In the book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless had many decisions to leave his old life behind and start over. Chris’ decision to leave was justified for the following reasons. When he suddenly disappeared, it made it easier for him to let go of his past and focus on what he wants to do in the future. McCandless could make all his own decisions, nobody had a chance to tell him that he could not leave and certainly did not allow anyone to find out where he was going. Finally he didn’t agree to social norms. Although some might argue that McCandless should have notified his parents that he was going to take this trip, however, if he would’ve told his family they would have gone out of their way to bring him back home. Furthermore Mccandless did tell his parents that he was going on this trip and didn’t find the need to tell them where he was going minute by minute. He was an adult and understood what the consequences were. Ever since Mccandless was a kid he was isolated, he felt that he didn’t belong in the world he lived in. However, going into the wilderness have him a sense of responsibility and total severance from his past. "To symbolize the total severance from his past life, he received another name," (Krakauer 23). “Alexander Supertramp” was his wild persona. Perhaps he got his last name Supertramp in light of the fact that he needed to be youthful, wild, and free. He may have needed that to symbolize his lifestyle and his state of mind. Being an
Although many may argue that McCandless past served as primary motivation for his adventure, there is more evidence showing that he had his own differential feelings and has a different act to his everyday decisions that were chosen for himself. Starting off, how Chris McCandless’s childhood life probably had an affect to him to his life choices when he went into the wild. Referring back to documentary how not only did he have spoken about his past, but his siblings did along with his parents about him to how he was and the decisions he made and how it impacted him as to if what he chose to do. He knew that some even his own family would put their own view about himself as being a selfish person because he was just doing what he wanted for
People at some point in their lives have been overly confident about a certain aspect. This confidence has either lead to something desirable or not so desirable. Jon Krakauer in a book he wrote titled Into The Wild writes about a man's adventure into the wild. Chris Mccandless, The main character in this title was born into a friendly family his mom Billie and his dad Walt. Mccandless has three siblings but is very close to his little sister Carine.
Throughout the novel “Into the Wild” the character Mccandless had planned to leave off on his own to explore the forest of Alaska. Mccandless was the son of a wealthy parents, he left them with the intention to show or prove something to himself and his family, after he left without telling them. He had donated all his money he had earned and gave it all to charity and practically gave up all his possessions. This young man was not prepared to be out in the wild since he did not have the right equipment and food supplies to survive out in the wild. He was later found dead inside of a school bus that had been sitting in the wild for years.
I think Chris McCandless felt unfufilled in his life of privilege, and wanted to go out and experience life how he wanted to for awhile, and live freely. Chris may even still be alive today, had he been more prepared. Chris McCandless has always been a bit of a rebel. His spiritual awakening, has led him to quit society. He
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”- Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalism is an American philosophy that revolves around self-reliance and independence, commonly in nature, a Transcendentalist wants to find the true meaning in life. I believe that Chris McCandless was a Transcendentalist because he was able to leave his whole life behind and take on a minimalist lifestyle while having a strong relationship with god. However, I believe that I am not a Transcendentalist, but simply an adventurer.
He had the courage to give up every bit of money he had by getting “A pathetic little stack of ones and fives and twenties- and put a match on it”( Krakauer 29). No normal person would undergo this process but McCandless did which shows the courage he has in trusting the wilderness. Not only did he give up his possessions but he did infact have the courage to take on a new name he had given himself. “No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny”( Krakauer 23).
“As to when I shall visit civilization, it will not be soon, I think. I have not tired of the wilderness; rather I enjoy its beauty and the vagrant life I lead, more keenly all the time”( 87). Growing up, McCandless would go in the outdoors with his family and go rock climbing. After his family would be done, Chris would go off on his own even when his father would tell him no. In the song Freedom by Akon, there is a lyric which relates to McCandless
Into the Wild Essay Most people go into the wilderness to go camping for a week or less than a week, then leave. Some stay for more than a week. Chris McCandless was in the wild for at least one hundred days. “ I’ve decided to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and the beauty of it is too good to pass up.”(pg.92)
After reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, I wondered to myself why I should even care about Chris McCandless. I can see how some think Chris McCandless was an idiot and he was trying to kill himself. After I dove deeper into this question, I learned that Chris McCandless story teaches us important life lessons. Chris McCandless teaches us to get out of our comfort zone. Ronald Franz was an older man who encountered Chris McCandless and gave him a ride from Salton City California to Grand Junction Colorado In Chris’s last letter to Ronald Franz, he says “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation…
A common thought among adolescents is the dream to finally leave home and discover who they are; I certainly share this dream. Though the concept is common, the reasons are unique; The differences in character and circumstances define who a person is. What may appear reasonable to some could very well be completely irrational to another. The story of Chris McCandless as reported by Jon Krakauer in the biographic novel Into the Wild is no exception. From the events in his childhood to the conflict with his father, we can see that Chris McCandless, a young man still discovering himself, became disillusioned with the structure of society and desired nothing more than to “no longer be poisoned by civilization” (163).
What really drove Chris McCandless into the wild? I believe the top three of the countless reasons that drove McCandless into the wild was the emotional damage from his parents, rebellion of the youth & risk taking tendencies, and his hubris and detestation against authority and/or someone telling him what to do. Some may believe that Chris McCandless went into the wild because of his literary heroes Leo Tolstoy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau , and Jack London but the real reason he left everything was because of those reasons. In this essay I will elaborate on why I believe those are the reasons that drove McCandless into the wild.
We have all made mistakes, for some they are small mistakes that do not impact anyone. For others, they are of mammoth proportions and have a preponderant impact on how people think, or say about them. In the book Into the Wild it tells about the journey of Chris McCandless who died in the Alaskan wilderness. Chris McCandless was definitely one of these people who made a big mistake. People around the globe have mixed feelings about this twentieth century adventurer.
As investigator Ken Sleight stated, “That’s what is great about him. He tried. Not many do” (Krakauer 67). He lived out his dreams and in the end, his journey is what killed him, forever making him a tragic
By changing his identity and leaving society, he felt he was shedding the fake elements of his past and evolving into a person he wanted to be. Chris McCandless did not depart on his transcendental quest to die, he ventured into the wilderness to kill the disappointments of his
McCandless thought that his parents were controlling and became scornful towards their expectations for him. Instead of trying to be authoritative, his dad should have been more genuine, but he lacked that ability to try to sympathize with his son which resulted in McCandless’s decision to go into