Book Club
Christopher McCandless’es Story
Christopher McCandless’es life is an interesting story told by Jon Krakauer in his book titled Into the Wild. This story is of a young man who abandoned his privileged life to travel around North American in search of high adventure, the meaning of happiness, truth, and where he belongs in the world. Christopher’s journey leads him to Alaska trying to live off the land. After 112 days of living in the Alaskan wildness he died from starvation because he was unable to live off the land. Between the times Chris lift his former life and the time he died, I think Chris found true freedom and happiness. I think Chris proved to himself that material things like money and expensive cars were not important to him. He valued adventure and freedom. Chris was brave enough to live the way he believed was right. In a letter to one of Chris’s friend, he writes of why he chooses to live as a vagabond. ”I’ve decided that I’m going to live this life for sometime to come.” Chris remarks ’’The freedom and simple beauty of it is just to good to pass up”. Chris attested to everyone he met on his travels that he was living life to its fullest and they should do the same.
Chris’s dream from the beginning was to go to Alaska. His voyage to Alaska would be his ultimate adventure. Chris’s dream was to find an isolated area in Alaska and to live off the land, away form technically and society. Most everyone Chris told about his plans to live in the Alaskan wildness warn him against it. Chris was told that Alaska was nothing like what his favorite author, Jack London, had wrote about. People warned him that he would get eaten alive by mosquitoes and that he does not have a enough experience to hunt for his meals. Despite the warning Chris was determined to make his Alaska dream a reality. A driver given him a ride to the Denali National Park recalls how enthuse Chris was about his mission, ”There was just no talking the guy out of it. He was determined and real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited. He couldn’t wait to head out there and get started.” The freedom and isolated of Alaska may be what seductive and obsessed Chris.
The reason Chris may have been so motivated to escape society and its rules is that he never could understand them. Chris often vocalizes how he was against controlled and inequity. His political positions were the same as Thoreau’s views of that government is best which governs least. Chris also had trouble understanding why people are evil to each other. Close friend Westerberg reflects how Chris would get caught up in his thoughts on the problem of the world. “I think maybe of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking. Sometimes he tried too hard to make sense of the world, to figure out why people were bad to each other so often. A couple of times I tried to tell him it was a mistake to get too deep into that kind of stuff, but Chris got stuck on things.” When as a teenagers Chris would spend some of his free time feeding the homeless, or tiring to help for the greater good. It seems that Chris cared too much of what was happening in the world around him.Chris McCandless took his new life so far that he changed his name. Chris introduced himself as ‘Alex’ to the many friends he met on his travels. He also did not speak to his family for the two years. Chris created a brand new identity for his new life. Living as Alex, Chris meet a lot of new people and made lots of friendships he would not have if not for his travels. One of his closet new friends was Wayne Westerberg. Chris’s friend had also given him employment at a gain elevator and rented him a cheap room in one of the houses he owned. Chris continued to write to the Westerberg though out his whole journey. Other stranger who showed Chris kindness was Jan Burres, a forty-one year old drifter who gave Chris, or Alex, a ride, food, and a place to send the night. Chris sent her a postcard every month after that. One of the lives that Chris touched the most was Ronald Franz. Ron was eighty years old who’s family had been killed in an automobile accident. Again, Chris made a new friend by accepting a ride from a stranger. After they became friends Chris would urge Ron to sell all his belongings, move out of his apartment, and live on the road. Ron though Chris was such a special young man that he wanted to adoption him. Whether Chris meant to or not he made differences in many people lives.I think the main point of Into The Wild is that there is a part of Chris McCandless in all of us. Everyone is searching for their own personal adventures and what makes them happy. This is what Chris was searching for. Most people do not take it as far as Chris did and end up dead in Alaska. Many young people over the years have taken too much risk and ended up with a fatal adventure.
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