The story of Chris McCandless has become a pop culture phenomenon. Many are fascinated by his desire to abandon his family and society and “walk into the wild” (Krakauer 69). Newscasts, magazine articles, movies, and books have tried to define what motivated him to give up everything for his Alaskan odyssey; however, the answers died with McCandless. People make assumptions about him without knowing his entire story. McCandless chose to do the unconventional, making people think he was either foolish or brave and determined, but ultimately he was justified for doing what he did.
Over the course of Chris’s life, he suffered many abuses at the hands of his family, like many others across the world; however Chris had no interest in being told what to do with his life, wanting to live life “freely” he wanted to live life making his own choices and not having anyone telling him what he can and can’t do. Just because he chooses to live his life differently doesn 't mean he was dumb or reckless. No one from Chris’s family had any idea what “his plans were” he has not spoken to his family in a couple years (Jon Krakauer 6). McCandless choose to no speak to his family because of they way they acted, they always fought, they always told their kids look at what your mother and or father is doing, Chris had a really hard time in forgiving his parents and he way they always talked about money just made Chris feel like money ruled the world; Chris wanted a whole different lifestyle
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.
McKenna Vargas Mr. Cagley ERWC-Period 3 08 December 2015 Module 4: Life on the Road In the biographical book, Into the Wild the author, Jon Krakauer, reveals the journey of the late Chris McCandless. McCandless chose to leave his privileged life for a much more rugged life in the Denali Borough of Alaska. McCandless’s ill-preparedness led to his journey’s end after only 113 days resulting in death. McCandless’s story begs the question, Is life on the road suited for everyone?
Christopher McCandless was a recent college graduate who decided to abandon the entirety of his past life and restart with a nomadic, self-sufficient lifestyle in Alaska's wilderness. On Tuesday, April 28, 1992, McCandless entered the wild, ceasing all forms of human interaction; this was the last time he was seen alive. Jon Karkauer's, Into The Wild, combines the findings of his passionate, in-depth investigation using firsthand information extracted from McCandless's personal journal, letters, and interviews with his family members in order to tell the story of McCandless' adventure across the country that eventually ended his life. Additionally, using longform journalism, Karkauer explores the motivations behind McCandless's decision; in
Ryzz Mrs. Moffat English 5-6 11 January 2023 Was Chris Justified? In John Krakauers book Into the Wild, a man named Chris McCandless left everyone he knew in his hometown of Annandale, Virginia as he hitchhiked to Alaska. He burned all of his money and left behind most of his personal belongings, in order to live life to the fullest in the wild. Chris McCandless was justified in leaving his family to travel in the wild simply because he was old enough to decide to cut ties with his abusive family and be happier in life.
Many criticizers of Chris McCandless believe that he was so naive and ill-prepared for his adventure to Alaska that it was what ended up costing him his life in the end. Some would disagree with that opinion and say he was courageous and admired that he followed his dreams and ambitions. In the author’s note of “Into The Wild” Jon Krakauer states, “Some readers admired the boy immensely for his courage and noble ideals; others fulminated that he was a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity” (Authors Note). In my opinion, McCandless was prepared for this adventure, knew what risks he was going to face, and therefore wasn’t naive about his journey.
“Into the Wild”, by Jon Krakauer explains the story Chris McCandless’ life in the wild. McCandless leaves everything even his family to set off on adventure to Alaska so he can live of the land. On his adventure to Alaska he meet a lot of new people that help him with reaching his goal of Alaska. Chris eventually reached Alaska where he was living off the land for sometime, but unfortunately die by an accident he had. McCandless was a very intellectual and well-rounded person he left an emotional impact on people he meet on his journey to Alaska.
Chris McCandless may first be described as a rebel and his inclination to abstain from the family he was brought up with. Krakauer says that he 'believed that wealth was shameful, corrupting, and inherently evil '. Despite that, Chris always liked money. Chris was also a very independent person who had a strong relationship with nature. Chris was also the kind of kid to always get good grades, without even trying to.
