Chris Mccandless The Wild Argumentative Essay

Chris McCandless lived a life that can be examined in many different ways. He was an adventurer from the heart, and he didn’t want to conform to society’s views of how the world should be run and how each person should live their life. McCandless was able to stray from the normal progression of life, seen as going from graduating college to getting a 9-5 job and starting a family, by completely disappearing from his family’s life and trying to control his own life. In order to truly live life, one must be able to break free of the constricting confines of society, which control individuals and try to shape their life.

There are so many adventurous people in this world who never give into their urges to explore the world simply because they

are unable to let go of the sense of security that the average life brings people. If one is to truly live their life, they must let go of the known, take a step into the unknown, and give into their adventurous urges.

McCandless believes that many people are unhappy with their life because they don’t think they can do this. In a letter written to Ronald Franz, Chris states, “so many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous within a man than a secure future” (Krakauer 57). This letter was sent to Franz to make him rethink how he had been living his life for many years. McCandless understood Franz well, and knew that he was extremely lonely and unhappy with his life.

Unfortunately for Franz, it would be highly atypical for a man to turn his back on what he has been doing for so long and walk away. Though, this is exactly what Chris was urging Franz to do, and it is exactly what Franz did to stray from society’s view of how one should live life and went off to truly live his life. Ronald Franz’s life shows a life of someone who was unable to truly live life until much too late. This is exactly the life that McCandless was trying to avoid, which is why Chris also helped Franz see how life is truly meant to be lived, and helped Franz get the adventure he didn’t even know he wanted out of him.
Ronald Franz’s life also shows how the way a person can truly live life changes with age and time.

Franz doesn’t have the same physical abilities that McCandless does, as he is much older. Therefore, the idea of truly living life has the same baseline meaning of gaining happiness, but the way that a person can take hold of that happiness changes with age. Franz was 81 years old at the time of meeting McCandless, so he would have been unable to run off into Alaska like McCandless did. Instead, he was able to buy a GMC Duravan and live off the grid. In doing so, Franz was able to feel more meaning in his life, as he was doing more than just the same thing he had been doing for countless years, day after day, always knowing what tomorrow had in store. In short, the way that a person can truly live their life changes with age, but it always has the same

meaning.
According to McCandless, a life worth living would mean living a life that makes the person living it happy and feel like their life had or has meaning. Chris McCandless was clearly able to achieve this goal of living a meaningful and happy life. In his final journal entry, Chris writes: “I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!” (Krakauer 199). Chris lived the life that made him happiest, and when he was unhappy, like when he was going to college and living a normal life by society’s standards, Chris knew what to do to make himself happy. Along with his final note, McCandless took a picture showing himself, “standing near the bus under the high Alaska sky, one hand holding his final note toward the camera lens, the other raised in a brave, beatific farewell… He is smiling in the picture, and there is no mistaking the look in his eyes: Chris McCandless was at peace, serene as a monk gone to God” (Krakauer 199). There is no question that McCandless was happy in his final living moments, and this is the meaning of truly living life. People go for so long living how society demands people should live that they forget that they need to live for themselves first. Chris was able to live for himself, choosing what to do, deciding where to go next. That is how he wanted to live, and that was what made him happy. McCandless would argue that happiness is the most important item to truly live life. People obtain happiness in different ways, Chris gained his from having the ability to control his own life, but to live a successful and meaningful life, one must live a life of happiness.
Unfortunately for McCandless, he was unable to get true freedom of his life, and live a meaningful life in his eyes, without hurting those who he was close to. Krakauer met with Chris’s father, Walt, after Chris’s death, and Walt mentions, “‘How is it,’ he wonders aloud as he gazes blankly across Chesapeake Bay, ‘that a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain?’” (Krakauer 104). It could be argued that McCandless went about gaining his freedom in the wrong way, but he actually managed to do exactly what he wanted to do. If he were to inform his parents of his whereabouts, it would mean that they still have control over his life because he still has to report to them. McCandless wanted complete freedom and control, which is why he had to refuse any contact with people who he felt could control him. This shows how in order for one to truly live their life, they might end up hurting the people who care about them.
There could be any number of reasons that a person may want to disappear from the normal life of society, and step away from the people close to them to take life on by themself. It’s normal for children to want to disregard what their parents tell them to, to rebel against what people want them to do for the sake of doing it. Krakauer understands this and states, “It is hardly unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders; engaging in risky behavior is a rite of passage in our culture no less than in most others… McCandless, in his fashion, merely took risk-taking to its logical extreme” (Krakauer 182). There could be any number of reasons that McCandless took his behavior so far as to end up alone in the Alaskan wilderness. In the seminar, it was mentioned that McCandless was abused by his father. This was unknown at the time the book was published, but it could be a logical explanation for why Chris felt the need to stray so far from home, and reject others control over his life so heavily. As a result of abuse at home, McCandless felt that he had to completely get away from his home to gain control over his own life, and by doing so, he would be able to live a happy life, he would be able to truly live.
In conclusion, Chris McCandless was clearly able to get away from the typical confines of society and take control of his own life. In doing so, Chris managed to truly be alive, and was very happy in his final moments. He was satisfied with what he had made of his life, and was happy that he managed to take control of his own life. Though the way that a person can truly live their life changes with age, there is always the same baseline that someone can follow.