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The pursuit of happiness philosophy
The pursuit of happiness philosophy
Unique characteristics of chris mccandless
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Recommended: The pursuit of happiness philosophy
Chris Mccandless underwent his own personal frontier by coming to the realization of the importance of others. Chris and his family had a very complicated relationship, specifically between him and his father, Walt. His father deeply betrayed Chris and his family by having an affair with his ex wife, and as a result, Chris resented him. His father tried multiple methods to gain his forgiveness such as buying him nice things, however Chris forcefully rejected his materialism and overbearing nature and had no interest in pursuing any sort of relationship with him. His father’s betrayal is one of many reasons that lead him to sever all ties with his family and old life and head out west, for he felt he did not need human relationships in his
Before going to Alaska, Chris McCandless had failed to communicate with his family while on his journey; I believe this was Chris’s biggest mistake. Chris spent time with people in different parts of the nation while hitchhiking, most of them whom figured out that McCandless kept a part of him “hidden”. In chapter three, it was stated that Chris stayed with a man named Wayne Westerberg in South Dakota. Although Westerberg was not seen too often throughout the story, nevertheless he was an important character. Introducing himself as Alex, McCandless was in Westerberg’s company for quite some time: sometimes for a few days, other times for several weeks. Westerberg first realized the truth about Chris when he discovered his tax papers, which stated that “McCandless’s real name was Chris, not Alex.” Wayne further on claims that it was obvious that “something wasn’t right between him and his family” (Krakauer 18). Further in the book, Westerberg concluded with the fact that Chris had not spoken to his family “for all that time, treating them like dirt” (Krakauer 64). Westerberg concluded with the fact that during the time he spent with Chris, McCandless neither mentioned his
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."
The McCandless family all loved and cared about Chris deeply. The McCandless family was constantly distressed over Chris and the choices he made I life, as they knew they could not change his mind on any decision no matter how much they resented said decision. As shown in the book, “And then he left on his trip. . . We had our hearts in our mouths the whole time he was gone, but there was no way to stop him.” Page 118 Chapter 12. These quotes showed the constant worry they had over Chris fully knowing they could not change him. Chris’s feeling about his family weren’t as strong in return. Chris was more distant from his parents, Chris eventually grew a distaste for his parents when he discovered that his father never told him about his previous marriage. “He seemed mad at us more often, but he wouldn’t tell us what was on his mind and spent more time by himself.” Page 121 Chapter 12. Thoreau’s quote is similar to Chris’s viewpoint as Thoreau’s quote talks about lack of truth, which is why Chris is upset with Walt, lack of truth from his previous
“McCandless was something else – although precisely what is hard to say.” (pg. 85). Chris was a very different person, but not crazy. He was emotionally motivated at the time and had his mind set on Alaska. In the end, Chris was nowhere near prepared for this journey, but was too caught up in what he was trying to do to realize this. I agree with Krakauer that Chris wasn’t crazy or insane, but in his attempts to survive in Alaska he made several mistakes and ultimately, led an ill-prepared journey to Alaska that killed him.
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
Instead, rage drives Christopher McCandless to pursue his journey. Pure anger from the secret that was kept from him throughout his childhood. McCandless’s childhood was an entire lie, which sent him into a spiraling rage to leave everything he owned and loved. McCandless is frowned upon for his actions however no one seems to understand. He deserved to be angry at his family, they betrayed him. He deserved to set out for an adventure to find himself because
Chris McCandless adheres to the tenet of individual supremacy by throwing away and keeping himself far from wealth. He attempts this tremendous feat by donating most of his money and expunging the rest by burning it. He may break the law in this action, but is reveals a great deal about his character: that he cares about people but also that money holds no power in his life. Venturing into the Alaskan wilderness extemporaneously, McCandless also breaks the bonds of wealth by staying away from it. His supplies—“cheap leather hiking boots, … only [a] .22 caliber [rifle]; a bore too small to rely on if he expected to kill large animals like moose and caribou…. He had no ax, no bug dope, no snowshoes, no compass”—allowed h...
