Alyssa Joy Verdeflor
Mr. Westerfield
ERWC, P.2
14 December 2017
McCandless’s Odyssey
Imagine, lying down on a grass under the shade of a moon. Feeling the cold breeze and soothing the smell of the land. Opening your eyes and discovering the vast of wilderness like waking up in a place without any greetings such as, “hi” or “hello” only you and your surroundings hearing nothing but the sound of nature. Listening to the deafening tremble of your heart beating through your veins like drum. Pondering on life and what is in store for you by wandering in the grace of nature to be truly determine what life supposedly means. There is this author named Jon Krakauer of the book Into the Wild which is about the story of Chris McCandless and his life. It is a biographical novel which contains a true account of one young man’s adventure across the wilderness. The story is cliche, but the author constructed his story in a way that grabs the reader's attention to think about forming this puzzle pieces into a one story. The main character of the story is Chris McCandless whose a young man in his early twenties. He came from a well-off family, graduated from a prestigious university, and has a bright future ahead of him. But suddenly he abandoned his family, change his name, and leave his comfortable life just to find himself by reconnecting with nature. Chris being prideful, stubborn, and arrogant puts his life into an end at an early age, but being in a wild is his opportunity to be free from enslavement of society and his parents custody. Despite of those being an intellectual he is stupid when he goes hitchhiking unprepared. he might be friendly but he does not want to make a lasting relationship so he ended up leaving those people who considered hia as a family. The author of the book receives a tons of critique about Chris McCandless Alaskan odyssey. One of the critic says that, “Personally I see nothing positive at all about Chris Mccandless’s lifestyle or wilderness doctrine.” (Krakauer 71), but the letter writer was mistaken when he wrote that he “sees nothing positive about Mccandless lifestyle or wilderness doctrine” because he does not know if Chris run away from home on purpose in order to figure things out on his own, but he is also correct that Chris went on his trip unprepared. I can say that he was a troubled young man with a little understanding of living in a wilderness. While Chris McCandless proves a strong conviction about living a simple life, free from parental expectations and the society, he developed mutual relationships with Ron Franz, Gail Borah, and Jon Burres that helped him on his journey into the wild.
Alex is inclined to be an independent to the extent that he refuses to keep items that would assist or help him in everyday life and in his Alaskan journey that he was going on. Alex retorted, “If you don't take it, I’m going to throw it away, i don't want to know what it is. I don’t want to know what day it is or where I am. None of that matters” (Krakauer 7). Chris gave away his watch, which he can probably use other than time. That’s why he did not want to take anything on his trip because the reason why he is living home for he wants to restart his life from being a wealthy man to an ordinary being living a simple life. He wants to do something on his own and not depending on his parents wealth instead he will work hard by himself which includes that he had to start from a scratch. When he says that, “I don’t want to know what day it is” it simply shows that he wants to banish everything from his past because it reminds him of his purpose on why he is doing the same routine everyday he wakes up that is why he does not want to bring his watch for it resembles something from his past, all he wants to do is refresh everything.
He lived off on the things that he found on the side of the road. He did not care what everyone else said to him or did to him the only thing that matters to him is to make himself, his own life, and his own adventure. Jon Burres told Chris, “Man you gotta have money to get along in this world, but he would not take it. Finally I got him to take some swiss army knives and few belt knives, I convinced him that he’d come in hardly in Alaska that he could maybe trade them something down the road but the day after he left, I found most of it in the van” (Krakauer 46). McCandless would not take it because he thinks about how unimportant material things actually are. He gave up everything he had for nothing and he did just fine. Chris left those stuffs that Burres gave him because he does not want to receive something from someone for it only reminds him of his past that he got everything from his parents money without having an effort and did not work hard to earn those. Since, he want to start a new life he also wants to earn something as the fruit of his hardships without depending on someone's money. Sometime a little material thing may be important to keep him alive. He do not want to live on the material things because it reminds him that he felt empty, numb, and nothing to live for. I think if he would have something important to live on he might had something to live for and to push him do something greater.
McCandless can not stand the life of a normal person doing a simple job to make it by. He has no interest in a job or even live in a society that is centered around a simple life without any risk. McCandless explained to Burres, “he’d grown tired of Bullhead, tired of punching a cock, tired of the “plastic people” he worked with, and decided to get the hell out of town” (Krakauer 43). Chris said that he is tired of the “plastic people” because he can not stand to pretend anymore that he is fine after all of those lies that his family hid to him. Chris wanted something more, something bigger than himself, and apart from the man that did him wrong. When Chris found out that his father was a liar, cheater, and an arrogant man that commit a crime against his family, this led Chris to leave home to make up his mind. He consider his father’s action inexcusable that is why he ran away from being stock to his family. This is why he wants to be alone for a while in order to distant himself to everyone because everytime that he is being attached to someone he always gets disappointed and broken hearted, so he chooses to stay not a very long time with them.
Chris wanted to live a life worth living and to experience adventure. McCandless told Franz, “You don’t need to worry about me. I have a college education. I’m not destitute. I’m living like this by choice” (Krakauer 51). McCandless is living by that through his choice in making his own adventure. It seems that Chris was looking for something new on his regular basis that is why he does not pursue finding a job after college because he knew that new experiences led to happiness. It is just that McCandless had an addiction and it was to explore throughout his life and constantly learning during the process. For all the addiction to have. This was the positive one because it helps him to give a peace of mind and meet other people to become part of his life, instead this choice of his is a risky one.
Chris was perfectly aware of the dangers and challenges he would face on his adventure, and knew that there was a chance he would die on his journey for purpose. Chris McCandless wrote in a postcard “To please return all mail I receive to the sender. It might be a very long time before I return South. If this adventure proves fatal and you do not ever hear from me again” (Krakauer 69). It is McCandless own words, written on his last postcard to Wayne Westerberg before he goes into the Alaskan wilderness. In this point he already acknowledge the chance that he might not survive has been an evidence that his journey to Alaska was suicidal in intent. His acknowledgement of the risk, and of what is truly at stake shows that his arrogance and being prideful are not that extreme as what the critics commented on to his wilderness adventure. He does not want to die, but he knows very well that he is taking on a dangerous adventure, however he feels this is worth it for having the real experience of living completely independent and free. His excitement can be seen in his final sentence to the postcard that he sent to Westerberg.
Overall, the story of one man in the name of Chris McCandless is blessed to those who do not choose to live their life the way their parents tells them too. Boldness and courage are the testaments of how we were meant to live, not how men, society and other people have told us to do but what life has told us. To be free and aware of nature, see things from a view which is unlike any other. Experiencing the wild in a way that you become one of it. Critics often commented that going into the wild was a death wish for McCandless, yet going into the wild for MCcandless meant finding a contentment for himself, it was finding out who he was as a person with no influence of civilization and society. McCandless do not have a death wish, but in a way that going on a trek unprepared makes his life shorter than it was expected, yet following his dreams proved that he lived a fulfilling life in his own journey.