Was Chris a reckless idiot? That has been a question people have been wondering since his death. I believe in some ways he was but i can relate to chris in him wanting to get away from reality. I think all of us think about just getting away but chris had the guts to actually do it. It is very obvious that chris was not prepared for his alaska trip. This was evident by his lack of supplies. For starters his food supply was not near enough for a long trip in the woods that did not have set departure time for when he was done living in the bush. The other thing that stood out to me was the gun he had which i give him credit for at least knowing that was a necessary tool to use in alaska. Guns are a vital part of survival not just to get food
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.
Aron and Chris each prepared for their journeys in many different ways. Chris only brought with him the clothes on his back, a book for identifying plants, a sack of rice, some water, and a gun. For a trip that was going to be much longer then average Chris did not plan out his journey in Alaska wisely. He also unwisely refused to accept advice from locals regarding what he would need to be prepared for Alaskan wilderness. Walt McCandless said "Chris was good at almost everything he ever tried... which made him supremely overconfident". (Krakauer 118) Aron Ralston on the other hand was quite well acquainted with the rugged regions of Utah where his journey took place. Ralston took the ordinary day to day things he thought he would need for a day trip; a gallon sized CamelBak, another gallon of water in a canteen, a muffin, two burritos, and five chocolate bars. In some other ways Ralston was well prepared by bringing along climbing gear, a head lamp, a camera, batteries, and a Lea...
After reading chapter 1 of Into the Wild, I have the impression that while he seems friendly, he possess a number of negative qualities. Chris seems to be very stubborn, and most of all overconfident. While Chris seems excited to go to Alaska, but is dangerously unprepared, and seems to overplay his experience, while refusing any help. “Im absolutely positive,” he assured Gallien, “I won’t run into anything I can’t deal with on my own” Page 6 Chapter 1. This example perfectly shows his arrogance. By saying this Chris shows how he believes he can take anything on, and is ready for the wilderness, he thinks he is invincible, and is incredibly confident in his survival skills. “Gallien
“McCandless was something else – although precisely what is hard to say.” (pg. 85). Chris was a very different person, but not crazy. He was emotionally motivated at the time and had his mind set on Alaska. In the end, Chris was nowhere near prepared for this journey, but was too caught up in what he was trying to do to realize this. I agree with Krakauer that Chris wasn’t crazy or insane, but in his attempts to survive in Alaska he made several mistakes and ultimately, led an ill-prepared journey to Alaska that killed him.
...would have not been prepared for his journey to Alaska. Although only for a short time, Ron is able to nurture Chris by feeding him and taking care of him, as well as teaching him a couple of cool traits such as designing belts out of leather. Although Chris is able to change people, the people are able to change Chris even more.
insane, most people love to embark on adventures, but Chris was somewhat incompetent in being
According to others, Chris McCandless was inherently selfish. Please, let’s beg to differ, for goodness sake, he was a grown man! It was his life and he was living it the way he wanted to. Chris gave his sister fair warning. He bid to her, “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 sides of things” and that our relationship is stabilizing. And then, once the time is right, with one abrupt, swift action I’m going to completely knock them out of my life...” (Krakauer 64) He knew what he had to do. He had to show his parents how they had made him feel his whole life. As a graduation present they offered him a new car, his old Datsun apparently was to their standards. Chris became infuriated. That was his pride and joy, how dare them try and take that away! They ignored what he was saying, as he did many times before, he o...
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."
...tic things. He sacrificed so much and put himself in danger to follow what he wanted to do. Chris was a smart cookie, and maybe that was what kept him going was the knowledge flooding through his body and the inspiration that reading gave him.
Some of the views on the death of Chris McCandless are harsh and some people call him insane or psychotic, while others think the exact opposite and think that Chris just might be a legend. “When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn’t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic and inconsiderate” (Christian). Considering that Chris was ill prepared, Peter Christian thinks that what Chris did wasn’t the smartest thing to do and this is why he thinks Chris’s choice to venture into the Alaskan wilderness was dumb. In addition, Craig Medred also happens to think Chris might have been insane. “Almost every p...
When Chris left for his journey he wasn’t crazy or stupid as many would say. “McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large, but rather to explore the inner country of his own soul” pg. 183. The fact that Chris never bother to discuss his Alaskan walk about with his anyone especially his parents wasn’t intentional. However throughout the whole book it was made very clear that he was at odds with his parents in some way to go off on his journey but he didn’t want to hurt them, which I think Walt and Billie finally realized visiting the bus where Chris had passed. I think Chris just wanted to get away from his everyday life, clear his mind, a mind that didn’t involve the worries of expectations and the thoughts of his parents hanging on his shoulders.
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.
After reading chapter 1 of Into the Wild, I have the impression that while he seems friendly, he possess a number of negative qualities. Chris seems to be very stubborn, and most of all overconfident. While Chris seems excited to go to Alaska, but is dangerously unprepared, and seems to overplay his experience, while refusing any help. “Im absolutely positive,” he assured Gallien, “I won’t run into anything I can’t deal with on my own” Page 6 Chapter 1. This example perfectly shows his arrogance. By saying this Chris shows how he believes he can take anything on, and is ready for the wilderness, he thinks he is invincible, and is incredibly confident in his survival skills. “Gallien
Some people will say In Chapter 2 that Chris is crazy for leaving a “S.O.S I need your help “ (Pg 12) in the location where he was staying. Although, that might sound crazy it is not because he had hope that someone might come around and save him from dying. Which I believe if many people who were in his situation might have done. Also people might say that Chris in Chapter 1 was crazy because “ he wasn't carrying anywhere near as much food and gear as you'd expect a guy to be carrying for that kind of trip” (pg 4), But chris was going to alaska with the intention of hunting for his
After analyzing Into The Wild, it is simple to see how Chris displays resiliency. Chris was always able to recover from challenging situations. If he ended up stuck somewhere, there was no way he was about to give up. He would merely hitchhike to the next town. No matter what