Into The Wild Chris Mccandless Character Analysis

In the wilderness of Alaska, temperatures can drop down to thirty degrees below zero. Christopher McCandless lived in these conditions for four months after traveling through North America for almost two years. It can be seen in the novel, Into the Wild, that during his journey he had many brushes with death and burned bridges with people who deeply cared for him. For those reasons and many more, people assert Chris McCandless was unprepared, careless, and selfish on his personal journey across the United States, culminating in his death in Alaska.

Christopher Johnson McCandless is a respectable man in so many ways but, yet such a foolish man in many others. Chris McCandless possessed a seemingly ever-lasting bravery that constantly shined through his unique and matchless character. He was very righteous in himself to the point in which he kept himself from any sin or evil, committing his life to what seemed like an idea of celibacy, not just in refraining from any desire of flesh but also in all lusts of life with his diligent power of will that constantly shined through his exterior. Onto the contrary of his good characteristics, McCandless remained to be very foolish in his decisions and under takings, whether it be by his arrogance of sheer narrow mindedness.

What is it that we find crazy about those who have the courage to do what we won’t? In the compelling novel “Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer the character and intelligence of the youth in men is questioned. Through the pieced together 200 page novel we are introduced to Christopher Johnson McCandless also known as “Alex Supertramp”. A ripe 24 years of age he chose to question our reality and his meaning of life that is given to us by hitchhiking across America to the Alaskan wilderness, where after four months in the last frontier he is found dead. Krakauer throughout the novel shows that although some admire what McCandless did, others found his final journey “reckless” and “crazy”. Krakauer goes to explain this claim through interviews of those who have encountered McCandless on his adventure and through those who got to know his story.

The plot line of a tragic story is one that enthralls a reader with the rise and fall of a tragic hero. After the death of Christopher McCandless in Alaska over 20 years ago, not only is there still discussion of what was the true cause of his death, but also the widespread debate of a much larger question: was McCandless a tragic hero? Some argue that Christopher McCandless is a selfish coward and ended up giving his whole life and education away due to his lack of knowledge of the wilderness, while others argue that he lived his life through pushing beyond the limits of a normal human being and seeking what is limited to most of society. In the novel Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer describes the travels of McCandless and writes about how past

In these instances it is by luck alone that Chris does not end up suffering an even earlier death. The most obvious example of Chris’ naivety is why he even began his journey in the first place. He had read many books by Jack London, but “he seemed to forget they were works of fiction”(44). These fictitious tales of the “beautiful, white North” gave him false ideas of what the Alaska really was, and how dangerous it could really be. He lacked the common sense to realize that these books weren’t really an accurate depiction of what his journey would actually be like. Throughout the entire book, Chris also shows an inability to prepare for his expeditions. Most prominent of these instances is Chris’ failure to bring the appropriate supplies for his trip through the stampede trail. “He wasn’t carrying anywhere near as much food and gear as you’d expect”(4). Chris’ naive dream to live on next to nothing in the wild is simply idiotic. Not only did he pack far too little to survive, but he refused to accept Gallien’s expert advice or even an offer of better supplies. Even an experienced hunter such as Gallien couldn’t imagine living in the wild with as little as Chris brought, so how could Chris, an inexperienced kid from California, be expected to survive with only 10

Chris McCandless was a loner, a fierce believer in the spiritual revolution, and a hopeless dreamer, traits that, combined with his dislike of society, ultimately led to his “climactic battle to kill the false being within” in the harsh Alaskan wilderness. Until his “great adventure,” Chris increasingly compared himself and the society around him according to a strict moral code. As a result, he was disheartened by the realization that the majority of people he encountered were not taking initiative to improve the quality of life for themselves and for others. Along with his own efforts to rid himself of the pretenses and prejudices of society, McCandless continually encouraged

Life is never easy, no matter how hard we try to short cut and escape the inevitable difficulties. After College is when life sets in, when work becomes a necessity and we all begin to find a place to settle down. People respond differently to different situations. Some of us embrace the freedom and the ability to earn money and spend money indiscriminately. Others crumple under the social pressures placed on us. Christopher McCandless is a perfect example. Settling down and raising a family, providing for that family and creating a sustainable lifestyle are important and high stress things that we all must deal with if we are to enjoy the finer things in life. Chris totally abandoned that, he gave away all of his possessions; even

