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An Odd Man Out: The Stupidity and Recklessness of Christopher McCandless
Since time immemorial, society has become increasingly complex, leading otherwise successful people to retreat to their origins. This is often due to an inability to adapt and find true happiness in mainstream civilization. The case of Christopher McCandless from the film Into the Wild is no exception to this rule. Mr. McCandless divests himself of his identity and retreats to the wilderness of Alaska. This journey was what eventually led to his ultimate demise. While it is clear that he was courageous in embarking on this quest, it was unfounded in logic and born of arrogance, stupidity and recklessness. Mr. McCandless knowingly demonstrated a lack of regard for his own life and safety by making several poor decisions. Moreover, he carelessly and selfishly gave up a life of privilege that many covet. Furthermore, Mr. McCandless showed regret for his decisions, further proving his initial recklessness. Based on this, it is clear that Christopher McCandless’ reckless actions that led to his death were founded in arrogance and stupidity. For this reason, he must take responsibility for the ultimate outcome. The Alaskan wilderness is harsh, unforgiving and often unbearable. Any reasonable person
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McCandless enjoyed a life of privilege that many can only yearn for. His parents and sister demonstrated extreme care and concern upon his disappearance. They even went to the extent of hiring private investigators to search for their lost relative. Prior to this, they made multiple attempts to get in touch with him, including a personal visit to his residence and countless pieces of mail. By returning several unopened letters to them, he demonstrated a severe lack of respect and reverence for the people that did so much for him. Many can only aspire to have such a stable home life, and his actions constituted an insult to the privilege that he had
McCandless was different to other people, Westerburg saw this, explaining how McCandless ”tried too hard to make sense of the world. To figure out why people were bad to each other so often”(18). When McCandless originally left, he had felt betrayed by his parents and in college he slowly started pushing his friends away. He was disgusted by all the lies and began to shut down and came the plan to leave in his Datsun. Anybody else in his place would have decided to take charge and take a decisive turn turn in their life, hoping it would be for the better. Many don 't realize that although the beginning he was escaping, he later preferred living in nature and didn 't want to stop. He said it himself in a letter “ The freedom and simple beauty of it is just too good to pass up”(33). Also, in McCandless story you’re able to see the evolution of McCandless mentality. At first, he is alone trying to cope with the setbacks he encounters, in which he almost dies from. Then, needing to recharge, he makes friends like Franz and the Westerburg that allow him to see the positives of having someone there for you. However, he still was not convinced that human relationships were necessary, he keeps a safe distance sending them postcards when he can. It is not until at Alaska that McCandless discovers what happiness consists of, he writes in bold letters, “Happiness only
Was Chris McCandless deranged? Was he delusional? Or was he a hero? Since Chris’ body was found in bus 142 in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, he has been called many things. Those who knew him believed that he wasn’t crazy; that his impulsive actions and aspirations to explore the world, were no more than the natural inclinations of a young and idealistic spirit. However, his desire to venture into the unknown with no source of human contact and nothing but a ten-pound bag of rice, is not considered normal behavior. Jon Kraukauer’s, Into The Wild, manifests how Chris McCandless’ antisocial demeanor, lack of remorse, and impulsive actions are directly relatable to behaviors associated with a sociopath.
Many people have different views on the death of Chris McCandless and the actions he did that lead to his death. Some say McCandless is a legend as a result of people are still talking about him today. Others look at the whole McCandless story and just think, wow this kid must have been stupid. There are many people who countless views about McCandless, going out into the Alaskan Frontier ill prepared wouldn’t be my idea of a good time.
The novel “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer goes into great detail to describe the main character, Chris McCandless, who died traveling alone into the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless, whom in the novel renamed himself Alex, left his home and family to travel to Alaska in 1992. In Alaska McCandless planned to live an isolated life in the desolate wilderness, but unfortunately he did not survive. This non-fiction novel portrays his life leading up to his departure and it captures the true essence of what it means to be “in the wild”.
