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Happiness is found in unique ways, and people will do anything to find true happiness. In the novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer the complicated subject of true happiness is discussed and written about. People have different and specific ways of finding true happiness. For many family can decrease happiness, also not being in serious relationships and avoiding society can lead to an increase in happiness, finally connecting with nature can lead to happiness. For some, happiness is being connected with a society, but for others, disconnecting from relationships, society, and connecting with nature can lead to more happiness.
For many, family diminishes happiness. In Chris’s letter to his sister Carine he is explaining his frustration with
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Chris explains in the letter why they are bringing him down and making him unhappy. Chris writes, “Since they won't ever take me seriously, for a few months after graduation I'm going to let them think they are right, I'm going to let them think that I'm ‘coming around to see their side of things’ and that our relationship is stabilizing. And then, once the time is right, with on abrupt, swift action, I'm going to completely knock them out of my life. 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. I'll be through with them once and for all, forever” (64). This statement explains his hatred for his parents, he talks about divorcing his parents and leaving them behind forever. The words he uses to describe his parents make me believe his parents are holding him back, and not making him as happy as he could be. For Chris disconnecting the relationship he has with his parents is what will make him happier in the end. Another example of this comes later on in the story. When Chris would talk about his parents to Kris Gillmer he would rant about his parents. Chris would discuss on why he …show more content…
Chris has forgotten and left many people on his journey to avoid responsibility and connections with others, he is finally on his way north and has just abandoned Franz. Krakauer states, “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. He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family. He’d successfully kept Jan Burres and Wayne Westerberg at arm’s length, flitting out of their lives before anything was expected of him. And now he’d slipped painlessly out of Ron Franz’s life as well” (55). This quote shows and lists most of the people and relationships McCandless has had along his journey. It talks about him disconnecting from the relationships he has had with all this people and how he seems to be relieved or happy to be disconnected with them. It shows that for McCandless not being connected to a society or having relationships and connecting with nature up north is going to make him much happier. After Chris’s abrupt departure from Franz, he decides to write a letter to him, in the letter he describes that one who wants to find the true light in himself and find more happiness, should disconnect with all relationships, society, and become one with nature. Chris writes, “You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only
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
He left and “walked into the wild”, as he said, to escape his problems (Krakauer, 69). He never confronted his dad about his feelings. Carine McCandless talks about this personality trait in Chris saying, “Chris was the sort of person who brooded on things. If something bothered him; he wouldn’t come right out and say it” (Krakauer, 122). He changed his name, He wasn’t trying to take pride in his “adventure”. It was an extra and unnecessary precaution to ensure that his problems would not affect his escape. Chris McCandless changed his name and then continued his life ignoring all of the problems he had ever
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
In one the passage was highlighted in the book “Family Happiness” that Chris brought with, the author Leo Tolstoy talked about how a person's life should be. “I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. … which found no outlet in our quiet life.” (p.15) Tolstoy explained how a life should be excited and interesting not just living day by day without any enjoyment. Chris followed his beliefs. He believes that he should live a life that he would not regret later on. That could be one of his reason he was going into the wild to make an excited life. Another passage was also found with McCandless’s belongings is from Henry David Thoreau’ “Walden”. “All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself. … a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched.” (p.47) This passage explains the fact that happiness can found in nature. McCandless wanted to found his purpose of his life and Thoreau stated about the importance of the nature. And McCandless believed Thoreau. If Chris McCandless had believed some authors, he would follows that in his whole
On Chris’s journey to Alaska, he met a gentleman by the name of Ronald Franz, and is able to leave a lasting impression on him that Ron is not able to reciprocate to Chris. In the book, author Jon Krakauer states “McCandless made an indelible impression on a number of people during the course of his hegira, most of whom spent only a few days in his company, a weeks or two at most. Nobody, however, was affected more powerfully by his or her brief contact with the boy than Ronald Franz” (Krakauer 48). This quotes shows that although there time together is brief, Chris is able to leave an indelible impact on Ron. Nobody understands the life and journey to Alaska that Chris took more than Krakauer, and through his words, he acknowledges that Chris made the biggest impact on Ron. Ron viewed Chris almost like a son. Franz admitted that “even when he was sleeping, I was happy just knowing he was there…At one point Franz dared to make a special request of McCandless…Now that my own boy’s dead, I’m the end of the line. When I’m gone, my family will be finished, gone forever. So I asked Alex if I could adopt him, if he would be my grandson” (Krakauer 55). This quote shows how to Ron, at the time, Chris meant the world to him. It is very touching because Ron admits that he is getting older, and when he dies there will be nobody to carry on his...
