Chris Persuasive Essay

Until, when he finally decided that it was time to escape society, and start living independently, to find out exactly who he was. “Hey, Guys! This is the last communication you shall receive from me. I now walk out to live amongst the wild. Take care, it was great knowing you. ALEXANDER” (Krakauer, 69). The day Chris said those words he was finally living his own life, instead of the life his parents gave him. He was proud to walk out of the life he didn’t want anymore and live the life that he always wanted to live. Besides Chris living his own life instead of his parents, he also lived to find his inner self.

Walt said that “Chris was fearless even when he was little” (Krakauer 109). Even as a child Chris did not think that the odds applied to him. He was very confident in himself, which led to his desire to take on Alaska.

Jon Krakauer, the author of the book, Into the Wild only know about Chris McCandless is an explorer traveling to Alaska search for himself reborn. However he isn’t exactly what he really is, but an ignorant, foolish, selfish, and misunderstanding of the world in which he lives. These words that have been used to describe him are based on the idea that he went on a journey to the Alaskan wilderness to seek his own revelation, but not having a firm grasp of reality, he senselessly died a stubborn man, the people mention that he was unprepared to go into the wilderness, didn’t listen to a more experienced person, broken several of state laws, abandoned his family and loved ones, and followed a dream that never existed. Personally believed he is an ignorant fool, selfish, and misunderstand man that throws his life away for nothing but despair.

As one of the main characters, Chris’s biggest obstacle is confronting the stereotypes that people hold against him. Based on the success of his siblings and father, Chris is assumed to be a tough, no-good, stupid kid. Even his friends have accepted and believe this presumption on a subconscious level. Up until their trip to find the body, Chris had disagreed with these stereotypes but had not made any move to confront them head on. This is the only way that he could truly move past them and prove everyone wrong, because he’s not going to get anywhere if he is categorizing himself into these boxes as well. There are little experiences that lead up to the turning point when Chris really confronts this obstacle, but the main experience is when he confides in Gordie about the lunch money scandal. He not only tells something he has never said before because he feels it wouldn’t make a difference either way; he also lets down his emotional guard which is a sign of maturity for Chris, the groups “tough guy”.

I also believe Chris was extremely brave for taking a trip across the country. I would never be brave enough to leave my whole life behind and do something like that. Also the fact he went into Alaska, an extremely harsh land, and lived on his own for a pretty long time in the bus is impressive. I believe that Chris did the right thing with taking this trip. It was the first time in his life he was truly happy.

“Wilderness appealed to those bored or disgusted with man and his works” (Roderick Nash). Chris McCandless, a modern transcendentalist, sent out on an adventure to find his true self in the wilderness of the North American continent. In the two years he was away, he met many individuals he called his friends and explored the extent of the American West. However, Chris was found dead in an abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail in the deep wilderness of Alaska in early September 1992. Chris believed he could live his life without the disruption of others. Henry David Thoreau believed that individuals can strive for themselves without government interruption. Chris McCandless, in Jon Krakauer’s documentary Into the Wild, believes that living off the land and life to its fullest without help from others compares to Henry David Thoreau’s beliefs in his writing “Civil Disobedience.”

Shaun Callarman says “I don’t admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas.” (Krakauer, 1997) While he is entitled to his own opinion, so am I. I do admire Chris for doing something that many of us want to do but are too afraid. We may not all want to go into the wild but just about everyone has a wild, nonconformist, grand thing that we want to do but are too scared too. Chris was brave enough to follow his heart, and to me, that’s something that should be admired by

If not for the reasons above, he was clearly selfish due to the fact that he made relationships with people only to leave when they were no longer necessary for him. On Chris’s selfish quest for “ultimate freedom” he had a tendency to form bonds with people and allow them to provide for him. A few examples are, Wayne Westerberg. Chris meet Wayne and Wayne offered Chris a job. Chris kept intact, even when he was not working for Wayne. When the time came for Chris to go to Alaska he knew he had a job so that he could buy supplies and leave. Another example was when Chris went to the trailer park. After just a week “a seventeen-year-old named Tracy, fell in love with McCandless” (44) Another example of how Chris selfishly formed relationships to leave was with Ron Franz. Ron had formed a strong bond with Chris. The first time Chris left Ron, Ron felt great sadness but when Chris called Ron for help, Ron could not help but be relieved of some of the sadness. When Ron heard Chris’s voice, “it was like sunshine after a month of rain” (53). Chris, did not feel this kind of bond though. Chris only needed Ron for a place to stay and a friend until it was time to go to Alaska. Ron felt such a strong bond that he asked Chris if he could adopt him. Then without a solid answer Chris “slipped painlessly, out of Ron Franz’s life as well… Franz became so attached to McCandless so quickly, but the affection he felt was genuine, intense, and

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,

It is impossible to fully apprehend what was going through Chris’s mind and how it worked. But we can grasp that his resentment towards his father was deep. He was predetermined to become someone so different from his father because Chris didn’t care for or look up to the kind of person he was. Although he respected how he came up from nothing and made something of himself.

for himself. Chris had been through a bunch of family issues that totally tore him apart because

Chris has had experiences as a kid and that impact him now. He was the youngest child. He had no one to play with him. He was the youngest of the 3. He worked on the family land.

Source: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Health, United States, 2002. Flegal et. al. JAMA. 2002;288:1723-7. NIH, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, 1998.

“Your assignment is to write a persuasive essay and present it to the class in a week. You will be graded based on how convincing it is. Today we will be choosing topics,” announced Mr. Bowerbank, my 7th grade English teacher and ruler of classroom 110. My class simultaneously groaned at the prospect of work. I simply lifted my head with intrigue as it was already May and about time we had our first essay. He then proceeded to give examples of topics we could choose and gave us some time to think before we had to tell him our topic. My classmates were already rushing to tell the teacher their idea lest someone else steal it. That meant the usual abortion, death penalty, or drug use topics were out. I really couldn't think of anything and the teacher was slowly making his way through the remaining students like an executioner beheading criminals in a line. I have always thought that he would make a marvelous supervillain if he had a curly mustache, a tophat, and a cape. Eventually my name was called. I slowly dragged myself over to his desk. Even sitting down, he still seemed to tower over me. “What is your topic Cindy?” As usual in such desperate times, my mind turned to food. “Waffles are better than pancakes.” I figured that a waffle was just a differently shaped pancake with a nicer texture. “Hmm. Excellent topic. I look forward to your essay!” I survived to live yet another day.

Why spend money that is really needed for other things? Why live uncomfortably? Why be trapped in this hole called a home that belongs to another person? Why not live free and peacefully? When a person rents he or she usually throws away money that could be used to purchase something that belongs to them. Money is not easy to come by so why pay out hundreds toward something that is not benefit to the person paying it out. There is no good explanation for making a decision like this. The best option in a situation like this is to buy a house. Buying a house is a better option than renting an apartment.