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Survival skills flashcards
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Chris McCandless, the boy who went to survive into the world in the book Into The Wild, is a reckless idiot because he went off into the wild unprepared and naive to the outside world.It is true that Chris took classes in Africa and graduated Emory University, but that does not mean he does not lack the common sense he needs to survive. Everywhere Chris went, he was unsafe, not asking for help, as if he was wanting to die. Not to mention he got a ride and took a job from a man by the name of ‘Crazy Ernie.’ One of his biggest mistakes was his food supply, causing him the starvation that killed him. Mainly consisting of rice and whatever he could find in the forest. “Can this be the same Alex that set out in July 1990? Malnutrition and the road have taken their toll on his body. Over 25 pounds lost.” Said the German couple who gave him a ride. (pg 37) Chris McCandless had one Remington Semi-Automatic rifle to shoot the expected meat he got, not knowing the hunting out where he was was minimal. Chris’ diary entry states “June 1: 5 squirrel...June 2: 4 squirrel...ash bird….June 4:..4 squirrel, grey bird.” It is not so simple to live off of small squirrels and birds. …show more content…
He buried his money to ‘hide it from thieves’ and thinking he did not need money to live in the wild, which was far from true. Chris constantly denied the help he was offered, believing it was not needed. Jan Burres, a girl that took him in after he came back from vegas offered some long underwear and other warm clothing and after some arguing he finally accepted it. “He eventually took it to shut me up” (pg 46) Burres mentioned about the incident. Later she found that all the clothes offered to him were left in the van. “Alex was a great kid, but he could really make me angry
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
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.
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
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.
even when he was a teenager. Yet, Chris abandoned his family and his social life to walk into the
Living in the wilderness is difficult, but understanding the meaning of such lifestyle is even more difficult. One of the Christopher’s admirable qualities was that he was well aware of what he was doing. He knew about the difficulties and dangers that he would face into the wilderness, and was mentally prepared for that. Author Jon Krakauer says that “McCandless was green, and he overestimated his resilience, but he was sufficiently skilled to last for sixteen weeks on little more than his wits and ten pounds of rice. And he was fully aware when he entered the bush that he had given himself a perilously slim margin for error. He knew precisely what was at stake” (182). McCandless was an educated youth, who loved nature and dreamed of living in the Alaskan wilderness. Although he ignored to take many necessary things with him on this
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.
Into the Wild, written by John Krakauer tells of a young man named Chris McCandless who 1deserted his college degree and all his worldly possessions in favor of a primitive transient life in the wilderness. Krakauer first told the story of Chris in an article in Outside Magazine, but went on to write a thorough book, which encompasses his life in the hopes to explain what caused him to venture off alone into the wild. McCandless’ story soon became a national phenomenon, and had many people questioning why a “young man from a well-to-do East Coast family [would] hitchhike to Alaska” (Krakauer i). Chris comes from an affluent household and has parents that strived to create a desirable life for him and his sister. As Chris grows up, he becomes more and more disturbed by society’s ideals and the control they have on everyday life. He made a point of spiting his parents and the lifestyle they lived. This sense of unhappiness continues to build until after Chris has graduated college and decided to leave everything behind for the Alaskan wilderness. Knowing very little about how to survive in the wild, Chris ventures off on his adventure in a state of naïveté. It is obvious that he possessed monumental potential that was wasted on romanticized ideals and a lack of wisdom. Christopher McCandless is a unique and talented young man, but his selfish and ultimately complacent attitude towards life and his successes led to his demise.
...irrefutably suggest that he was selfish and unwilling to put any effort into emotional healing with his family, friends and society in general. He was a giver, as shown by his donation to charities, but he could have been much more effective in social justice if he had the maturity and selflessness to pursue it and stick to it. Chris could have been a lasting friend to many people around the country, but he got scared off too easily when facing emotional connections. And most painfully for his family, he could have saved his own life and saved them a lifetime of pain and sorrow if he could have sat down with his parents and siblings to discuss what was bothering him and find ways to work through it. But he ran into the wild, laid his life on the line, and took the coward’s way out.
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."
As stated before, Chris’s main reason for going into the woods was so he could live independently and find himself. What he brought with him reflected that. Going into the woods, he had a backpack worth of stuff, and the only food was a ten pound bag of rice, two sandwiches, and a bag of corn chips. If he didn’t catch a ride with Gallien, he wouldn’t even have the sandwiches and the bag of chips. From the beginning, he knew he was going to rely on nature to survive. Instead of observing nature and getting food from outside the woods like Thoreau, he was only surviving off of the nature around him. If he didn’t catch any game, he would have little to no food. As his dad had said, “ Chris was very much of the school that you should own nothing except what you can carry on your back at a dead run” (Krakaeur 32). Before even going on this trip, he was a minimalist. He only took what he needed. So before going on this trip, he only took what he thought he would need, which was a very little amount of items. He was the kind of person that had to live out his beliefs, so in doing that, he went to the woods to find himself with almost nothing except for one bag on his
He could 've even kept the money and go into town and what not to buy some food incase he couldn 't hunt anymore. I say that it is very ironic since Chris McCandless had donated all of his money to the hungry, and burned some of it too, yet he had died from starvation instead of keeping it and buying the food. A good example to why Chris did not use common sense is from Jessica Duling and she states “Chris McCandless was unprepared in more ways than one”, “why would anyone intending to live off the land for a few months, forget Boy Scout rule number one: Be Prepared”. I strongly agree with Jessica because the only thing that chris did to learn on how to live in the wild was buy a book on different types of plants and which ones are poisonous and which ones are not. I believe that if Chris had used a little common sense he would 've at least told his parents or brought a map or maybe look up how Alaska acts during the winter through the summer and maybe he might still be living till this
Chris McCandless was still just a young man when he decided to drastically alter his life through the form of a child’s foolishness. However, Chris had not known at the time just how powerful his testimony against his father’s authority, society, or maybe even his own lifestyle was going to be revolutionary throughout not only Alaska,not even the lower 48, but the world. The story of Chris McCandless is a much talked about debate on topics of safety and preparedness in the wild, these things forever associated with the boy who was a little too eager for a death wish. Today, Chris is remember as a fool or a hero. The fool, a boy who allowed himself to be drowned in a fictional world inspired by his readings,dying because he ignored he was just a normal human being or the hero who set out to become something more.
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.
...e wilderness.” Krakauer stats this in the book to explain what Chris was up against walking into the wilderness. No ordinary man would do this to survive out on his own facing the wilderness. Kleinfeld made an extraordinary remark in her article “McCandless: Hero or Dumb Jerk” “Jon Krakauer's best seller "Into the Wild" immortalizes this young man, who walked into the wilderness with no map, no ax, no mosquito repellent and no first aid equipment.” She makes a good statement about his bravery because not many men would go out with no supplies to make them survive. He went out by himself, no supplies and try to pull off to live in the wild.