Chris McCandless left his secure life behind to pursue his dreams to live out in the wild. He left behind his education, his family, his possessions, and even his own identity. Many people have done similar things to what Chris did but one of the differences was that Chris was prepared. Although Chris did not make it out of the Alaskan wilderness alive, he survived 116 days in the wild with little supplies and aid and over two years in the South without money. Because of his education and knowledge Chris was more than prepared on his journey into the wild.
Chris was very intelligent receiving a degree from Emory University, graduating with a double major in history and anthropology. Chris had high honors and was on course to get into Harvard. After graduating he decided to move travel across the country and up into Alaska. Many people are stuck thinking he was not prepared for this journey but it is widely believed that “he was sufficiently skilled to last for sixteen weeks on little more than his wits and ten pounds of rice. And he was fully aware when he entered the bush that he had given himself do previously slim margin for error. He knew precisely what was at stake.” (182) Chris lasted a very long time with very little. He did what many people couldn't and that is to survive in
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This novice mistake by Chris clearly shows that he is not familiar with the Alaskan wildlife but Krakauer later states; “Contrary to what I reported in Outside, the animal was a moose, as a close examination of the beast’s remains now indicated and several of McCandless’s photographs of the kill later confirmed beyond all doubt.” (178) Chris survived for an extended period of time off the land by staying well fed off the wildlife. Chris was able to do this because of his familiarity with the wildlife and plants he studied before he arrived in
One of the chief reasons why Chris McCandles had died of starvation in Alaska was because he was reckless. He was reckless because he was so ill prepared for his journey, and arrogant because he refused to listen to the advice of natives, such as Alex. Chris was intelligent and he knew the conditions of Alaska, but he did not prepare for it. Even after Chris was warned he was determined in carrying out his plans. He was also reckless in thinking that he would be able to come out of Alaska alive. Krakuer writes that Gallien said, ‘I said hunting wasn’t easy that where he was going he could go days without killing any game’ (Krakuer 6). He adds that ‘Alex didn’t seem too worried and he wouldn’t give an inch. He had an answer for everything I threw at him’ (Krakuer 6). If Chris was properly prepared he may have made it out of Alaska alive, rather than dying of starvation. However, he traveled with cheap leather hiking boots, a .22 caliber that was
On the other hand, for those he did care about, he left a positive impact on their lives. Chris was raised in an environment where“...hideous domestic violence hidden behind a mask of prosperity and propriety” (Mcalpin). While some believe that going to Alaska was a way to take revenge on his parents, it is hard to imagine those actions taken by Chris who is someone independent and holds neoteric ideals. It is more presumable to suppose that Chris just wanted to cut off ties to those he thinks contravenes with his ideals and ambitions. On the other hand, for everyone he met on the journey, he built a positive relationship; he maintained those relationships up until his death, even telling Wayne, “‘Till then I’ll always think of you as a friend” (Krakauer 33). He consistently sent postcards and shared his current status and new thoughts to Ron, Wayne, and Jan Burres. In his long letter to Ron detailing his pilgrimage, he gave heartfelt thanks and sincere hopes to see him again, writing “Ron, I really enjoy all the help you have given me and the times that we spent together….But providing that I get through this Alaskan Deal in one piece you will be hearing from me again in the future” (Krakauer 56). What makes this letter so special is the fact that Chris
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
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
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.
The book about Chris McCandless’s journey into the Alaskan bush, Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, received a lot of criticism about Chris being foolish for being unprepared. From the articles that I have read, most of the sources do believe that he was poorly prepared for his journey. But there are a few people who believe he was prepared mentally, and an even smaller amount believe he was fully prepared. I believe that Chris only knew what he was doing mentally. He did not have the correct tools or the developed skills to survive, for an extended period of time in the wild. But, he did know what he was about to get himself into. He planned out the trip and knew exactly what his risk factors were. Chris McCandless was either prepared
If you attempted to talk him out of something, he wouldn’t argue. He would just nod politely and then do exactly what he wanted” (Krakauer 182). Chris did exactly as Carine stated he would when someone tried to stop his trip to Alaska. Chris understood what the trip to Alaska would entail but decided to continue anyway. He was confident in his abilities and constantly felt the need to challenge those abilities. According to Jon Krakauer, “He had a need to test himself in ways, as he was fond of saying ‘that mattered’. He possessed grand- some would say grandiose- spiritual ambitions” (Krakauer 182). Although Chris’s ambition is surely admirable it also could be credited as his tragic flaw. Chris strived for perfection in everything he set his mind to. He refused to listen to individuals who were trying to help him when saying he was ill prepared; instead he ignored their efforts and went into the wild. Chris’s unpreparedness could later be identified as the cause of his death but in his mind, his supporters would like to believe, it did not matter. Chris died doing what he loved, living in isolation with nature being his only companion.
