Mccandless Chapter 6

Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer is a biography about the life of Christopher Johnson McCandless. Christopher McCandless hitchhiked to Alaska alone in April 1992. He burned any knowns of his identity including all his money and abandoned his car. He did not prepare at all for his trek and was found dead four months after he had disappeared in a bus he was staying in. Chris McCandless constructs identity through his actions, interests, values and beliefs.

Lastly, Chris Mccandless got to fulfill his dream, live his own life, and now he even got to find his inner self, find out who he truly is. Chris was the kind of person that lived dangerously unlike most people, he was different “It is hardly unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders...Danger has always held a certain allure. McCandless, in his fashion, merely took risk-taking to its logical extreme” (Krakauer, 182). Chris’s true self-was one that was riskful and daring until he could finish the task. Furthermore, he was different from others and throughout his journey, others could see that. In the end that was the kind of person Chris Mccandless was, and this is the person he became after fulfilling his dream and living his own life. In contrast, others did

A majority of the book’s first half is spent as Krakauer follows the steps that McCandless took on his journey from around the Southwestern United States all the way through the Yukon and into Alaska. Krakauer interviews the people Chris spent time and lived with through all the years leaving those who knew him to describe what the boy they knew as Alex was like. Although nearly all those who knew him have to say was positive things, Krakauer didn’t cherry pick it to be that way he included all people were able to give him both good and bad. People such as Ronald Franz who saw him in incredibly positive light and at the same those such as Lori Zarza who just thought he was kind of a bum. As

In the novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless takes a wild journey. Although some believe that his journey and thought process was noble and courageous, he was actually extremely fatuous throughout his journey. Many people that Chris met along the way made remarkable attempts at making him aware of the dangers that he would surely face in Alaska. Chris McCandless knowingly stepped into the treacherous wild without being prepared for what reality would throw his way.

McCandless set off on an adventure that nobody can quite explain. “He was unheeded, happy, and near to the

In chapter 4, it talked about who McCandless met and some of the adventures McCandless had gone through. For example, " He hitchhiked around the west for two months. While hitchhiking he met a man known as "crazy Ernie" who offered him work at a random ranch in Northern California. After working at the ranch for 11 days, however, McCandless realized that Crazy Ernie was never going to pay him, so he left the

Krakauer begins the novel in medias res, which causes an interruption in the organization and lack of information about McCandless, in which case, he must use syntactical permutation to give all the information necessary and mirror the unknown thoughts of McCandless. Throughout the novel, Krakauer changes points of view to gain different perspectives of McCandless as well as jump to a different point in time as he does by starting chapter two with a narration and description of setting of the Stampede Trail, but then switches in the middle of the chapter to “Thompson made it to the far bank” (Krakauer 11). In addition to chapter two’s deduction, chapter three begins with describing Wayne Westerberg as a “hyperkinetic man with thick shoulders

Even with all of these set backs and characteristics behind Chris McCandless, Chris still went on a life changing odyssey that which is inferred that he enjoyed very much so. On page one hundred thirty six.

In the book Into the Wild the main character, Chris Mccandless, made a rational decision to exclude himself from human society because he believed that going beyond what his parents and society wanted he would live a happier life. Chris wanted to leave society and venture into the wilderness to find the true meaning of who he was. Chris Mccandless was neither crazy or ignorant to live off in the wild where there was no people or anything to interact with but nature. Chris wanted to find his inner self and not only was he a role model for kids all across the country but he also followed his dream. Even though it was selfish of him to leave his family, Chris Mccandless is not crazy because he followed his dream, lived his life the way he wanted to, and went into the wild to find who he truly was.

Not only did Chris McCandless sacrifice so much for the future that he wanted, but he remained focus on his goal and he never ever regretted a minute of it. Even close to his death he was always smiling in the pictures he took and he never looked for a way out. He came into the wild and learned to be one with it. He respected it and learned from it all while staying at his peak of happiness. Chris McCandless’ did not necessarily have a bad life, but it was clear that he was not always happy. When he was truly happiest, he was alone. His disapproval of modern day society is evident throughout the book; “I told him ‘Man, you gotta have money to get along in this world’ but he wouldn’t take it” (46). He realized he needed to be separated from these people and live on his own. He decided to change his course for the future into an isolated lifestyle all without notice to the people that loved him. He was set up for a great life, but he ended it all to follow his dreams and fulfill his purpose. Not

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

Once deciding that he would not bring all the required equipment, it took many people scolding him before he even considered letting other people assist him. McCandless set out on the journey alone, and wanted to prove to himself that he could in fact make it alone in the wilderness. This is one of Chris’ critical faults. Too proud to admit defeat, Chris only lets others help him when in dire circumstances, eventually accepting clothes and other supplies from friends. At the end of his life, a very gaunt Chris finds it increasingly difficult to find game and records how butchering is “extremely difficult” (166). If Chris was adequately prepared for his trip, he would have taken th steps to learn these skills, and may not have resorted to the seeds that killed him. Another crucial mistake made by McCandless was not accounting for when he would not be able to get game. He went into the wild with a small bag of rice and the “heaviest item in his half-full backpack was his library” (162). While it is extremely difficult to read the last chapter of the book without feeling compassion and admiration for Chris, his death could have easily been prevented. His complacency towards “the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild” proved to be his biggest mistake (9).

Although Chris McCandless’ controlling and toxic family environment was a major motive for his escape, his deep-seated internal battle was simply an irresistible impulse for discovery and liberty. Chris’ journey shows a new level of freedom; what true independence holds. He set out into nature alone without support of family or friends, searching for a path unlike those of most, and running from a barred cage of conventional living. Unsatisfied and somewhat angry with himself and his life of abundance in money, opportunity, and security, his preceding experiences and determined character lead him to an inevitable flee into no-mans land. Throughout the novel, Krakauer wants the reader to understand that there is more to Chris than his habit of criticising authority and defying society’s pressures. He needed more from himself, and more from life. He wasn’t an ordinary man, therefore could not live with an ordinary life. Krakauer demonstrates this by creating a complex persona for Chris that draws you in from the beginning.

This is one reason why he decided to leave home; he wanted to experience the life of not having anything to his name, this is also shown through out the book during his journeys, however this not the only reason why he left home. The ultimate reason why he left home was because of what his father had done. A cab driver name Stuckey whom helped McCandless reach Alaska elaborated that McCandless said that he found out that his father was living a bigamist life and that it went against Chris’s beliefs (159). This was ultimately one of the reasons why Chris left home and had no feelings towards his parents. This exhibits the hatred and no remorseful attitude McCandless had through out the book towards his parents, especially his father. However, this attitude towards his father and civilization is justified completely when he decided to leave home and take on the wilderness.

McCandless finds many human beings that help guide him because heb did not know away around the