Jon Mccandless: An Analysis Of Chris Mccandless

1120 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Chris mccandless character analysis

Chris McCandless, the young man that Jon Krakauer writes about in Into The Wild, made the decision to drop everything and walk out of civilization. That is one of the big question here, was Chris a reckless idiot For dropping everything and only relying on what nature offered. This is what a lot of people seem to talk about when they talk about Chris McCandless. There are many people who think that Chris McCandless was a reckless idiot who was mentally ill, or something else was wrong with Chris. It seems that almost everybody that met Chris thought maybe Chris was crazy or had problems. Here are just a few things that people said about Chris and his state of mind. “Zarza admits saying, "he was always going on about trees and nature and
Burres said "I thought Alex had lost his mind when he told us about his 'great Alaskan odyssey, ' as he called it” (Krakauer 45). "Alex is a nut in my book, wrote a resident of Healy” (Krakauer 71). "why would anyone intending to 'live off the land for a few months, ' forget Boy Scout rule number one, be prepared. Why would any son cause his parents and family, such permanent and perplexing pain?" (Krakauer 71). There were many more people that thought Chris was a reckless idiot, but there were also many people that didn 't think Chris was a reckless idiot, and instead thought that Chris was Intelligent and brave. There were many people that Chris met during his travels, and was able to truly touch their hearts and change their lives forever. Jim Gallien, Wayne Westerberg, Jon Krakauer, Walt McCandless, Billie McCandless, Carine McCandless, Charlie, Ronald Franz, and Jan Burres were some of them. Chris knew these people in life or met them before the great Alaskan odyssey. Chris definitely made an impact in all these people 's lives and these people probably wouldn 't call Chris a reckless idiot, but instead would call Chris intelligent and courageous. One of the people that Chris met Before the Alaskan trip that really stuck out was Ronald

Show More
Related

  • Into The Wild Ap Questions

    2033 Words  | 5 Pages

    After reading chapter 1 of Into the Wild, I have the impression that while he seems friendly, he possess a number of negative qualities. Chris seems to be very stubborn, and most of all overconfident. While Chris seems excited to go to Alaska, but is dangerously unprepared, and seems to overplay his experience, while refusing any help. “Im absolutely positive,” he assured Gallien, “I won’t run into anything I can’t deal with on my own” Page 6 Chapter 1. This example perfectly shows his arrogance. By saying this Chris shows how he believes he can take anything on, and is ready for the wilderness, he thinks he is invincible, and is incredibly confident in his survival skills. “Gallien

    Read More

  • Book Analysis: Chris Mccandless

    1372 Words  | 3 Pages

    "I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his Romantic silliness. He made a lot of mistakes based on ignorance. I don’t admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy”- Shaun Callarman. Feeling invincible is new for young adults, but Chris McCandless convinced himself that he knew he was immortal rather than just believing it. His adventure into the wild was mostly due to his rebellious spirit. Some would argue that his vacation wasn 't inspired by his irrational aspirations, but instead by his family. Some say that he skipped town to get away from the strict prison that he called

    Read More

  • Chris Mccandless Motivation

    347 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although Chris McCandless' life at home growing up was hounded by his so called "ignorant" father or his "bigot" parents, made the best out of his life whenever he could. He was on the cross country team when he was younger, and they all ran out into the wild almost, purposely getting lost. Being on that team and experiencing that made him happier and started his interest and passion for embracing nature. Chris even found solace and was content with providing food, such as hamburgers, stated by his cross country teammate Eric Hathway, providing company to people less fortunate than him. Taking hikes with his grandfather and doing things as mentioned previously (cross country), eventually influenced him to make his greatest adventure and unbeknownst

    Read More

  • The Success of Chris McCandless

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout Into the Wild, Krakauer portrays Christopher McCandless as an infallibly eager young man hoping to distance himself from the society he so obviously loathes, to "live off the land," entirely independent of a world which has "conditioned [itself] to a life of security." Chris, contrarily to this depiction, is disparagingly viewed by some as a "reckless idiot" who lacked the sense he needed to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. This derogatory assessment of Chris's mindset is representative of the society he hopes to escape and contains all the ignorance that causes him to feel this way. Nevertheless, he is misjudged by these critics, allowing Krakauer to hold the more accurate interpretation of Chris's character, his goals, and his accomplishments.

    Read More

  • Mccandless Essay: Chris Mccandless

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    Was he a reckless idiot? That is the big question. This is what people always seem to talk about when they talk about Chris McCandless. There are many people who think that Chris McCandless was a reckless idiot who was mentally ill, or something else was wrong with Chris. It seems that almost everybody that met Chris thought maybe Chris was crazy or had problems. Here are just a few things that people said about Chris and his state of mind. Pg 40 Zarza admits saying, "he was always going on about trees and nature and weird stuff like that. We all thought he was missing a few screws. Pg 42 Charlie said, "seemed like a kid who was looking for something." Pg 45 Burres said "I thought Alex had lost his mind when he told us about his 'great Alaskan odyssey, ' as he called it."

    Read More

  • Mccandless's Death For The Death Of Chris Mccandless

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction novel Into the Wild the well off, upper-middle-class, Chris McCandless disappears donating all of his savings to charity and hitchhiking to Alaska to live off the land, but 119 days later he is found having starved to death at the age of 24. Chris McCandless was and is a very heavily discussed topic due to the mysteries of how he died. His “Great American Odyssey” was short, but lack of divulging his plan to anyone else left it in a shroud of guesswork and minimal evidence.But despite that there is just enough evidence to show that Chris McCandless was for the most part, at fault for his own death.

