his lack of supplies and overall experience. However, despite the fact that he was unprepared, McCandless, because of his ideas and motivation for a better world, was justified in shunning society in order to pursue his dream life on the Alaskan frontier.

For someone to have plans to survive in the harsh wilderness of the Alaskan frontier many have said that McCandless was completely un prepared as recalled in the first chapter of the book by Jim Gallien who picked up McCandless outside of Fairbanks Alaska and drove him to the stampede trail, the beginning of Chris’s journey into the wild. “He wasn’t carrying anywhere near as much food and gear as you’d be expecting a guy to be carrying for that kind of trip.” (Krakauer 4) Through the research that Krakauer completed we know that Chris was carrying only a ten-pound bag of rice and some paperback books along with other camping supplies. Jim

Chris McCandless as depicted in the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and in the movie of the same name by Sean Penn, was not ignorant and he did have common sense. He had every reason to go into the Alaskan wilderness and to say he had no common sense is ridiculous. He was definitely not crazy and his courage and noble ideas should be admired. He was a man that followed his dreams and did something that most of us wish we had the guts to do. What Chris McCandless A.K.A Alexander Supertramp did, was admirable and worthy of respect.

Trekking along the cold dark trails of the Alaskan interior famished from society, family, and food the average person could not help but ponder why they are in that situation. Chris McCandless however, would say otherwise and probably give you a list why that is his, ideal lifestyle. McCandless’s death in 1992 has baffled the world in numerous ways and has received very mixed reactions. Many questions have been asked about Chris McCandless’s ideology. In the novel, “Into the Wild” John Krakauer has presented his own ideas on what may have been McCandless’s motivation to leave everything behind.

I want to understand why Chris McCandless came here, what he was feeling at the culmination of his journey, what he found in the heart of the Alaskan bush. I don’t even bother to hope for answers, but I crave the details; the elk prints and bird songs, the night skies and the way the streams taste and the other fragments of this place that can’t be gleaned from the book or the movie or the online discussion forums. I need to connect with Chris’ story on my own, outside of the Into the Wild painted by Jon Krakauer or Sean Penn or Ron Lamothe.”- {Dave Korn 2011} So many people want to know and see what McCandless went through most of them don’t agree with Shaun Calllarman that Chris “had no business going into Alaska with his romantic silliness.” , Most people saw it very beautiful and crazy going into the wilderness. People now want to leave their life’s to see what Chris saw. Chris isn’t the only that crazy and have the same feeling going into the

“In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do East Coast family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters.” (Author’s Note) The hitchhiker found was Christopher Johnson McCandless, although no one knew who it was for a while until they investigated the case and found out it was Christopher McCandless. He grew up in Washington D.C., where he was a great athlete and excelled academically. After graduating from Emory University with honors, McCandless wanted to start a new life. He changed his name, gave all his money to a charity, abandoned his family and his car, and burned all the cash he had carried in his wallet and went off into the wild. His family had no clue to where he could have possibly gone until what was left of him turned up in Alaska.

People debate whether Chris McCandless was an idealist or narcissist. They ask if his actions were noble or just plain stupid. John krakauer's depictions of Chris mcCandless’s Great Alaskan journey, Into the Wild and “Death of an Innocent”, take readers through the struggles, mistakes, accomplishments and relationships that he made. Chris who left for his journey across America in June 1990 was tramping from city to city, meeting many faces and encountering many experiences along the way. Sadly he makes Four Critical mistakes along his trip that eventually lead to his death in August of 1992.

Final Writing Assignment for Into the Wild Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is the story of Chris McCandless a young man who meet his untimely end in the deep wilderness of Alaska at the age of twenty-four in 1992. This story has been met with lots of controversy other whether McCandless should be looked at as a moron who got himself killed because of his arrogance or a dreamer who marched to the beat of his own drum and lived his life, however short, to his beliefs. Both statements are true as Chris was an idiot in some ways and was an inspiration in other ways. One way Chris McCandless was an lunatic hero was shown by McCandless’s journey down into Mexico with the goal of “allowing his life to be shaped by circumstance (29)” which he fully achieved, even if not reaching the ocean, this shows the admirable characteristics shown by McCandless as well as his visionary yet stupid views such as his believed of “moral responsibility to flout the laws(28)” given to him by Henry Thoreau in his writings such as On the Duty of Civil Disobedience(28). Under this belief McCandless burned his

Chris Mccandless was a young man who hitchhiked his way to Alaska in 1992. Leaving behind his friends, his family, and his life. He left all his belongings, donated $25,000 to charity, deserted his car, and burned all the cash in his wallet. He went into this crazy adventure taking only a rifle with 400 rounds of ammunition, a book, a writing utensil, a journal, a camera, a large bag of rice, a cooking utensil, a knife, a hook with fishing twine, and matches. Only to die 4 months later in what they believe the cause if the death was starvation. I strongly believe that the reason Chris went into the wild was because of his family problems and mental illness.

But I came to appreciate that mountains make poor receptacles for dreams. And I lived to tell my tale.” (Krakauer, page 155) This passage is illustrative of Krakauer’s feelings about McCandless. He does not think McCandless is so naïve or arrogant as many, especially in Alaska, do, but he does see that he was young, and had many of the common misperceptions, and claims that that was really his main flaw.

Throughout his novel, Krakauer repeatedly comments on the backlash both he and McCandless received from readers, most of which came from Alaskans (71). Critics consider him to be ignorant, demonstrated through scathing tones “could have been cured by a USGS quadrant and a Boy

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.