Jon Krakauer, fascinated by a young man in April 1992 who hitchhiked to Alaska and lived alone in the wild for four months before his decomposed body was discovered, writes the story of Christopher McCandless, in his national bestseller: Into the Wild. McCandless was always a unique and intelligent boy who saw the world differently. Into the Wild explores all aspects of McCandless’s life in order to better understand the reason why a smart, social boy, from an upper class family would put himself in extraordinary peril by living off the land in the Alaskan Bush. McCandless represents the true tragic hero that Aristotle defined. Krakauer depicts McCandless as a tragic hero by detailing his unique and perhaps flawed views on society, his final demise in the Alaskan Bush, and his recognition of the truth, to reveal that pure happiness requires sharing it with others.
In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer shares the story of a very brave man named Christopher McCandless. McCandless went exploring in a very dangerous mountain range in Alaska. He was found dead in 1992, four months after he left all of his money and material possessions in order to create a new life for himself. Many people believed that he was crazy or that he actually wished to die. However, Krakauer is able to give examples that show that some people are able to find meaning in their lives as they risk their lives. The papar Irish monks, for example, would constantly risk their lives and put themselves in very precarious situations so that they would be able to escape society and find lonely places. These lonely places provided the monks with the peace that they were searching for. Krakauer states that, “reading of these monks, one is moved by their courage, their reckless innocence, and the urgency of their desire” (Krakauer 97). By using a juxtaposition between the papar Irish monks and Chris McCandless, Krakauer is able to show McCandless’s genuine desire for his meaningful, peaceful life. Therefore, though it might not have been his main goal, McCandless found himself to be in this lonely yet peaceful situation. He was very close to civilization, however, “McCandless was cut off from the rest of the world…[and] he didn’t encounter another living soul” (Krakauer 165). Though some may find him crazy, McCandless was able to find meaning in his life by experiencing the world and by experiencing life without all of the distractions that come from living in civilization. He had a responsibility to himself to explore the world around him so that he could discover its meaning. Had McCandless lived through his exploration, he would have been able to have a specific regard for life that only one who has put themselves in danger can understand. It is
Chris McCandless was a young man who did everything in his power to try and represent that freedom he was searching for. McCandless had everything before we went out but he decided to go out and travel by choice. He was considered a selfish man because when someone offered him to help him he rejects it in a nice way since we wants to do things himself. In the book Into the wild he states that,"You don't need to worry about me. I have a college education. I'm not destitute. I'm living like this by choice."
Chris McCandless was still just a young man when he decided to drastically alter his life through the form of a child’s foolishness. However, Chris had not known at the time just how powerful his testimony against his father’s authority, society, or maybe even his own lifestyle was going to be revolutionary throughout not only Alaska,not even the lower 48, but the world. The story of Chris McCandless is a much talked about debate on topics of safety and preparedness in the wild, these things forever associated with the boy who was a little too eager for a death wish. Today, Chris is remember as a fool or a hero. The fool, a boy who allowed himself to be drowned in a fictional world inspired by his readings,dying because he ignored he was just a normal human being or the hero who set out to become something more.
Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, is the story of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless who ventured off to Alaska and tried to survive in the wild. McCandless grew up in Annandale, Virginia where he attended school and made very good grades, rarely bringing home anything below an A. His father, Walt worked for NASA for a little while, before starting his own business with Chris’s mother, Billie, out of their own home. They worked hard and for long hours to get the business up and running and it finally paid off. The McCandless family was wealthy, but had many emotional problems. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, Chris McCandless donated twenty-four thousand dollars from his savings account to charity, changed his name to Alexander Supertramp, and then disappeared. This book tells the story of his life and travels. Some critics say that Chris McCandless was a very admirable person. He was a brave man that followed his dreams. However, given all of his flaws, attitudes, and actions, he is un-admirable. McCandless walked into the wild very unprepared and stubborn. He also treated his family poorly as well as anyone who got emotionally close to him. Chris was additionally too impressionable in a way that he admired authors along with the books they wrote, and tried to imitate them. He was very rebellious in his actions as well, and did not try to change the world or help others.
