Chris Mccandless's Journey

Audience: The primary audience of Into the Wild is people that enjoy the outdoors, adventure novels or just want to learn more about Chris’s journey.

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 1992, a young college graduate ventured out into the Alaskan Wilderness, searching for peace and tranquility. Chris McCandless and his family lived in a small town in Virginia. They were an upper middle class family, Chris’s father was a rocket scientist for NASA and his mom was a secretary. Chris was extremely bold and adventurous even early in his childhood. Chris’s parents lied to him until his teenage years about their history together. Chris’s dad, Walter, originally had a different family, whom he left when he discovered that his mistress, Chris’s mom, became pregnant with Chris. Chris did not find this out until the summer after graduating high school, when he traveled all the way to southern California, where old family friends told him about his family’s dark secret. This could arguably have triggered Chris’s later adventure into the wild. When Chris graduated from Emory University with honors in 1990, he had a bright future ahead of him. He could have done almost anything. Instead, he threw away all of his identification, gave his life savings to charity ($24,000), and set out on a drive to the western United States and Mexico. He left no trace of where he was going to his parents or even that he was going anywhere at all, and lost touch with his sister whom he was very attached to. Eventually, he abandoned his car and burnt all of the money he brought. Throughout his two year trek, he met many people of different ages whom he befriended, and considered a

The tale of McCandless is read over high schools everywhere. Classes discuss who he really was. Most critics state that he was ignorant, by not being properly equipped with knowledge and tools. However, this shouldn’t make him innocent. Personally, I believe McCandless was arrogant, but not selfish.

John Krakauer writes the non-fiction book Into the Wild and discusses the story of Chris McCandless. Chris McCandless takes on the journey of going into the wilderness that relates to the same journey Krakauer went on. McCandless leaves behind society to look for his soul, but while on his journey, he passes away in Alaska. In the book, Krakauer does a great job talking about Chris’s life because he studied and retraced Chris’s life back. Despite 3 years of writing the book, you can see the detail and care he has for the story.

Who influenced the other party more? Chris or the people he met along his journey? Without any money, or material objects Chris was able to leave a lasting impact on the people he met on his journey to Alaska. In Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless is able to leave a greater influence on the people he met along his journey to Alaska rather than the impact they made on him.

Finding the true identity and relation with society can be accomplished in many ways. Transcendentalism is a philosophy which says that logic and metaphysical things are more real than typical human experience and material things. In Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction book Into the Wild, he argues that Chris McCandless devotes his life to Transcendentalism because he rejects society and materialism to live individually in the Alaskan Wilderness. Although, McCandless makes mistakes, he shares happiness with the people he meets and impacts their lives.

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,

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” This is not only a quote by Charles Spurgeon but a philosophy that I have been trying to live by my entire life. This quote fits perfectly into this prompt because it explains how Chris was a fool. Undeniably, Chris was very knowledgeable, he graduated from one of the top universities in the country maintaining an A grade in his classes. But as the quote reads, many people know a lot and that’s what makes them fools, using knowledge for the right purpose gives someone wisdom. Essentially the quote conveys that the implementation of knowledge separates the fools from the wise. Instead of using his knowledge to help society Chris decided that he had enough of society and wanted to live on his own. Hence, Chris McCandless is a fool because he went into the wild alone and unprepared, he didn’t have knowledge of how to survive in the wilderness alone, and his personality features lead him to his death.

An American hero can be defined as an individual whose action has created a major impact on the country. Furthermore, his or her actions can leave lasting implications that may have an affect on other individuals. From the epigraph, Wallace Stegner demonstrates the qualities of an American hero. He states that these individuals are free from social obligations and other responsibilities that may considered as “irksome”, and evidently follow no agenda. In the story “Into The Wild”, by Jon Krakauer, the main character Chris McCandless can be identified as an American hero. McCandless portrays countless characteristics of this model; for example, in the beginning of the book, after his encounter with a guy name Gallien, Chris offers his watch

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a story about a young man named Christopher McCandless who decided to give everything in his life up and venture out to the wilderness of Alaska. He wasn't content with his life. His mission was to truly find himself so he abandoned his family and society to do so. He ended up living 112 days alone in the wilderness of Alaska until he died of starvation. Many people would say the Christopher McCandless was a hero for going against society's norms to find himself, but I believe that he was not a hero and that he was foolish. He abandoned his responsibilities, never told his family his plans of leaving to Alaska and burned his money; these are

There had never been and there would never be someone exactly like Chris McCandless. Chris has a middle class background and stands out from his peers because he believes that society restrains his independence. He leaves his past life and wanders America heading toward the lonely Alaskan wilderness to find who he really is. He discovers ways of moving to Alaska despite leaving behind all of his possessions and social status. Chris’s sincerity and integrity earn the respect of the people he meets. He inspires people leave behind their old life and explore the country by documenting his experiences. Chris loves to challenge himself and after succeeding academically he finds purpose through self deprivation. Chris chooses Alaska because its'

Most people go into the wilderness to go camping for a week or less and then leave. Some people stay for more than a week. Chris McCandless was in the wild for at least one hundred days.“ I’ve decided to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and the beauty of it is too good to pass up.”(pg.92) He went into the wilderness to experience adventure and to find things he was searching for nature, the path to happiness and freedom. Chris’ determination, self will, pursuit of happiness and the urge to break free are all explored. He did everything he could to make so people would be able to find him. Changing his name to Alex Supertramp, eliminating everything

b) In the beginning of his journey, Chris McCandless is very adventurous and has a positive outlook throughout his journey. “I’ll be fine with what I’ve got.” (Krakauer, 6) This shows he is happy, as he wanted to ‘live off the land’ and is eager to get there. By the end of his journey Chris is in need of help as he is starving in his base camp in Alaska. Although his poor health, and awareness that his death would come soon, he is overall content with his journey and had accepted his death writing in a death note, “I have had a happy life and thank the lord. Goodbye and may god bless all.” (Krakauer, 199) This shows he was in a happy state when he died that day. Chris’ character had not changed much throughout his journey because of who he

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