Chris Mccandless Journey Essay

Throughout history there have been people who have chosen to take a very different path and do the unexpected. We rarely hear their stories but are lucky enough to be able to read about Chris McCandless’s journey. Into the Wild is a novel written by Jon Krakauer about Chris McCandless’ life and how it was cut short. Krakauer writes about Chris as a hero who did a noble thing by living life to the fullest. The book tells the story of how Chris finished college and dropped everything. He doesn’t bother saying goodbye to his friends and family before donating his life savings and leaving town. Chris goes out on his own on a pilgrimage to be free or with nature, the book talks about the two year pilgrimage with stops and making new friends on the way. Chris ends up in Alaska where he spends the last of his days. Some, including Krakauer, think that he lived life on his own terms and died a hero. Others might think he was on a suicide mission thinking only about himself and maybe even mentally ill. Krakauer may have been influenced by his own life and the ways he saw it as similar to Chris’s. He even warns the reader that he is biased, …show more content…
Where he ended up can be traced to an unstable childhood and homelife which influenced him to be more of an outsider who turned to books and adventure. Chris wasn’t a hero, but he also wasn’t foolish for doing what he wanted. Jon Krakauer’s view of Chris as a hero comes from a similar bad father relationship while growing up. He has empathy for Chris and knows what he went through. He also went on his own adventure climbing a mountain in Alaska and makes the point that the only difference between their outcomes was “a matter of chance” (155). Chris’s story is important because other people in the world also deal with the struggles he has growing up. The choice he made weren’t right or wrong but even though his life ended tragically he lived it on his own