Krakauer states, “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, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it” (55). This had also occurred a few months prior in Niland Slabs, where he met Burres and Tracy. He had made friends there, and Tracy had developed feelings for him, but he rebuffed any of her advancements; he didn’t want to get involved with others, not after having left home for his journey. To him, having had friends and family that he left behind, he loved people, but he didn’t want to be close to them in any way other than purely being around them. Growing up with a difficult family relationship, such as McCandles’s, which caused him to push people away; it’s easy to relate to him in that aspect.
Into the Wild, written by John Krakauer tells of a young man named Chris McCandless who 1deserted his college degree and all his worldly possessions in favor of a primitive transient life in the wilderness. Krakauer first told the story of Chris in an article in Outside Magazine, but went on to write a thorough book, which encompasses his life in the hopes to explain what caused him to venture off alone into the wild. McCandless’ story soon became a national phenomenon, and had many people questioning why a “young man from a well-to-do East Coast family [would] hitchhike to Alaska” (Krakauer i). Chris comes from an affluent household and has parents that strived to create a desirable life for him and his sister. As Chris grows up, he becomes more and more disturbed by society’s ideals and the control they have on everyday life. He made a point of spiting his parents and the lifestyle they lived. This sense of unhappiness continues to build until after Chris has graduated college and decided to leave everything behind for the Alaskan wilderness. Knowing very little about how to survive in the wild, Chris ventures off on his adventure in a state of naïveté. It is obvious that he possessed monumental potential that was wasted on romanticized ideals and a lack of wisdom. Christopher McCandless is a unique and talented young man, but his selfish and ultimately complacent attitude towards life and his successes led to his demise.
To him, all those people, like Franz, Westerberg, and even Jim Gallien, all seemed like his family. Some of them gave him a place to crash for the night, gave him a job, and even assisted him on his journey, like giving him a ride. McCandless being nice and appreciative to all those people who have helped him throughout his journey shows how “saintly” he can be. Works Cited Into the Wild. Dir.
...can be a life-changing experience. McCandless entered the wild as an overly confident hitchhiker and left as a self-accepting and humble man. He thought that human relationships were futile, he was impervious to materialism, and that he could understand nature on a scientific level. However, McCandless left the wild with a newfound appreciation for humanity, some clarity on his purpose in life, and the ability to create his own legacy. Many people finish reading Into the Wild and form negative opinions about McCandless’ reckless behavior. However, it is important to focus on how being in the wild brought McCandless closer to understanding himself. Into the Wild should motivate humans to participate in explore the wilderness to discover the true meaning of life.
He wanted to leave his old life behind and forget his society-forced expectations. The scene in which McCandless sees a version of himself inside of a bar is what initially sets him off into a spree for the pursuit of transcendentalism. He believes that this will end up being him, and he doesn’t want to see the positives of this. The problem with leaving after seeing this situation is that he didn’t think to inform his only sister. This sister is highlighted as being protected by McCandless in a time of family hardship during a flashback of recollection in his childhood. Disregarding his immature action of leaving his parents out of spite, why does McCandless not tell the one person he loves about his plans? When he is given the opportunity to call somebody on a payphone, McCandless is shown wanting to and about to talk to call her and speak with her for the first time in a year. Quite unfortunately, he does not get the chance to do this and wastes this opportunity. He let his foolish and rash idea of wanting to be his own independant person overcome his
Krakauer said “McCandless change his name, gave the entire balance of a 24 thousand-dollar saving account to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his pocket” (Author’s note). Family is an important factor in everyone’s life; apparently that was not enough for Christopher McCandless. I have been fortunate to live with my family my whole life.