The Cruendless : The Characteristics Of Mccandless

McCandless, when faced with that choice, joined the group of people who chose the path of challenge over the path of convention. “McCandless was hardly unique; there’s quite a few of these guys hanging around the state, so much alike that they’re almost a collective cliché” (71). Some believed that McCandless was like the other guys hanging around, but the people who got a good understanding of McCandless will say he is unique. He went to Alaska for different reasons than the guys hanging around the state, he had something to prove and find for himself. What makes McCandless different is that he was a hero, he went out to Alaska unprepared with nothing and wouldn’t take people’s help because he didn’t want to rely on anyone but himself. He wanted to create his own life and make his own

Both Henry David Thoreau and Christopher McCandless ventured out into the woods to get away from the dreariness of everyday society and to find themselves. Only one lived to tell the tale. What was the fatal flaw of the man who didn’t continue on? The only way to find this is to analyze the differences and similarities between the two. McCandless, while embracing some of the same values as Thoreau, was ultimately a different man. While they led very contrasting lives in very distant times, both McCandless and Thoreau sought a type of freedom that can only be achieved when immersed in nature. Thoreau’s entitlement and cozy cabin in the woods is a far cry from McCandless’s constant struggle during his expedition, however, certain parallels

-- In this quote Eric Hathaway reveals that McCandless was more than just his criticizing persona, He was a caring person who defies the pressures of society, which can be supported with his trips to the underdeveloped parts of town. He is a self-reliant individual who stands for individualism.

Chris McCandless “had been raised in the comfortable upper-middle-class environs of Annandale, Virginia” (Krakauer 19) so growing up, McCandless lived a considerably privileged life and because of that, he never experienced hardships in terms of economics. Ironically, McCandless is a man who puts little to no importance into material items and or wealth. To some, McCandless’s decision to give all of his money away, abandon his family, and give away all of his belongings as something only a “nut” or a “kook” would do. However, growing up, McCandless grew up with the ideology that his economic privilege was “ shameful, corrupting, [and] inherently evil”(Krakauer 115) which led him to become ashamed of what he had. McCandless put strong emphasis on his belief of equality. He would always try to “make sense of the world” (Krakauer 18) and why things were the way they were and why people did the things they did. So, as a result

In order for readers to distance themselves from making quick judgements about McCandless, the author gives many detailed interviews of people who have spent some time with him before and during his journey into the wild. Those interviews follow a similar structure: they are critical of McCandless at first but are later charmed by his intelligence and determination. In the first chapter, Gallien has picked up McCandless on the highway and he immediately wonders “whether he’d pick up one of those crackpots [...] liv[ing] out ill-considered Jack London fantasies” (4).

Krakauer writes in Author's Note “He was an extremely intense young man and possessed a streak of stubborn idealism that did not mesh readily with modern existence, long captivated by the writing of Leo Tolstoy McCandless particularly admired how the great novelist had forsaken a life of wealth and privilege to wander among the destitute. By writing this, Krakauer is admitting to his ideas on which he tries to shed light on McCandless story instead of having negative remarks. He wants his readers to know that McCandless follows what he believes in which is to wander in nature and follow the ideas of transcendentalism, which he landed on a land that he was seeking for. Also, Krakauer's demonstration of McCandless and his ethical ideas are proven as Krakauer writes on page 106, “but Christopher Johnson McCandless came into the world with unusual gifts and a will not easily deflected from its trajectory.” This proves that McCandless has a complex personality, but most importantly the author knows and understands his kind of complexity, McCandless was a stubborn young man, who wants his way, but what sets him apart from others is that he did something that others did not have the courage to do and most importantly he would not let anyone deter

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 book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, tells the story of a boy, called Chris McCandless, who was someone that created an impact on many different people as he journeyed around the West. “You could tell right away that Alex was intelligent.” Westerberg recalls “He read a lot” (18). Because Westerberg was the second person Chris used his fake name upon, it shows that Chris McCandless doesn't want people to know who he really is and he wanted to reinvent himself as he wanted to be not as society wanted him. Chris McCandless has quite a few literary heroes who have helped him shape his own opinion on life’s philosophy and were constantly quoted and listed in Chris McCandless’s story. “He gave Westerberg a treasured 1942 edition of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. On the title he inscribed, ‘Transferred to Wayne Westerberg from Alexander. October, 1990. Listen to Pierre’” (19). It’s interesting that Chris wrote “Listen to Pierre” (19), because Pierre is a character who is an alter ego like Chris McCandless, who goes by Alexander Supertramp.

