How Did Chris Mccandless Decline Of The American Dream

A famous transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau once said, “Rather than love, money, or fame, give me truth.” In Jon Krakauer’s biography Into the Wild about Chris McCandless and his journey to the west coast and up to Alaska, Krakauer investigates the different events that occurred throughout Chris’s life that caused him to reach the point of no return. He finds that Chris’s parents gave Chris many material commodities. With Chris’s significant interest in transcendentalist authors such as Henry David Thoreau and Idealism, he rejected this materialistic and conformist lifestyle forced upon him by his parents. Chris left his family and embarked on a journey out west and would eventually journey to the final destination of his entire life, Alaska. Chris McCandless was an admirable idealist, but lacked the experience necessary to survive in the wild.

Jon Krakauer had the same experience as McCandless with his family and travel to Alaska, but Krakauer knew more about survival and had company in case of any danger. Krakauer compares, “as a young man, I was unlike Mccandless in many important regard… And I suspect we had a similar intensity, a similar heedlessness, a similar agitation of the soul” (55). Acknowledging McCandless’s background, Chris left society because, in Krakauer’s point of view, of the “agitation of the soul” and the “similar heedless” of society. McCandless didn’t agree with society’s standards that being successful meant having a well paid occupation, especially when McCandless’s parents enforced it onto him. McCandless truly did not want to uphold the wishes of his parents, for Chris to go to college and get high paying career, but it wasn’t what Chris really wanted, so he left all of his conflicts with his parents and his values or “agitation of the soul” to create a new identity as Alex Supertramp and live in the wild. In today’s modern world, humanity lives in an environment where people are controlled and dependent on others. Chris’s father is someone he despises because of his characteristic of being controlling. Walter becomes controlling over Chris, who pressured him into college. As a result, Chris has an “agitation of the soul” to become independent, and a “heedlessness” for society and had an “intensity” for

Indie Entrekin Mrs. Hardy AP Language and Composition February 26, 2024. In the novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the main protagonist, Christopher McCandless, decides to go off the grid and travel alone to Fairbanks, Alaska, lasting about 113 days before eventually dying of starvation. Since the novel s publishing, the reason why McCandless left civilization behind has been brainstormed by thousands of people; did Chris wish to escape from his potentially abusive family? Was he a civil disobedient who ran away to ‘buck the system’?

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.

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.

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.

Many people in society feels as if all the materialistic objects are pointless and have a greater need to be at peace with nature and themselves. In the book, Into The Wild written by Jon Krakauer, tells the fatal story of Christopher McCandless and his journey to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. Given that Chris McCandless took the road less traveled, he was very ill prepared and immature to believe that he could have survived in the Alaskan Wilderness with no company and no prior instruction about the Tundra. The adventure Chris departed on was in part motivated by his immature grudge towards his parents, in which Chris felt the need to completely distance himself and chase his dream.

First things first, Chris Mccandless followed his dream to escape society and live in nature. Once he got out of society and was on the road he delighted, "McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well—relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy” (Krakauer, 55). Chris had the capability of escaping the society where he could go off on a journey to find himself. Chris is one of the few people out there that has the mindset of doing whatever it is to achieve his dream. Not many people in this world are able to do that especially if it is going out into the wild to fulfill your dream, maybe they will swim 50 miles in an ocean

McCandless’s justifiable actions and plausible motives create an internal consistency in the character’s behaviour. Coupled with the logical storyline and well-written script the film is engrossing. As young Chris McCandless renounced all of his ties to the world and sought out an emotionally fulfilling life in Alaska, he underestimated the bitter American wilderness ultimately leading to his demise. Born with an abundance of wealth, but a shortage of love, Chris McCandless buried himself in classic literature throughout his adolescence. His idealization of Thoreau’s work mixed with his abusive parents built his intellectual and emotional strength to prepare himself for his journey to Alaska. The film was careful not to show too much of his

McCandless worked for a grain farmer who stated “Didn’t matter what it was, he’d do it, hard physical labor, mucking rotten grain and dead rats out of the bottom of the hole jobs where you’d get so dirty you couldn’t even tell what you looked like at the end of the day.” Chris would work to pay for his adventures, such as Alaska gear and a caneoe he bought. McCandless never saved money to spend on himself because it was always money for ideas that came to mind. With McCandless’ journey, it’s understood that, because of his pride and lack of knowledge of the natural world, he went into the wilderness unprepared. In Krakauer’s’ journey it’s understood that many people have natural tendencies to challenge themselves to discover the the world along with life.

Krakauer admits that Chris McCandless was a rash, but he insists he "wasn't a nutcase, he wasn’t a sociopath, he wasn’t an outcast. McCandless was something else-- although precisely what is hard to say. A pilgrim, perhaps" (85). Many thought McCandless was wise and he knew what he was dong, while others disagree, stating his poor decisions contributed to his own death. In my opinion, Chris was indeed wise- he was a young man who didn’t care about labels, brands, big things, or anything materialistic. Instead, he thrived on more important concepts of life like truth and freedom. He believed he would find his true self and relieved of society once he became one with the wild.

Jon Krakauer says that McCandless depended on advice from the hunters in South Dakota, “who advised him to smoke his meat” (166). This quote tells how McCandless needs to rely on himself and learn how to properly cook and save the meat; he wants to be prepared to be on his own to survive in the wild. It shows how Chris is determined to live up to his journey and be on his own. This was one of the important themes because McCandless went on his journey for isolation and relied on himself throughout his

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.” – Henry David Thoreau. This sentiment expressed by Thoreau back in the 19th century was echoed 150 years later by Chris McCandless as he starved to death in the remoteness of Alaska. Chris McCandless plunged headfirst and alone into the wilderness of Alaska pursuing this ideal. McCandless’s journey was inspired heavily by Henry David Thoreau, who is a counterculture icon. Despite McCandless’s hubris and recklessness, he remains a transcendentalist hero, worthy of admiration, because of his unrelenting devotion to the transcendental values of honesty with one’s self, originality, and self-sufficiency.

In all his adventures, McCandless possessed little to nothing in possessions and subsistence, but that didn’t stop him from doing achieving his goals. Likewise, the American dream or character stands on the same foundation of success where anyone can gain wealth and happiness even if they start from nothing. Though McCandless was privileged with a comfortable life, he intentionally threw everything away like his college money and car to prove he could continue without having a head start. With nothing but determination and a steadfast mentality, he embodies the American character to the extent that Americans hope for the best in all situations. Even in near death situations, McCandless survived and grew stronger as an individual, but his major flaw was that he believed too much in the American dream which lead to his downfall. Instead of falling short of being an American, I think he lived an extreme and irrational mode of an American where all his decisions were not prudent. On the other hand, The American lives with preparedness for the future which distinguishes McCandless from the ideal character. Some examples of his negligence for his own health were when he declined to take additional clothing, burned the last of his money, and threw away his ammunition. It was foolhardy for him to purposefully hurt himself and his surrounding like his loved ones. But he isn’t the only one, and only when someone dies from his mistake does people begin to realize the flaws

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.