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

Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, is the story of a young man, Chris Mccandless who was going in the right direction. He had finished college and had a family who loved him, somehow he took a major detour that landed him dead in Alaska. Chris Mccandless shaped his identity through his actions, interests, values and beliefs. Chris’s actions were very curtial to shaping his identity. Chris was always good at everything he did, he was always very confident and a good business. His parents remember a time when he grew vegetables in the garden, then went around the neighborhood and sold them. He made loads of money but didn’t seem to care he must have thought it was just a game. His sister remembers “He didn’t seem interested in the money so much
Chris had a very interesting way of thinking but one of the most interesting things is that he wouldn’t take anything from anyone. His parents try to be him a car yet he doesn’t want it, the last man who sees him says he’s ill equipped and that if chris comes into town with him he’ll buy him some proper gear. It adds to his actions of minimalism, the trip to Mexico really reaffirmed his minimalistic values (Krakauer Pg. 4-7, 20-21, 32-34). Chris had a sort of hatred for the way society was set up, he felt as though he was misunderstood. That the government wouldn’t help the poor and countless other reasons, he saw that the only way to escape was through nature. However, it seems a though Chris came off that high for a little while as though ready to be reintroduced to society and then remembered why he had left. At a point Chris gets a job at McDonalds where he gives them his really information almost as if he is ready to rejoin society. However after working there for 2 months he could no longer handle the way they treated him, he realised why he’d left and went on his way again(Krakauer Pg. 40-47). His favorite author was Jack London, London painted a picture of an amazing wild Alaska that was graceful yet harsh. As if it was a place from where people could escape to solidarity and enjoy the loneliness of nature. He didn’t however express all the dangers that happen and that this graceful land had a nasty dark side, almost like a politician. Chris took all the embelising to heart and thought that all the wonder exsisteded without any of the danger. The only example needed is his death, the blindness that bliss brings is simply all powerful. He was simply in love with the makebelieve world that existed solely in Jack Londons