Essay On Christopher Mccandless

Over a decade ago, the body of Christopher McCandless was found in bus 142 in Alaska. He was almost completely decomposed and nobody had known what happened to him. Many say he was a young man looking for his purpose in the world while others say he allowed his dreams to take over and ultimately take his life. McCandless was more than that, he was not just an ill prepared youngster taking on the world without knowing much about it, he was a traveler seeking for a more meaningful life.

Christopher Johnson McCandless came from a well-to-do family, he was considered intelligent and even graduated from Emory University in 1990. He had everything going for him in life, he probably would have had a bright future as well, but it seems like McCandless wanted more in life than just money and materialistic possessions. He did not long for relationships or companionship like most people do, his main goal was traveling to Alaska and living there in the wild.

While on his trip, McCandless had met many people, mainly through hitchhiking or working for some money.

Whichever the case may be, nearly all of those who came into contact with McCandless had said that he was an intelligent young man who had a future. Westerberg was the first person McCandless met while starting his journey into the wild. "You could tell right away that Alex was intelligent" (p. 18) is how he is described by Westerberg. Alex, was the persona Chris McCandless made when he moved on to his new life, Alex Supertramp.

Alex Supertramp was McCandless’ alias, his new name into his new life of hitchhiking and living all on his own. Alex was the name that was used from start to end. "No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny" (p. 23) shows how committed he was in this adventure and how he truly wanted to get rid of his old life. The old life where he had parents he constantly fought and a life where he was seemingly just not meant to

be.
Alex Supertramp (a.k.a Chris McCandless) longed for his calling in life, he seemed like he wanted to live out by himself and do everything himself with little to no assistance of others. “I don’t want to know what time it is. I don’t want to know what day it is or where I am. None of that matters” (pg. 7) was one of his statements when with Westerberg when arguing to give him a watch. It seemed like ‘Supertramp’ was very dedicated and ready to face the world with little to nothing in his bag and his big spirit.
Unfortunately, his big hopes and spirit were not enough when he arrived in Alaska. He had to survive off little game (animals) and plants, which even possible ended in his death after he consumed potato seeds. There is no real proof or explanation of how McCandless died, it could have been from starvation, or from food poisoning. Whatever the case may be, McCandless died in the place he wanted to go, his goal was to live in Alaska and survive off the land, and although he did not live through the experience, he gave it his best attempt and that is all you can ask when fulfilling a dream.