Krakauer wants the reader to understand that Chris McCandless has similarities and differences with other people who have comparable stories involving Alaska. In chapter eight, Krakauer states common traits between him and four past Alaskan trekkers: “Like Rosellini and Waterman, McCandless was a seeker and had an impractical fascination with the harsh side of nature. Like Waterman and McCunn, he displayed a staggering paucity of common sense”. However, the author also states how McCandless is unique: “But unlike Waterman, McCandless wasn’t mentally ill.

He was so focused on being in the wild away from all civilization that he put himself in extensive danger. Krakauer wrote, “In coming to Alaska, McCandless yearned to wander uncharted country, to find a blank spot on the map. But Chris, with his idiosyncratic logic, came up with an elegant solution to this dilemma: He simply got rid of the map” (Krakauer 174). By throwing away his map, he essentially threw away all connection to humanity. If he had chosen to keep the map he could have walked out of the wild, healthy and ready to begin his life as an adult. He loved the wilderness so much that he wanted to nothing to stand in the way of it. Moreover, the perfection of nature blinded his unmatured personality to throwing away the map. The forcefulness of his love of independency and nature drove him to make idiotic decisions that cost him his

24 year old, Chris McCandless, is a man born into a wealthy family from Washington D.C. Chris is almost “born” into the wild, he goes on an adventure in Alaska, leaving all his possessions behind, even all his money. About 4 months of adventuring in Alaska, Chris’s body is found dead. Throughout the story, the reader learns more about Chris’s family and their relationships with eachother. The relationship that stands out to the reader most, is the relationship between Chris and his father. His father is abusive and not truthful towards his family members, which is not a healthy relationship that Chris and his father have.

Jon Krakauer’s novel Into The Wild describes the young man Chris McCandless and his adventures and encounters before his untimely death. Chris was a young man trying to find his way in the world by leaving society and his life to take a journey of self discovery through travel and nature. In Into the wild, Jon Krakauer characterizes Chris McCandless as charismatic and driven. Chris McCandless was a extremely driven individual.

In the story, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, character Chris McCandless ends all connections with society which he believes can be compared to a corrupt and evil institution. Chris McCandless was an individual who desired more from the world than what was offered and limited by society. He wanted to escape the boundaries of the society that he was born into in order to discover his true self or even perhaps learn what true happiness is.

Is difficulty forgiving a driving force in people’s lives? People tend to have trouble letting things go and moving on. Instead they will bury things within themselves and walk in day to day life holding on to negativity. Chris McCandless sister Carine said in The Truth About Chris McCandless: “Perhaps I cannot escape the irony that as children, throughout dads gin, induced rages, we were told that he himself, was God, so his actions could not be wrong.” The home when they were younger was fairly stable, it included dad, mom, Carine, Chris, Shelley and Shawna but there father was a drunk and he kept secrets Chris could've never imagined. In a new memoir The Wild Truth, Carine writes that she believes her brother's sudden disappearance and journey reflected his determination to separate

Into the Wild Character Analysis Essay Chris Mccandless is a man who is in love with nature and is always wanting to be one with nature with no help and it's all in the book Into the Wild. In Into the wild, Jon Krakauer characterizes Christopher McCandless as careless and passionate. Chris is described as careless in the book Into The Wild. “ Alex’s backpack looked as tough as it weighs only twenty five or thirty pounds, which struck galleon an accomplished huntsman as an improbable light load for a stay of that long” (4, krakauer) Alex with the amount of supplies he has doesnt realize that he will need a lot more to survive on the journey he is doing.

The Freedom Walk In the movie Into The Wild, Christopher McCandless was a son of wealthy parents. Christopher McCandless was the oldest of him, and his sister -- Carine McCandless. Christopher graduated from Emory University with a great grade point average and was an outstanding athlete. Instead of him furthering a career after graduation, he then decided to give his savings of $24,00 away to charity, and went on a journey to the Alaskan Wilderness.