Chris McCandless did intend on killing a part of himself as he ventured into Alaska; however, he didn’t want to kill his physical self. Based on evidence found in Jon Krakauer’s novel, Into the Wild, one can see that any suicidality that Chris possessed was merely metaphorical. In relation to how Chris McCandless spoke about the future, how he spent so much time on his journey, and his intent to better his life on his expedition, one can conclude that he was not suicidal. After encountering various people on his journey, Chris often conversed with them about reconnecting at a later date. “I hope that the next time I see you…”(Krakauer 58). Due to a multitude of instances like this one, Chris indeed imagined a future for himself. If he truly …show more content…
Due to the information provided in this single quote, one can conclude that Chris intended on bettering his life so he could carry it out as he pleased. Suicide is often viewed as giving up on life, so Chris really didn’t give up on life since he wanted to make it better. Readers also express that he was suicidal because of the harsh living conditions he subjected himself to. Once again, Chris himself disproves this hypothesis when he writes that “I’m living like this by choice,”(Krakauer 52). Based on these quotations, it’s known that Chris’s intent of the expedition was not to kill himself, but rather to improve his quality of life. “The world was suddenly rich with possibility,”(Krakauer 136). Chris finally found where he could cultivate his new life when he reached Alaska. However, this quotation also illustrates that Chris did, in a sense, want to “kill” his old lifestyle. Since he only says, “the world was rich with opportunity” after he’s embarked on this journey, it is in his new life where he feels there is a purpose, and it’s where he feels he truly belongs. “Individuals that are suicidal do not usually really want to die, rather they see dying as the only solution to the pain that they are currently facing,” (Mental Health Daily 2014). After reading that quotation, it is also clear that Chris was not suicidal because he wanted to improve his life. Obviously, if he felt death was the …show more content…
“Two years he walks the Earth,” (Krakauer 112). Two years is an awful long time to wait before committing suicide. If killing himself was Chris’s main goal, wouldn’t he have just done it as soon as he could? “Those at the highest risk for suicide in the near future have a specific suicide PLAN, the MEANS to carry out the plan, a TIME SET for doing it,” (Suicide Prevention 2017). If Chris McCandless was suicidal, he would have planned it out for a while beforehand. Considering this, by the time he was going to kill himself, he would not have wanted to wait any longer than he already has been waiting; however, Chris continues to remain on his journey for a while which can be understood when he says that “It may be a very long time,” (Krakauer 69). Having spent a significant amount of time scheming the perfect way to take his own life, when the time came, Chris would not have wanted to wait even longer to execute this plan. Similarly, Chris couldn’t have been suicidal because he didn’t feel like he was gone for so long. If he wanted to kill himself, he would have felt like he was in the wild for eternities when, in reality, he said that “Hours slide by like minutes,” (Krakauer 142). When considering the immense amount of time spent just hitchhiking across the United States, there is no way a suicidal Chris McCandless would have lasted as long as he did on this pilgrimage into the Alaskan
Many people thought that Chris had no idea what he was doing and that he was very unprepared. In an article, written by Peter Christian, an Alaska Park Ranger, he talks about how Chris was unprepared for his trip: “First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament using one of several routes that could have been successful. …A bag of rice and a sleeping bag do not constitute adequate gear and provisions for a long stay in the wilderness.” Christian believed that Chris was very unprepared and if he would have had a map, he could have made it out of the wild alive. No one really knows if Chris could have, indeed, made it out using the map. But it could have helped him find one of three cabins located within a few miles of the bus. Christian also points out that a bag o...
Chris believes that if he too the ticket from Wayne that would be a shortcut, an easy way out. Chris believes that the voyage is just as important as the destination. One example of this is on Page 67 Chapter 7 “Once Alex made his mind up about something, there was no changing it.” This quote shows Chris’s stubbornness and how he is determined to get to Alaska as he intended, the long way. Another quote showing that he lives to his own words, and wouldn’t take a shortcut is on Page 68 Chapter 7, when Chris sent a postcard to Wayne saying “April 18 Arrived in Whitefish this morning on a freight train. I am making good time. Today I will jump the border and turn north for Alaska. Give my regards to everyone.” TAKE CARE ,
“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.
Krakauer explains this by showing us his final postcard (133-134). He says “When the adventure did indeed prove fatal, this melodramatic declaration fueled considerable speculation that the boy had been bent on suicide from the beginning, that when he walked into the bush, he had no intention of ever walking out again...My suspicion that McCandless’s death was unplanned…” (Krakauer 134). Krakauer tells us a bit later in the book, “Satisfied, apparently, with what he had learned during his two months of solitary life in the wild, McCandless decided to return to civilization...maybe he was prepared to forgive their imperfections...McCandless seemed ready, perhaps, to go home..There is no question however, that he intended to walk out of the bush” (169-169). Most people, unknowing of that post card would claim he is suicidal, but Chris, in his own words said that if it should prove fatal, the way he writes this isn’t how someone would be writing a goodbye note, this is someone who intends to come back out and see all of their friends that they’ve made during their journey. Chris even managed to begin the journey home, only to be set back by nature itself which tells us that he wanted to leave the wilderness and return to some semblance of civilization whether it be back in Carthage, or back home with his
"I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his Romantic silliness. He made a lot of mistakes based on ignorance. I don’t admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy”- Shaun Callarman. Feeling invincible is new for young adults, but Chris McCandless convinced himself that he knew he was immortal rather than just believing it. His adventure into the wild was mostly due to his rebellious spirit. Some would argue that his vacation wasn 't inspired by his irrational aspirations, but instead by his family. Some say that he skipped town to get away from the strict prison that he called
He had a thrill for adventure. If Jans theory of Christopher McCandless to be mentally ill or suicidal was correct he would not have reached out for help when he became sick and near death. “S.O.S I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Christ McCandless. August?” (pg. 12) McCandless wrote this letter when he was near death, he also left a handmade signal flag out of a red knitted leg warmer that was knotted to the end of an alder branch by the bus’s rear exit. This proves that McCandless was not suicidal because if he was he would not have ever tried to reach out for help, instead he would not do anything to make sure he did
In Into the Wild, Chris McCandless was a young man from Virginia who loved living his life on his own. On an adventure to Alaska, Chris ran into the some trouble and perished. While Chris’s death is a horrible event that will burn in the memory of his family and friends, it could have been easily prevented. If Chris was smarter he would have thought about his preparation, his motivation, and the possibility that he was mentally ill. He could have been able to live out in the Alaskan Wilderness and survive his adventure and return home safely.
