Chris Mccandless: Their Eyes Were Watching God

Both Henry David Thoreau and Christopher McCandless ventured out into the woods to get away from the dreariness of everyday society and to find themselves. Only one lived to tell the tale. What was the fatal flaw of the man who didn’t continue on? The only way to find this is to analyze the differences and similarities between the two. McCandless, while embracing some of the same values as Thoreau, was ultimately a different man. While they led very contrasting lives in very distant times, both McCandless and Thoreau sought a type of freedom that can only be achieved when immersed in nature. Thoreau’s entitlement and cozy cabin in the woods is a far cry from McCandless’s constant struggle during his expedition, however, certain parallels

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.

Chris has a selective group of friends that he really enjoys himself with. When one of

Chris believes that his life will turn out as he sees it will and that it will all work out well in the end, despite his average grades and below average life. An additional point in the story where Chris has not yet escaped all of reality, but only the worst parts is when he says, “we’ve got these two riding horses[,] Duchess and Firefly”. This illustrates that the home life of Chris is not ideal, that Chris would rather live in his alternate version of his own reality than the one he was born into when it comes to his home life. Chris continues to live in reality for the most part and only escapes to his delusion during the worst parts of his life, he continues to struggle to hold on to what’s real despite the appeal of his imaginary world.

Some say that Chris was an idiot for going out into the Alaskan wilderness unprepared and without any knowledge of nature. “Why would anyone intending to live off the land for a few months forget boy scout rule number one: Be prepared” (krakauer, 71). This was a complaint sent in by a Alaskan hunter, and there were many more that followed that. The people writing the negative comments all believed that Chris either wanted attention, was stupid, or went out on a suicide mission. However, Chris was none of those things, he wouldn’t have been able to survive 113 days off

Chris also realizes that material things are just that and nothing else in life. Chris

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential

didn’t want to be told otherwise when he had made a decision or set a task. Chris wasn’t

One of Chris McCandless’s most foolish mistakes was failing to inform anyone on when he was planning to return. Chris made many new friends on his trip around America. He listened to their stories, learned from them, and told them about his plan to enter Alaska, but never talked about

Chris is a charismatic young man, but takes extensive measures to ensure he does not become too close with anyone. By going out into the wild without so much as a letter to his parents,

With a silent yet inescapable list of expectations, the pressure of society, and his damaged parents, one could believe that the adventure he embarked on was a way to remove himself from his destructive environment. However Chris had never experienced independence in his life. He felt separated from everyone with few friends and a well-off family that was tragically broken, and

and convince them that his death is on their hands. Not only did Chris complete what he was trying to

Chris was selfish because he broke many bonds with friends. He stopped taking the time to communicate with his friends that he met along the way. Quote postcard stop. In addition, he unkindly

     During Chris’s journey he never really opens up to anyone about his family. He doesn’t really show any affection towards them and if any it would be toward his sister Carnie. He writes in a letter to her stating that he is going to divorce his parents. The last time his parents saw him was after his graduation. Chris told his parents “ I think I’m going to disappear for a while” and that is the last they ever heard of him again.

Another way is because the author wanted his novel to describe the life of Chris in a unique way without him feeling judged from the mistakes he did while on his journey in Alaska, because he’s life did end in tragedy.