Secondly, Christopher McCandless was an intelligent and idealistic young man who craved adventure and risk taking. McCandless reflected his passion for the wild and nonmaterialistic items in accordance to Henry Thoreau’s way of thinking. Henry Thoreau believed that man could come to terms with his own existence and find a higher purpose. According to Krakauer, during McCandless’s adventure he “Put a match to it. One hundred and twenty- three dollars in legal tender was promptly reduced to ash and smoke” (Krakauer, p. 29). By burning his money, McCandless showed he didn’t want to depend on money but instead he chose to live sparingly. Into the Wild, chapter 6, is a letter to Ronald Franz saying “The joys of life come from our encounters with new experiences and you must do it economy style: no motels, cook for yourself, general rule spend as little as possible and you will enjoy it much more immensely” (Krakauer, pp. 57-58). McCandless was trying to encourage Ronald Franz to enjoy life and to live more freely. Christopher McCandless put nature above a lot of things which he proved by burning his money, he was able to live entirely without help from the government. In the book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer Henry Thoreau McCandless’s literary hero said that “Rather than we, than money, than fame, give me truth. I sat at a table where rich food and wine in abundance, an obsequies attendance, were but serenity and the truth were not;…
