Analysis Of Chris Mccandless In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

Jamaica Kincaid once said “I think life is difficult and that's that. I am not at all - absolutely not at all - interested in the pursuit of happiness. I am not interested in the pursuit of positivity. I am interested in pursuing a truth, and the truth often seems to be not happiness but its opposite.” People are often living their lives in the big cities seeking for truth and happiness, but as Kincaid said, you cannot have both. In Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, a young man named Chris McCandless decides that he’s not interested in what society has to offer him. He ventures out, leaving everything behind, to enhance his life. Chris McCandless was a selfish and ambitious person who went into the wild in search of happiness and truth.
There’s
many words that can describe the type of person Chris McCandless was, but two words that all around describe him would be: selfish and ambitious.
McCandless was the typical straight out of college kid who wanted something more- an adventure. He was selfish for only thinking of himself when he made many of
his decisions. McCandless failed to realize that his life didn’t entirely belong to him, but also to his family and even society. His life was a part of other people’s lives. Sam, Chris’ older brother, was the first to receive the news of his brothers death. He drove out to Maryland to give his father the news. “Seven weeks after the body of his son turned up in Alaska wrapped in a blue sleeping bag that Billie had sewn for Chris from a kit, Walt studies a sailboat scudding beneath the window of his waterfront townhouse. “How is it,” he wonders aloud as he gazes blankly across Chesapeake Bay, “that a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain?” (104)” Chris’ selfish actions left people living in fear of his safety. His selfishness was tied to his ambition. He was too ambitious for himself. He refused to receive any help that was offered to him along his odyssey. Jim Gallien, a union electrician, picked up hitchhiker McCandless four miles out of Fairbanks. His “backpack looked as though it weighed only twenty-five or thirty pounds, which struck Gallien-an accomplished hunter and woodsman- as an improbably light load for a stay of several months in the backcountry (4).” Gallien wasn’t the only one to offer McCandless help. McCandless, however, always denied the help. Gallien stated, “He had an answer for everything I threw at him…(6).” Alex, Chris, would often reply “I’ll be fine with what I’ve got (6).” McCandless was ill prepared for his journey to Alaska. He thought he could succeed in the wild alone, but his ambitious drive led to his death. Chris “had a need to test himself in ways, as he was fond of saying, “that mattered.” He possessed grand- some would say grandiose- spiritual ambitions. According to the moral absolutism that characterizes McCandless’s beliefs, a challenge in which a successful outcome is assured isn’t a challenge at all (182).” Because of McCandless’ selfishness and ambition, he left people with broken hearts, but he died in content with his life.
Chris McCandless walked into the wilderness seeking truth and happiness.
McCandless’ motive for seeking truth was influenced by his parents materialistic lives. He disliked it even more when his parents tried to force their lifestyle upon him, as he even announced to his parents two years before graduation that he would no longer give or accept gifts. “Chris has only recently upbraided Walt and Billie for expressing their desire to buy him a new car as a graduation present and offering to pay for law school if there wasn’t enough money left in his college fund to cover it… “I can’t believe they’d try and buy me a car.” he later complained…(20-21).” Chris wanted something more than what society had to offer him. He was seeking truth about himself- he wanted to challenge himself and see what he can accomplish on his own. McCandless was also seeking happiness because he wasn’t happy with his life and where he was headed if he stayed. Chris McCandless did find answers in his journey but not happiness. He found that living in the wild isn’t as easy as his favorite books make it out to be. His Alaskan adventure was inspired, in part, by Jack London’s Call of the Wild. He tried to follow in the footsteps of some of the authors he idolized, like Thoreau and London, which is ironic because he failed to realize that these authors wrote fictional narratives. His answer for happiness was summed up in one of his last journal entries, “He was right in saying that the only certain
happiness in life is to live for others…(169).” He found the truth in that the wild is lonely and hard.
The person that Chris McCandless was is worth admiring, but he’s also worth learning from. He is admirable because he dared to do something everyone else is too afraid to do, which is to seek the truth- about himself and everyone else. He had extraordinary talent and excelled in almost everything he attempted. The way he lead his life was admirable and his ambition to do things is admirable as well. He took a risky and difficult journey to improve the value of his life. However, the way he did so was foolish and should be learned from. Walt McCandless goes to explain, as he was walking around the bus in which Chris died, that “‘Many people have told me that they admire Chris for what he was trying to do. If he’d lived, I would agree with them. But he didn’t, and there’s no way to bring him back (203).’” If McCandless had lived, then everything about him would’ve been admirable. People can read his story and learn that the wilderness is harsh and should not be messed with. We can learn from his mistakes by taking caution, we can go out and seek truth and happiness in a safe way.
Chris McCandless was a twenty-four-year-old guy seeking for something more than what society had to offer. He was an aspiring person, but made selfish actions. McCandless believed that a walk into the wild would lead him to finding happiness and truth. He was admirable for taking a leap, but thoughtless for the same reason. Chris McCandless was a different type of normal. He has inspired many people today who have ventured out in different ways to seek the truth for themselves. As McCandless once said and many more will say “I now walk into the wild (3).”