Chris met three important people during his adventure these people were Jan Burres, Ronald Franz, and Wayne Westerberg. Out of everyone who he had met it was only these three important people who he decided to stay in contact with, why? McCandless had a great childhood from the looks of it, all the photos of his childhood were him hiking or out on vacation or a happy family portrait, but those were just pictures. Chris’s father was a smart man he got paid a good salary, owned a nice home, had a wife and children of his own, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. He was abusive to his wife and made his children watch, this hurt Chris deeply. Chris’s mom would often tell them she is sorry, that she got pregnant with Chris and can't leave. It hurt Chris so much he decided to leave,
In John Krakauer’s novel Into The Wild, the reader follows the life of a young man who, upon learning of his father’s infidelity and bigamy, seems to go off the deep end, isolating himself by traveling into the wild country of Alaska, unprepared for survival, where he died of starvation at 67 pounds.
When Chris left for his journey he wasn’t crazy or stupid as many would say. “McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large, but rather to explore the inner country of his own soul” pg. 183. The fact that Chris never bother to discuss his Alaskan walk about with his anyone especially his parents wasn’t intentional. However throughout the whole book it was made very clear that he was at odds with his parents in some way to go off on his journey but he didn’t want to hurt them, which I think Walt and Billie finally realized visiting the bus where Chris had passed. I think Chris just wanted to get away from his everyday life, clear his mind, a mind that didn’t involve the worries of expectations and the thoughts of his parents hanging on his shoulders.
The settings in the story have impacts on the theme of young manhood. Chris leaves his family and decides to go on a journey to find a new life. Christopher felt affected in his family presence so he sends his final school report to his family: “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”(Krakauer,55). He believes that this is a way to find his true identity and peace of mind, which he thought could be achieved by fleeing into the wild. Chris seemed to have a bad relationship with his parents, especially with his father because Chris found out that he had a child with his first wife when Chris was born. This fact is revealed by his dad’s old neighbour, “Walt’s split from his first wife, Marcia, was not a clean or amicable parting. Long after falling in love with Billie, long after she gave birth to Chris, Walt continued his relationship with Marcia in secret” (Krakauer121). Chris knew about his father’s affair with another woman and this made it easier for Chris to not care about what his family has to say ...
McCandless’s utter repugnance for his parents caused something to snap within him resulting in his desire to remove them from his life, thus becoming free of their demands, judgments, and inquisitions. Krakauer explains; “Children can be harsh judges when it comes to their parents, disinclined to grant clemency, and this was especially true in Chris’s case" (122). The standards some parents set for their children are often unattainable and often come from a place of their own failures and shortcomings. In McCandless’s case, this is exactly what happened. Walt and Billie had demanded so much of Chris physically, academically, and morally, that when he was made aware of their i...
McCandless, an intelligent child to say the least, was frustrated with orders by anyone. He wanted to do things his way or no way and he does this throughout his life. Whether it was getting an F in physics because he refused to write lab reports a certain way (an F was something that was never on McCandless report card) or not listening to advice from his parents to the extreme of leaving society to go into the wilderness, McCandless definitely was not a follower. His parents were told by one of his teachers at an early age that Chris "marched to the beat of his own drummer". Chris never lost his ability to do things the way he wanted and when he wanted to do them. After receiving his diploma from Emory in 1990 he set off on a two-year escapade that would eventually end his life but in my opinion, if Chris could start over he would probably not do things much differently. I think he would still donate his $25,000 to an organization, leave his car in the woods, burn the remainder of his money, and hitch-hiked across the United States. The only thing he might do differently is finding a way not to starve to death at the end of the novel.
Chris McCandless’ relationship with his father was not ideal. Built up resentment caused by unfaithfulness to his mother caused Chris to cut ties with his father. For most of Chris’ life, his father played
Examples of this behaviour can be seen in a letter to his sister, Carine: “...I’m going to divorce them as my parents once and for all and never speak to either of those idiots again as long as I live” (Krakauer 46). This sentence demonstrates how Chris wanted to rebel, to escape his parents, and their lifestyles, and did not care much for their reaction to his choice. In Into The Wild, he way his decision affects his family is clear. Billie, his mother, explains to Krakauer how difficult it was after Chris disappeared, saying “Night was the worst” and how she would think, “Where is he? Is he warm? Is he hurt? Is he lonely? Is he OK?” (87). Walt and Billie were changed people when their son left them, and his disappearance ingrained a sense of loss and longing for their son. The idea that a child would want to cause their parents so much pain obviously puts Chris’ character in a negative