Chris Mccandless Hero

Christopher Johnson "Chris" McCandless was 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. Almost four months later, McCandless' starved remains were found, weighing only 30 kilograms. His death occurred in a converted bus used as a backcountry shelter, along the Stampede Trail on the eastern bank of the Sushana River.
The dictionary’s definition of a hero is a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. Chris McCandless fits this definition perfectly. He did not lack the ability, and had an abundance of courage with anything he tried. Chris was extraordinarily talented. He excelled in almost anything

he attempted and let nothing stand in his way. During Chris’s year and a half adventure around the Western United States he showed all of the qualities of a hero. He dropped everything he owned to take away the barriers that society had subconsciously imposed on him to discover who the real Chris McCandless was. A bold and stubborn risk it was, but more importantly Chris took the risk—something many people would never dream of even attempting because they can’t predict the outcome. That’s why Chris is a hero, because he did something so many can’t. He set out on an adventure to enjoy what little time he had on this beautiful planet.
Chris was heroic because he gave his money away to the less fortunate before he went off on the trip of his life.

Before he went off on the trip, he said that "he would shortly donate all the money in his college fund to OXFAM America, a charity dedicated to fighting hunger” (pg. 20). Throughout Chris’s wild adventures he met a lot of people, like Ron Franz and Wayne Westerberg, and gave them voluptuous amounts of advice on how to live their life to the fullest and helped them with hard situations. The advice he gave to Ron in a long letter before he died was "my point is that you do not need me or anyone else around to bring this new kind of light in your life" (pg.71). He also gave Wayne his time when he “worked hard, doing dirty, tedious jobs that nobody else wanted to tackle: mucking out warehouses, exterminating vermin, painting, scything weeds"(pg. 62). Spending so much time with these inspirational people made Chris think about his choices he made in his life, and why they were not

foolish.
People called McCandless foolish for his mistakes but everyone makes mistakes. Although he made a mistake of sleeping in an area where there are flash floods and lost his car, he accepted it and used it as a way to get further into his adventure by just living off what he needed. Although Chris made fatal mistakes he knew what was right and wrong and would think about it a lot. McCandless overall had respect and good morals but made fatal mistakes which led to his death.
People who did not think McCandless was a hero thought he was a young foolish man who caused many pain with his leaving and death. Chris did make mistakes but so do other and that does not mean he is foolish. He did not want to cause others pain but he needed to start fresh and away from everyone he knew. Although McCandless did all of those things, he did it to have a fresh start. He did not want to be held back from anything and in the end it made him happy. A reader of the Outside magazine asked, “Why would any son cause his parents and family such permanent and perplexing pain?” McCandless did not want to cause his loved ones pain but ended up causing them pain since the only way he could find true happiness was to leave everyone he loved. Although some may not be able to see the reasons McCandless left all his opportunities and loved ones behind to go on an adventure that caused him his death, he only did it because that was what made him happy.
“Rather than being the poster child as the modern Thoreau, McCandless should serve as an example that more often than naught, the ‘empty materialism of American society’ is the only thing separating you from an early grave.” -Sean Korsgaard.

In response to his commentary, I see where he is coming from. He died and was labeled fool automatically. However, this doesn’t change the fact that Chris found what he was looking for and was finally at peace. “His inner conflicts were so obvious. He wanted to live in peace. And he believed that peace is found out in nature, since nature is free of the corruption and entanglements of civilization. But Christopher learned much later that both nature and civilization, although having different personalities, offer complimentary lessons. Extremity in either is a dangerous game. But both also offer gifts for human experience and sustenance.” -Anonymous Traveler. I very much understand where the Anonymous Traveler is coming from. Chris really did want to live in peace and he found that throughout his journeys. The values Chris discovered were found at the end of his treacherous and that is why extremity is a dangerous game. Chris McCandless was a young man that went against society and found happiness in things most people would be afraid to try. He had the bravery it took to go against society to find his happiness and although he made mistakes he did what he enjoyed even if people thought he was foolish. People should not judge others for

what they do that makes them happy and being brave enough to do something different than what most do.