Chris had many opportunities once he was on his own to survive and continue on with life “ he shot at a bear but missed. On August 10, he saw a caribou but didn’t get a shot off” (197). This is Chris’ fault for missing a shot on that bear, if he was better trained for the situation and better equipped he could have pulled it off. Chris also lacked the proper equipment to survive in the wild “By design McCandless came into the country with insufficient provisions, and he lacked certain pieces of equipment deemed essential by many Alaskans: a large-caliber rifle, map and compass, an ax.”(180). Chris could have taken the advice that many others had given him, and take the proper equipment.
Chris McCandless was a smart intelligent man, but he was also incompetent. Chris McCandless was book smart and was going to Harvard, but choose not to. Chris left his family to walk into the wild. He burned his cash, gave away money to charity, and went on his way towards Alaska.
Chris didn’t even have boots going into Alaska until one of his friends gave him a pair of boots. Since Chris was unprepared that lead to his death. Sometimes Chris broke the law he didn’t harm no one but you just can’t break the law. In chapter Chris says “F*ck their stupid rules” (McCandless pg 6). This is not to be admire because Chris was not ready for the wild with no supplies or even a map he didn’t know what he was doing. If Chris had a map of Alaska maybe he would have lived and found himself a different route around the river.
Along with making the mistake of neglecting his family, Chris was very overconfident as well. Without doing his research about Alaska and its environment, he was convinced he would be able to survive in the wild. According to Jim Gallien, the man who transported Chris from Fairbanks to the Stampede Trail, McCandless’s equipment “seemed exceedingly minimal for the harsh conditions of the interior, which in April lay buried under the winter snowpack” (Krakauer 5). A ten-pound bag of rice, poor leather hiking boots, a .22 caliber rifle, and a shabby state map were Chris’s only possessions. Gallien did his best to convince Chris to not go into the wild, especially during that time, but nothing changed Chris’s mind. Keeping this in mind, Krakauer
Many could imagine the struggle it would be to survive alone in the wild, but are there better ways to survive than others? In the book Into The Wild, Krakauer, writes about Chris McCandless’ journey going into the Alaskan wilderness. Chris struggled with his home life due to his parents. Chris has been portrayed as a courageous person from Krakauer’s point of view because of his situation at home. To escape it all, he decided to leave and not tell anyone where he was going.
Into the Wild, by John Krakauer, was an authentic, inspirational story about a young man named Chris McCandless on a adventure to Alaska. From the beginning we as a reader know that Chris does not survive. Although in the beginning of his adventure, Chris seemed to be flourishing with excellent health until he reached the Alaskan wilderness. Meeting new people, having them house him, feed him, give him work, all this aided him on his journey to Alaska. Though Chris’s intelligence was surprisingly exceptional, it demonstrated weakness in the wilderness, moreover, his own common sense was not up to high status either. Chris McCandless knew what he needed to survive, but he also refused to take the supplies that was offered to him, he also enjoyed
Christopher McCandless was an adventurer no doubt. He spent the last few years of his life living purely off the land and exploring, doing what he felt called to do. However, to venture off on such an intense, dangerous, and wild journey, a person most likely has some deeply thought out reason as to why he or she is embarking on the mission. Chris himself seems to have had some reasons, besides his curiosity, as to why he explored. However, he made a decision to leave without truly thinking about just how dangerous his journey was going to be. Due to his rash actions, Chris eventually died in an abandoned bus out in the wild. Now, some folks today think that Chris was a hero for doing what interested him and for doing his own thing without worrying about the trivial things in life. However, I have reason to believe that Chris was indeed not a hero. Instead, I believe that Chris McCandless’s journey into the wild was rash, ludicrous and foolish.
In the book Into the Wild written by John Krakauer, Chris McCandless plans to abandon his life and live off the land, traveling from South Dakota all the way to Las Vegas and many other remote locations in the U.S. There was something inside of Chris that drew him into the wilderness. In May of 1990, Chris took off, abandoning everything and everyone and set off into the wild, where he had big plans for his next two years. In the summer of 1992, Chris McCandless turned up dead in Alaska. A series of unfortunate events led to his death. Even though things didn’t turn out how Chris planned, he achieved everything he wanted. Ever since he was young, he had a passion that could only be attained by leaving everything behind and living off of