On the way from his home to Alaska, Christopher met numerous people. He loved their company and never allowed them to feel that he was un-friendly. He expressed their importance in his life by keeping in touch with them till the very end. Particularly, he often wrote to Westerberg and Jan. He never wished to ignore them. He once replied to Jan and Bob, who were wishing to meet him on Christmas. McCandless replied saying that “Thanks so much for the Christmas card. It’s nice to be thought of this time of year…You’re welcome any time. It’s really great to think that after almost a year and a half we shall be meeting again” (42). McCandless preferred to be in company rather than being alone. Being remembered at the time of Christmas is great for any person. McCandless also shared these feelings of happiness. He should, thus be admired, for his never-lasting quality of valuing and possessing human emotions. He never wanted his friends to get detached from him. To overcome this, he always kept in touch with them by writing letters, and informing them about what he was up to. He once wrote to Westerberg that “It is rare to find a man as generous and good natured as you. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t met you though. As for me, I have decided that I am going to live this life for some time to come. But one day I will get back to you and repay some of
“One can only speculate about why Franz became so attached to McCandless so quickly, but the affection he felt was genuine, intense, and unalloyed (pg.57).” Chris was a simple boy, one who valued his thoughts and ideas, he was simply unbothered by any obstacles he had, but instead inspired. “Franz placed his furniture and most of his possessions in a storage locker, bought a GMC duravan…moved out of his apartment and set up camp on the Bajada (pg. 58).” Franz being an old man and someone who lost his family found comfort in a boy such as Chris. Chris was free and uninfluenced by the normal, which intrigued Franz. One important distinction between both Franz and Chris’s journeys were that Chris was too far up in the clouds to foreshadow the future and Franz was just an old man that Chris had an impact on. Chris sought freedom and rebelliousness and he paid the price for that, while Franz became moved by Chris’s thoughts of living
Chris McCandless was inspired by the stories he read about Jack London. In one of Jack London’s book, To Build A Fire, “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” (London 40) Chris proved to his parents that there was nothing they could have done to stop him from going to Alaska. He had a heart bound to set itself free from boundaries and setbacks he held for himself. Instead of being a believer, he wanted to discover the outside world by himself without having others’ criticism thinking his actions were foolish. To Chris, his life meant living beyond the rules and expectations set by human society. By reading London's books, Chris was able incorporate the idea that London was also able to let go of his past and search for his future, he might as well follow his
This passage shows that Chris had found his peace and happiness in the wild. Works Cited Karlinksy, Neal. " " Chris McCandless Inspires Adventures but at What Cost." " Http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3680748&page=1. N.p., n.d. Web.
McCandless put little to no thought into his actions and his venture to Alaska. After McCandless graduated he decided he was going to drive around on an adventure to find himself. In the middle of this journey “his car broke down and he abandoned it in the Arizona desert. McCandless was exhilarated, so much that he decided to bury most of his worldly possessions the parched earth of Detrital Wash and then--in a gesture that would have done Tolstoy proud--burned his last remaining cash, about $160 in small bills” (Krakauer 4). McCandless thrived off of the feeling of being lost and hopeless. When his car broke down, unlike any other human, He didn't call for help. He was excited. He took his excitement then way too far and decided right then and there to make this accident into an adventure. He immediately buried all his belongings he had with him thinking that would free him from this world. He didn’t think twice about it. He acted on his thrill and was not being rational. When he got home from his adventure through Arizona he decided that his trip was so freeing he wanted to go on another one. This time he would tackle Alaska. In preparation for his trip to Alaska “he donated the $20,000 in his bank account to Oxfam, loaded up his car, and disappeared. From then on he scrupulously avoided contacting either of his parents or Carnie, the sister for whom he purportedly cared immensely” (Krakauer 8). Chris didn’t think this trip through. A regular trip to Alaska would take months to prepare for lodging, food, and packing the necessities. Chris was not a regular person though. He believed the necessities were just worldly things therefore he could survive without them. He headed out on his challenging excursion only two months after he got back from Arizona. He didn’t even care to say goodbye to his family. He didn’t want them to know because he figured they would stop him. He was
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 ...
... in his attempt to run away from himself, he was unable to truly escape Christopher McCandless. And although he was not truly successful in running away from his identity, McCandless appeared to succeed in running away from society and running away from the predictability of what life would bring. Departing from the heavy burdens he found in his society, his life, and the world was the only way McCandless seemed to truly be happy and he did just that. He let go of his worrying and concern and focused on bettering himself by connecting with nature. Eventually, McCandless realized that happiness is only real when it is shared (189) but without running away from society and the people who cared about him, he would not have stumbled upon that realization.
Chris problems worsen once he's distressed with the sudden loss of his parents to an automobile accident. Once the tragic Chris suffers from multiple problems that have an effect on his existence. He claims to own problems with emotional outburst; he acts out frequently, issues forming relationships with other individuals, and has nightmares. He additionally states that he becomes upset and troublesome to regulate. He explains he's experiencing feelings of being alone, abandonment and rejection. He reverts to infringing his frustration on others, he's withdrawn, get into fights, his grades has suffe...
Finding the level of ultimate contentment and life satisfaction can be challenging, but the perception of situations or powerful social connections strengthens the level of happiness within a person. Topic Significance: In recent years, the rate of depression in young adults has increased as people struggle to find the meaning of happiness and how they can achieve happiness. As people continue throughout their life, it is important to recognize what makes them happy.
In the beginning of the story, Christopher explains how close him and his father are as they only have each other. Christopher's dad has hidden things from him his whole life,