    Read More

  • Chris McCandless' Pursuit of Happyness

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...tic things. He sacrificed so much and put himself in danger to follow what he wanted to do. Chris was a smart cookie, and maybe that was what kept him going was the knowledge flooding through his body and the inspiration that reading gave him.

    Read More

  • Chris Mccandless Argument

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chris McCandless was a very bright young man yet he was very ignorant at the same time. I do agree with Shaun Callarman with his argument about how Chris McCandless was a very ignorant man. Chris had such a bright future ahead of him by graduating from Wilbert Tucker High School and being a college graduate from Emory University with a bachelor 's degree in history and anthropology and yet he just let all of that go to waste. He was ignorant to the fact that he wanted to find happiness since he couldn 't find it within his household since his parents got into fights all of the time, and so he chose to leave that life, not tell his parents where he was going (which was stupid of him to not tell them), also it was completely stupid and dumb of

    Read More

  • Determination: Comparing Chris McCandless and Martin Luther King Jr.

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    This book focuses on Chris McCandless and his journey. Chris was a very determined and strongwilled guy. He was determined to reach his destination, which was Alaska. Martin Luther King Jr. was also a very determined and strong willed man. Both Chris McCandless and Martin Luther King Jr. had dreams that were very big and took a lot of work to accomplish.

    Read More

  • Was Chris McCandless Prepared When He Went Into The Wild?

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    The book about Chris McCandless’s journey into the Alaskan bush, Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, received a lot of criticism about Chris being foolish for being unprepared. From the articles that I have read, most of the sources do believe that he was poorly prepared for his journey. But there are a few people who believe he was prepared mentally, and an even smaller amount believe he was fully prepared. I believe that Chris only knew what he was doing mentally. He did not have the correct tools or the developed skills to survive, for an extended period of time in the wild. But, he did know what he was about to get himself into. He planned out the trip and knew exactly what his risk factors were. Chris McCandless was either prepared mentally, both mentally and physically, or he was ill-prepared for his voyage.

    Read More

  • Chris Mccandless Conformity

    1577 Words  | 4 Pages

    Some see McCandless as an idiot for venturing into the wild, but others see him as an inspiration. His life has a meaning and a purpose to him, and the life he lived meant more to him than any person or possession ever could. Even in his dying words in his journal, Chris McCandless blessed the world saying. “I have had a happy life and thank the lord. Goodbye, and may god bless all!” (Krakauer p. 61). This goes to show that McCandless found happiness in nature and defying the plastic life that most Americans live. McCandless helps us realize that we don’t have to live life according to someone else’s rules; also the fact that we need to be able to focus on our own abilities and rely on ourselves; and finally sometimes you have to alienate yourself from the world for a few moments so that you can view it through your own eyes, instead of seeing the projection that society wants you to

    Read More

  • Chris McCandless is a Tragic Hero

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    In what could have been Chris McCandless’s last contact with humanity he tells his new comrade, Wayne Westerberg, “If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t hear from me again I want you to know you are a great man. I now walk into the wild” (Krakauer 3). For 112 days Chris lived off the harsh Alaskan land. For anyone who is brave enough to travel on the stampede trail and cross the treacherous Teklanika River you will come across the Fairbanks City Transit System Bus 142. Once a backcountry shelter for hunters, trappers, ranger patrols, and for a short time Chris McCandless, Bus 142 now serves as a memorial for Chris McCandless. Travelers will make the trip to witness the basic resources Chris had at hand and the courage it took to make it as far as he did into his journey. Chris was not unaware of the dangers of the Alaskan wilderness. He was fully informed of the challenges he would face and was confident, maybe even hubristic, that he could overcome them. Non Supporters would argue this makes Chris a fool, reckless, brash, or even border lined unintelligent while in fact it is quite the opposite. Chris was a hero because he knew his differences and embraced them, his ambition and strive for perfection took his life, and he followed his dreams no matter the cost.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Chris Mccandless

    1523 Words  | 4 Pages

    Chris McCandless lived a life in which he disgusted by human civilization, and left it, eventually being led to his death in Alaska. McCandless entered the Alaskan wilderness severely unprepared, a brutal error that cost him his life. In the novel, Into the Wild by John Krakauer, Chris glances into his mindset by they way of his journal, history, and analysis of his life reveals that Chris McCandless as an arrogant and judgemental narcissist, while not mentally unstable, had a condescending attitude towards society and perished not only from his reckless stupidity but also from his unparalleled ego. Chris McCandless was immune to love and had an obsession with nature and society, him showing characteristics that created the appearance of McCandless

    Read More

  • Chris McCandless: Hero or Dumb Jerk?

    631 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chris McCandless was a graduate from college whose dream was to go into the Alaskan wilderness and live there to get an overall experience of living off the land. McCandless wanted to experience how to hunt and gather everything that he needed to live in the Alaskan Wilderness. However was it a good idea when Mccandless went into the wild. Many people on his adventure tried to help him by giving him some equipment or buy him some because he wasn't prepared for his adventure. After McCandless’s death to this date people would say that McCandless is an idiot or stupid for not being prepared for the Alaskan wilderness.

    Read More

  • Theme and Setting of Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    All in all, it is interesting how the trials of life can lead a person into an awakening that inspires millions. Many people believe that walking “into the wild” to live off the land and find himself alone in nature was arrogant, foolish and irresponsible. Chris lacks of knowledge about the wild was a major factor in his death. Chris did not plan how he will survive in the wilderness without proper equipments. He misunderstood that he would have no problem in setting in the wild. Chris immature manner and decisions lead him to starvation and ultimately death. If he planned it out in the beginning he would have saved his life.

    Read More

More about Jon Mccandless: An Analysis Of Chris Mccandless

Open Document