Group paper

Hanna Workman

Vivian Jackson

Mary Anne Lopez

English 2

4-3-08

Chris McCandless Self Help Guide to Alex SuperTramp

Christopher McCandless abandoned his privileged life in exchange to solitude and travels across America to find himself. This story is of a young man who abandoned his privileged life to travel around North America in search of high adventure, the meaning of happiness, truth, and where he belongs in the world. Christopher McCandless, obeyed his parents did really good in school and this time he wanted to do it on his own. No rules to follow no people that he takes command from. He does what pleased him.

He was actually happy merely doing what he felt was right for him. Traveling across America became his passion his home. Either be on the streets, the valley’s the canyon, for him it is home.

Christopher as Alex supertramp to the people he met along the way every time Alex gets close to the people he met he leaves them. He doesn’t like being too close to them however he touched there live. Although Chris Mccanless was well educated and privileged, he was not enjoying the lifestyle. He wanted to have a life on his own terms, material things like money and expensive cars were not important to him. According to Into the Wild by Jon Krauker, “I’ve decided to that I’m going to live the live this life for sometime to come.” Chris wants to live the life as a vagabond because there are no rules to follow and his free to be who he is.

Chris created a brand new identity for his new life. Living as Alex, Chris meet a lot of new people and made lots of friends 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 grain elevator and rented him a cheap room in one of his houses he owned. Chris continued to write to Westerberg though out his whole journey.

One of the people he met along his adventure is Ronald Franz; an eighty year old man whom he hitch hiked and actually became his friend. Ronald Franz took Alex into his home and lived with him for a few days. Franz fell in love with Alex’s intelligence, wit and loved the idea of Alex’s adventurous mind. Franz a single man, lived by himself has a little business which is carving leathers, which he taught Alex to make. Alex made a belt with carvings of the places has been including north-signifying the place he wants to visit and his dream of living in the wilderness. On alexs last day with Franz, Franz offered to adopt him to become his son. Alex refused because he wants to go and continue his journey to Alaska.

While on his adventure Alex met Jan Burress a 41 year old drifter who lived in a motor home with her boyfriend bob and her dog. While he stayed with her for a few weeks getting to know them and helping him in a nice way by letting him live there. Not only that but by being with Jan and bob he was able to have fun and be able to relax. He got to experience something most vagabonds did not freedom of happiness in knowing that he was impacting and making a difference just by listening.

Christopher McCandless evidently had bottled up heart aches, pain and anger towards his parents. From his childhood his parents fought a lot about their business. Pushing him so hard on his school, and lastly, one of his travels in the summer of his high school graduation, he found out that his father was still seeing his ex-wife while still with his mom Billie. He felt like everything in his life was a lie. While a freshman in college, Christopher grew more isolated to himself. Despite the fact that he has so much emotions bottled up to himself he continued excel in school, getting good grades and achiever. Although very obvious that he is also withdrawn from his friends.

This is one of the many reasons Chris went on his adventure to Alaska to get away from that and be who is. I think the main point of into the wild is that there is a part of Chris Candles in all of us. Everyone is searching their own personal adventurous 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. Although Chris was very unprepared for this adventure he enjoyed every last minute of it before he died he got to meet a lot of interesting people who really impacted there lives by getting to know him.

Work cited

Jon Krauker Into the Wild

First Anchor Books Edition, February 1997

1996 by Jon Kruaker

~ by workmanhanna on 2-4-89.