The Impact Chris McCandless Made on the Lives of Others

One would agree with the author that Chris McCandless wasn’t a crazy person, a sociopath, or an outcast because he got along with many people very well, but he did seem incompetent, even though he survived for a while in the wild on his own. It was amazing Chris survived for so long but he did know stuff about the wild, just not enough, but he was very bright and made good decision. Also on his journey he made friends easily and had a very strong impact on them.

Chris McCandless was a very unique individual. In Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, he tries his best to make sense of McCandless’ journey to the Alaskan wilderness. However, he never really figured out what McCandless’ purpose of the trip was. Looking at McCandless’ life throughout the book, I believe that Chris McCandless went on his journey to find happiness within his own life and did achieve it in the end.

In the book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless life was constantly being changed by hospitality of people who picked up Chris as a hitchhiker. Jim Gallien was hospitable to Chris and gave him boots and his lunch. This hospitable act changed Chris’s life as he was able to survive longer in the Alaskan bush.

In 1990 Chris graduated from Emory University with a 3.7 GPA and had a degree in anthropology. He was and honors student at Emory University (Krakauer 20). This relates to his identity because Chris believes that education was key for him as a child and it is an important part in your life journey to receive a degree. However, some might say that Chris did not use his degree at all and is not wise for making that decision instead of getting a job based on his degree. Chris takes many adventures when he is on his journey such as when he goes kayaking in Mexico. Chris loves the outdoors and thought his bond with nature was strong (Krakauer 32-35). His adventures contribute to his identity because he believes that he should be at peace with nature and be able to live in the outdoors. However, some might say that he is a hypocrite because while in Alaska he killed a Moose (Krakauer 166). When Chris leaves his family he wants to go into Alaska and live a life of his own. All of his other stops are part of his journey as well. He goes into Mexico, The Detrital Wash, and he goes to Carthage (Krakauer 32, 62, 28-29). All of these actions contribute to his belief in independence. Chris believes that he should be able to live life how he wants and values his independence greatly throughout the book. Chris McCandless constructs identity along his journey through his values and

b) In the beginning of his journey, Chris McCandless is very adventurous and has a positive outlook throughout his journey. “I’ll be fine with what I’ve got.” (Krakauer, 6) This shows he is happy, as he wanted to ‘live off the land’ and is eager to get there. By the end of his journey Chris is in need of help as he is starving in his base camp in Alaska. Although his poor health, and awareness that his death would come soon, he is overall content with his journey and had accepted his death writing in a death note, “I have had a happy life and thank the lord. Goodbye and may god bless all.” (Krakauer, 199) This shows he was in a happy state when he died that day. Chris’ character had not changed much throughout his journey because of who he

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

There is a strong sense of emotion when Chris is leaving Wayne Westerberg’s farm for the last time, and we learn that he is exceptional at playing the piano. A skill, that we decipher, had been honed to perfection after countless years of practice. When he cries at the point of his departure the next morning, his tears invoke a sense of his own knowledge of the risks he is taking which is when his friends “started to have a bad feeling that we wouldn’t see Alex again,” (Krakauer, 24). He is clearly well liked and people wished to get to know him more because he had the capacity to create joy in others, an element of pathos that we feel as a result of his

Seven billion people in the world, all with unique personalities, on this earth to serve a purpose in their own life, or someone else’s. Chris McCandless was a man with unique qualities, and served to please himself and coincedently others as well. In the book “Into the Wild” the author, Jon Krakauer, explains the adventures and mishaps Chris McCandless went through in his life. Krakauer admired Chris for his personality, and his ability to be determined and hardworking at everything he did. Chris McCandless was an admirable man, with his individual view on life, and the way he could touch a person’s life and impact them forever.