Chris went off after he graduated college and “lived off the land”. Chris would travel to the coast of Mexico, the plains of Kansas, and the dunes of Nevada. Chris went on a final expedition to Alaska that cost him everything. In the following paragraphs I will fully detail how Chris was reckless, selfish, and naive. I will also explore how Chris tied his life to the beliefs of transcendentalism.
Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild investigates the life and adventures of Chris McCandless. The author provides information about Chris’ life to illuminate his journey. Krakauer also uses rhetorical appeals to defend Chris’ rationale for his journey. Through Krakauer’s use of pathos, ethos, and logos, he persuades the audience that Chris is not foolish; however, Krakauer’s intimacy with Chris and his adventures inhibits his objectivity.
This statement, made by Shaun Callarman, pertains to Chris McCandless’s trek into Alaska that ultimately led to death by starvation. Since the recovery of Chris’s body, there has been much speculation about the prevention of Chris’s death and the possible causes. Despite Callarman’s plea of craziness, there have been both eye-witness accounts showing that Chris was sane and prepared when leaving for the Alaskan wilderness, many natural
Chris had a huge impact on everyone he knew, but he would not let them influence him or his decisions at all. He rebelled against his family because his father was too controlling. Later on, when any of his companions told him not to go to Alaska, or tried telling him to do anything that he did not want to, he would totally ignore them, and change the subject. As Krakauer writes in chapter 6, “McCandless…relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it. He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family.
Christopher Johnson “Chris” McCandless wan an American hiker. He ventured into the Alaskan wilderness in April 1992, with little food and equipment, hoping to live simply for a time in solitude from the poison of civilization. In attempt to escape the discomfort cause by society and his family, Christopher McCandless sets off on a two-year trek across the country, where he changed himself into “Alex super-tramp.” “McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or world at large but to explore the inner country of his own soul” (Krakauer182). Krakauer realizes that McCandless’s journey wan because of his desire to find happiness and enjoy life that way he felt life should be experienced.
The Alaskan Bush is one of the hardest places to survive without any assistance, supplies, skills, and little food. Jon Krakauer explains in his biography, Into The Wild, how Christopher McCandless ventured into the Alaskan Bush and ultimately perished due to lack of preparation and hubris. McCandless was an intelligent young man who made a few mistakes but overall Krakauer believed that McCandless was not an ignorant adrenalin junkie who had no respect for the land. Krakauer chose to write this biography because he too had the strong desire to discover and explore as he also ventured into the Alaskan Bush when he was a young man, but he survived unlike McCandless. Krakauer’s argument was convincing because he gives credible evidence that McCandless was not foolish like many critics say he was.
“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” ―Maya Angelou. Jon Krakauer’s true story titled Into the Wild is about a man who decides to throw away his old life and escape the rules of conventional society. Twenty-two-year-old Chris McCandless came from a well-to-do family in Virginia and, without warning, abandons everything. He changes his name, loses contact with his family, gives away his car and all his money, and begins a two-year long journey hitchhiking to Alaska where he eventually dies of starvation.
In the 2013 online article, “The Chris McCandless Obsession Problem”, author Diana Saverin describes the Alaskan wilderness travel phenomenon along with attempting to uncover the ‘McCandless Pilgrims’ “root of motivation. Sparked by the release of both Jon Krakauer’s and Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild”, numerous individuals pack their backpacks and eagerly step into their (sometimes newly-bought) hiking shoes and tramp into the Alaskan Wild to pay homage to their hero Chris McCandless. Filled with personal anecdotes and interviews, Severin’s Outside article takes a new approach Into the Wild commentary by directing attention to the lives McCandless’s story affected indirectly rather than critiquing on McCandless himself. In response to what appears to be a huge amount of troubled McCandless-inspired tramping stories, Saverin provides an unbiased rationale as a attempt to explain why so many are “willing to risk injury, and even death, to..visit the last home of Alaska’s most famous adventure casualty”. Saverin begins her article with anecdote- telling the unfortunate experience of young lovers and adept adventure seekers, Ackerman and Gros.