To the average person, going off and living off the land is far fetched from the ideal “perfect life” or “American Dream”. To Christopher McCandless, it’s another story, he isn’t the type of person to “stick to the status quo”, he follows the things that he believes could benefit himself. To some people, it may be narcissistic because it’s selfish to only think about what is good for yourself, but to others it could be heroic to have courage to be able to stand out from and break conformity. Chris McCandless, who was well liked and very educated man, left the life that many people desire to have behind and he went off to “live off the land, to survive off of the resources that nature offered he immersed himself in nature to find himself. It takes a lot of courage and guts to go out and “live off the land” with limited supplies but it also takes a lot of skills to do it well, and he underestimated what Mother Nature could do, leading to his death.

McCandless lead a mostly enjoyable life; he was born into a considerably rich and high end family, and received outstanding grades through his years in school. He was well liked, and built up a motivated and optimistic persona, yet despite this, he decided to abandon his life and reach for “an endlessly changing horizon”(57). His life, while possibly seen as luxury by

In the excerpt above, Krakauer cites Roman Dial, a professor at Alaska Pacific University and renowned backcountry adventurer, to further support that people should not judge and assume that McCandless was incapable. In fact, McCandless’s ability to live in the wild for months was actually an impressive achievement. Krakauer and Dial recognize that McCandless did make fatal mistakes, but critics fail to give McCandless enough credit for what he was able to accomplish.

McCandless's lifestyle of having reduced dependence on property was demonstrated frequently throughout the book. When McCandless's body was discovered, his family had to retrieve his ashes and belongings from the coroner stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska in chapter 13. His belongings included a rifle, binoculars, fishing rod, a knife, his plant book that his journal was written in, and a camera with film. For having lived in the wilderness for months on end, he had very few belongings. It is clear that he reduced his dependence on property over time. This idea can be paralleled with the essay Walden, written by Thoreau (pg.406). Thoreau describes how living simply or deliberately alongside nature can cause someone to learn and feel things they would never discover otherwise in their lifetime. McCandless lived both with limited belongings and pushed himself to become “one with nature” per say during his time in the Alaskan wilderness.

One which all of a sudden motivated him to abandon his well-off middle-class standard of living he had conformed to earlier to search for a purer destination to think as well as feel in. Whereas his loved ones looked for him but their efforts were futile since he moved throughout America, dwelling off his acumens as well as the charitable trust of men and women he met in the course of his adventure. It plainly shows how he viewed life to be comfortable with nothing much to think of or worry. McCandless impelled by the impracticality of authors such as Henry David Thoreau, Jack London and Leo Tolstoy, each of whom spurned earthly riches and embraced a Spartan presence of the life-force. His faith-based mutiny in opposition to material belongings must have been to some extent fueled just by estrangement from the principles instilled in him by his

Christopher Johnson McCandless graduated from Emory University in 1990. The son of well-to-do parents, it appeared that Chris was prepared to embark on the next chapter of his life. He had been editor of the student newspaper, earned honors with a double major in history and anthropology, and seemed destined for law school. Determined to rewrite his story, Chris eschewed conventional expectations. He divested himself of money and possessions and immersed himself in a new identity: Alexander Supertramp, Alaskan Adventurer. Four months after beginning his trek into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley, Chris's decomposed body was found. When the details of his story emerged, many people thought Chris was mentally disturbed, calling him a "kook," a "nut," and "a half-cocked greenhorn," among other things (Krakauer, 1996, pp. 71-72). Had Chris's story had a happy ending, he would probably be described differently. He brought the tragic ending on himself, and people called him crazy. "Crazy" is a non-clinical word often used to describe someone with an underlying pathology. In this sense, there was nothing wrong with Chris McCandless. What he did suffer from was the enthusiasm and over-confidence of youth. Combined with poor planning and insufficient skills and experience in the outdoors, his "affliction" became fatal. McCandless made bad decisions, but he was not crazy.

Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth (Jon Krakauer Quotes). He was a book smart person that was missing the experience of the outdoors. By going into the wild he was going to learn more about his surroundings and this would stimulate his brain because knowledge was a great factor in his life. It is true that I miss intelligent companionship, but there are so few with whom I can share the things that mean so much to me that I have learned to contain myself. It is enough that I am surrounded with beauty (Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild).Having an education wasn’t enough for him because he wanted to learn beyond from what is written in the books and I believe challenging himself was part of setting the goal to travel to Alaska because he knew it wouldn’t be easy.