Was Chris McCandless deranged? Was he delusional? Or was he a hero? Since Chris’ body was found in bus 142 in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, he has been called many things. Those who knew him believed that he wasn’t crazy; that his impulsive actions and aspirations to explore the world, were no more than the natural inclinations of a young and idealistic spirit. However, his desire to venture into the unknown with no source of human contact and nothing but a ten-pound bag of rice, is not considered normal behavior. Jon Kraukauer’s, Into The Wild, manifests how Chris McCandless’ antisocial demeanor, lack of remorse, and impulsive actions are directly relatable to behaviors associated with a sociopath.
... every aspect of his life whether it be his education, physical endurance, or making it through the Alaskan wilderness with nothing more than a rifle, a backpack, and a road map. Chris was aware of his differences and that he did not fit into society. He fully embraced that and and chose to lead his own path. Chris led a happy life according to one of his last journal entries he wrote, “I have had a happy life and thank the lord. Goodbye and may God bless all!” (Krakauer 199). Chris was willing to risk everything to gain that happiness. His ambition to enter the wilderness, in the end, took his life but that did not stop him. He would have rather died a happy man than lived a miserable one. Chris ventured out into the wilderness and found himself; a tragic story for a tragic hero.
He went through many obstacles that could have proved fatal. From canoeing in the Colorado River to picking the right berries, he was testing his intelligence. Chris had a true confidence in the land and in himself to set out on a mission so dangerous. “Wilderness appealed to those bored or disgusted with man and his works. It not only offered an escape from society but also was an ideal stage for the Romantic individual to exercise the cult that he frequently made of his own soul. The solitude and total freedom of the wilderness created a perfect setting for either melancholy or exaltation” (Nash; Krakauer 157). Chris longed to escape from society and rely on only mother nature. An innumerable amount of people desire to withdraw from society as Chris did; but they are so comfortable and secure with a normal life they do not dare take such a gutsy
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.
Throughout the novel, Krakauer formulates strategies in his writing through the employment of logos, the appeal to reason. He utilizes this to allow the reader to learn about Chris’s personality throughout his life. “Nuance, strategy, and anything beyond the rudimentaries of technique were wasted on Chris. The only way he cared to tackle a challenge was head-on, right now, applying the full brunt of his extraordinary energy” (111). Chris was a person who would do things first, ask questions later in a sense. His compulsive behavior is accounted for when he decided to take on the adventure to Alaska. Moreover, it also led up to possible parallels between Krakauer himself and Chris within the second half of the novel. “When I decided to go to
McCandless is a very independent person, a person with high hopes, that has a lot of courage, and is a very brave man for going out by himself in the wild of Alaska of the Stampede Trail. Chris McCandless had a lot of courage on going to Alaska by himself at a young age. While Chris was at any city or anybody’s house, he was ready to go to Alaska. But while he was there, close to the end of his life, he left a note on the back of the bus saying, “S.O.S I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here i am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of god, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return by evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?” Chris McCandless was by himself at the time. He shows his courage because while by himself, he went back out even though he was near death. He went out for food. Food for his health. That shows how much courage he had for his trip. Chris McCandless encouraged many young men to ...
Reckless, wasteful, and disconnected with reality. Are these traits of an admirable bushcrafter, or a an arrogant young man, seeking validation in the Alaskan wilderness? Chris followed unrealistic dreams into the cold, harsh, Alaskan bush, for which he was dreadfully unprepared. He made his pilgrimage with the goal of finding himself. Towards the end of his journey, he had an epiphany and realized that a solitary life such as his time in the bus, was not what he wanted, however it was too late for him to turn back. His fatal flaws and practical mistakes ultimately led to nullifying his personal pilgrimage, and costing him his life.
Chris was tired of being just some regular person wanted adventure and to see the world, also just to forget about everything and everyone. Chris liked to explore and have adventure’s, but he was stuck living a normal life and was ready to move on to the adventurous lifestyle. In The Road Not Taken Robert Frost said “And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood”. This quote has to do with Chris because he was stuck doing one thing and he didn't want to just be stuck living a normal lifestyle and he couldn't live 2 lifestyles so he thought about it and all the consequences and chose the road he wanted to live. Chris had to live with the choice he made and there was no turning back on the “road” he took, but both him and his family faced the