Ultimately this may end up being the reason that Chris does not survive his journey, but it does not make him any less of a hero. Chris’s story is a tragic one, but at the same time it is one of triumph and accomplishment. Since Chris believed the only way to go about his journey was to do it alone, it is an admirable thing that he did just that. Chris may not have had a moral gripe with allowing other people to travel with him, but it is because he did not want to spend too much time with other people. Ken Sleight says about McCandless “We like companionship, see, but we can’t stand to be around people for very long. So we go get ourselves lost, come back for a while, then get the hell out again” (85). McCandless made tons of friends along his journey and he positively affected many people’s lives, but at his core McCandless was a lone wanderer. I do not subscribe to the notion that happiness is only real when shared, and I believe the only reason Chris wrote that in his journal is because he was feeling lonely and scared. Chris McCandless lived a full happy life in his short 24 years and everybody could learn something about themselves if they were a little more like Chris

Chris McCandless was a hero to many people throughout his life and he was often considered a hero to most. But, a lot of people criticized his errors along the journey. When Chris died, his impact on society was mostly positive, and the people who he met remembered his accomplishments that he has made in their life. His passing let people remember him for what he has done to help others along the way. His mistakes and flaws added up from the first day he started this path of life. Throughout the story, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless is claimed to be a hero by many of the few he met across his journey to Alaska. However, a

While on his quest to nirvana, Chris was intent on cutting all ties with the people of his past: friends, family, peers, etc. In addition to leaving the others behind, he also avoided all potential oncoming relationships along the way as well. The noncommittal adolescent wrote about feeling “extremely uncomfortable with society,” and wanting to get closer to nature and simplicity. Ronald Franz, a lonely old man who gave McCandless a ride to Colorado, got so

Chris McCandless’ was well liked by the many people he met while he was on the road, he made an impact on everyone that he met, as Wayne Westerberg said, “A lot of folks here in town got attached to old Alex. Kind of a strange deal what happened to him.” (Krakauer 16), People loved and adored Christopher McCandless, even though he left to go live in the wild by himself, that didn’t make him antisocial. He also liked

Chris deeply hurt Franz when he left and did not return, this shows how his attitude towards people were for his own self interest and were not thought through. Alex aso did not tell his parents where he was and whether or not he was even ok, this put a tremendous amount of stress on his parents. When he was asked about his family would often avoid the question or make a snarky comment. When Gallien asked Chris about his family to see if Chris had anyone that will know if something when wrong, Chris answered, “no, nobody knew of his plans, that in fact he hadn’t spoken to his family in nearly two years. “I’m absolutely positive, “he assures Gallien, “I won’t run into anything i can’t deal with on my own“ (6).

124). He furthers this by describing how Chris’ parents sent a letter saying” You have completely dropped away from all who love and care about you. Whatever it is—whoever you’re with—do you think this is right?” (p. 124). According to Krakauer, Chris saw this “as meddling and referred to the letter as stupid when talked to Carine” (p. 124). At this point, Krakauer is clearly pointing out Chris’ flaws and how he seemingly didn’t enough about his family to bother contacting them for long periods of time. He builds upon this when mentioning how Chris went on trans-continental journeys through the Mojave Desert and various places multiple times without saying a word. He even goes as far as to describe how in July 1992, 2 years after Chris left Atlanta, his mother awoke one night with tears rolling down her cheeks screaming, “I don’t know how I’ll ever get over it. I wasn’t dreaming. I didn’t imagine it. I heard his voice! He was begging, ‘Mom! Help me!’” (p. 126). Krakauer could have deliberately left out such disheartening details that portrayed Chris in a negative manner, as someone who would make his mother suffer in such a way, but he included them in order to give the reader as much perspective on Chris as possible.

Chris McCandless died doing what he loved, but was it worth all of the pain and uncertainty he caused his family? Chris embarked on a journey through the Alaskan wilderness, which resulted in his demise. He cut ties with his family due to personal differences in opinion and travelled all around the country living off of the land for the most part. People have formed many different opinions of Chris McCandless, but its up to you to decide whether his actions were selfish or purposeful. In this Journal, I will be questioning the motives of McCandless, connecting with him, as well as evaluating the author.