Roderick Nash Journey

As Chris ventures into the Alaskan wild he was able to find the happiness he was longing for. It was a type of happiness that he could only experience when he was with nature as seen throughout his life. As he laid in his death bed, he never spoke about any regrets he had,

In nature, Chris focused only on himself and survival, rather than his troubles at home, the needs of others, or the standards of society. In a way, he was forced to go into the outdoors because of these poor relationships and inner conflicts within himself. Although Chris sought nature to help him, it destroyed him. He never returned from Alaska to put into practice what he had finally learned about himself and his need for others. Nature and his plan had worked against him, since, he eventually died of starvation.

He took the road that no one would ever imagine doing and he changed the lives of all the people he met. Chris found his purpose in life in the wild. He had always believed in living life to the fullest and he believed that “If you want something in this life, reach out and grab it.” “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon…” Chris McCandless spent a lot of time looking for something entirely different from what he already had and while he found true happiness it eventually lead to his demise. The purpose that Chris was looking for in life was happiness with others. He didn’t like staying in one place for too long and when he found the beauty in Alaska it wasn’t the same. He wrote in his journal “Happiness only real when shared.” By the time Christopher McCandless found the true meaning and purpose in his life it was already too late. There was no way Chris was going to be able to make it out alive of the Stampede Trail. The last note Chris wrote said, “I have had a happy life and thank the Lord. Goodbye and may God bless all!” Chris died happy and at peace with his life in the place he enjoyed the most. Chris McCandless died knowing what truly mattered in life, sharing your happiness with

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

Chris McCandless was possessed by a nomadic existence and was trying to share his principle of life to his friend by telling that the truth about life was to explore the nature. Chris McCandless's last letter to Wayne revealed his true passion of nature. "This is the last you shall hear from me...I now walk into the wild"(pg 69). Some people concluded that it was Chris McCandless's suicide letter. However, in my opinion, Chris McCandless was just a victim of his own ego, pride and confidence that made him to neglect basic precautions that keep one person alive. He was controlled by his own delusions and that made him eager to test himself into strenuousness which proved fatal to him.

Chris acted recklessly when he walked off into the Alaskan wilderness. One major aspect of his journey that contributed to it being risky involved preparation. As Chris prepared, he didn’t think of all aspects for survival in the wilderness, such as changing seasons and traveling. This came apparent right away as he is about to walk into the wild without boots, luckily his ride offered him a pair. After spending more time in the wild it showed that Chris should have brought more food. Also, he should have bought a bigger gun or a gun that you could differ the ammo in. This would have been beneficial for hunting different sized game. During the summer it was harder for him to find food and prepare it fast enough to eat, he may have survived

In the book “The Wild Truth”, Carine writes of the abuse she and Chris endured that “compared to [their] reality, [Krakauer’s] book, and [Penn’s] film were extremely kind” to Walt and Billie (Mccandless 15). This is one of the reasons why someone may think Chris was justified in his decision to “go into the wild”; in fact, one could say that it was his parents’ fault for driving him away. It may be a valid reason for why he left his family’s home, but it does not really justify how he hurt those who he met during his travels. The people that he effected after his death, excluding his parents, had not wronged or hurt him in any way; therefore, it is still not justifiable, in terms of his actions after he left his old home behind. Another thing that should be pointed out would be his reluctance to accept help from others. In the film, he had little to no problem with staying with others for a short time, yet he would be extremely reluctant to accept anything that could potentially help him survive the wild. Due to this reluctance, he was very underprepared when he entered the wild and eventually he died. Even though his death may have been from a mistake he had made, if he had been better prepared or even accepted a bit more help from the people he met, he probably could have survived a

Some say that Chris was an idiot for going out into the Alaskan wilderness unprepared and without any knowledge of nature. “Why would anyone intending to live off the land for a few months forget boy scout rule number one: Be prepared” (krakauer, 71). This was a complaint sent in by a Alaskan hunter, and there were many more that followed that. The people writing the negative comments all believed that Chris either wanted attention, was stupid, or went out on a suicide mission. However, Chris was none of those things, he wouldn’t have been able to survive 113 days off

Chris Mccandless’s motivation was for staying in the woods was for the excitement and rush. Chris is known for many of his specific traits as a person. His stubborn nature or arrogant personality but, one of his very apparent attributes were his self-reliance and his love for nature. He found nature to be an unknown. An unknown that he would turn into a familiar territory. According to Chris, “Tramping is too easy with all of this money. When I was penniless and had to forage around for my next meal.” (Into The Wild 33). Christopher enjoyed the wild because you had to take risks and you always had an adventure every day. Christopher Mccandless stayed in the woods for the excitement and the daily adventure of the woods

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

The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost describes the dilemma in decision making, generally in life each individual has countless decisions to make and those decisions lead to new challenges, dilemmas and opportunities. In Frost’s poem, the careful traveler observes the differences of each path, one is bent and covered in undergrowth (Frost 5) and the other is grassy and unworn (Frost 8). In the end he knows he can only choose one of the paths, after much mental debate he picks the road less traveled and is well aware that he will likely never return to experience the other. By examining Frost 's "The Road Not Taken," we get a deeper understanding of

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 McCandless was reckless and arrogant because he went into the wild unprepared and ill-equipped, he overestimated his ability to survive off the land and finally he had a complete disregard of nature's might and these are the main reasons that chris ended up dead One of the reasons that supports chris being reckless and arrogant was because when he went into the wild he went in unprepared and ill-equipped. For one he didn't bring a tent or anything to help protect him from the cold.second he had no proper maps or any other reconnaissance equipment which would have saved his life since on all the maps of the area it shows how to get around the river that stopped him from escaping Alaska. Finally he only brought a small rifle which couldn't harm a large predator and it would make hunting incredibly difficult. The second reason that proves he is reckless and arrogant is that he overestimated his ability to survive off the land alone for one he didn't bring any food other than a pound of rice he also didn't bring any medical supplies nothing not even a single bandaid so if he got hurt he would have been screwed.

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.

It has been very perplexing reading this novel and trying to truly understand the motives one would have to have to make the decisions McCandless made. I am questioning Chris’ motives for cutting ties with his family and travelling all around the country. I think that he truly had a deep love and spiritual connection with nature. It began as a young child when Walt McCandless (Chris’ father) took Chris on many excursions in the outdoors, such as hiking in the mountains. Chris immediately fell in love with nature and all of the pleasures it had to offer. Also, Chris was motivated by his withering relationship with his family. Early in his life his parents worked tirelessly and it was difficult for Chris to spend time and build a solid relationship with them. Throughout his young life he had disagreed with his parents about many aspects of life. It was said that he