Jon Krakauer, an author, wrote a book called “Into the Wild”, it portrays Chris McCandless, a young man who went on an adventure into nature, inexperienced and foolishly to find his true identity and dignity. Chris McCandless wants to evade and flee the claustrophobic confines of Society and his family. He has a grudge toward his family, except his sister, which prompts his desire to vanish. Nature, the wild, is a place where he believes he can find his true self and his proper status in society. Due to McCandless’s complicated personality, some believe he is a brainless fool who was too naive and blinded by his own ego to realize that his journey was a suicide mission. Others believe he is a hero for showing his courage, strength, and individualism to break away from social norms and live the life he wanted to live preferably of the one other people exacted him to. Although some may view Chris McCandless as a fool who died for nothing, he followed what he believed in and should be admired rather than criticized.
Chris is admirable in his courage in following his dream, but it also means he is free to do whatever he wants the way he sees it, he does so by getting rid of all unnecessary items on his journey to Alaska. Chapter twelve explains Chris’s decision to leave “Shortly thereafter, he donated the balance of his bank account to OXFAM, loaded up his car, and vanished from their lives.”(Krakauer 125) This quote shows Chris’s noble idea to donate his money because he found he had no need for it. McCandless’ actions made it clear that he cared and helped people on his journey and never asked for anything in return from them. Chris was a hard worker, a loving brother, and a great friend. In the end, Chris fulfilled duties that he wasn’t required to fulfill. Also, he became independent at a young age and was open to life on the road. People today see that as more of a failure in life than anything else. Chris saw it as a pure way of living and it made him become a better person.
Another admirable note is Chris’s courage to not follow the rules of an authority figure. When Chris was working at McDonald’s to earn money, his manager told him he had to wear socks because it was a policy to wear appropriate footwear at all times. ‘Chris would follow the rule, but as soon as his shift was over, bang!- the first thing he would do is take off his socks’ (Krakauer 40). Chris did not want to defy the rules or create an uproar, but he would make it known that he did not like to follow them. He did not like being told what to do and when to do it, and this made it difficult for him to lead a normal life in society.
Although Chris McCandless has many actions that someone can admire about him, he still made some judgments that were not all that courageous. In chapter twelve, Chris’s parents explain something about his personality that shows his other side. “He could be generous and caring to a fault, but he had a darker side as well characterized by monomania, impatience, and unwavering self-absorption, qualities that seemed to intensify through his college years.” This quote reveals that Chris might have been courageous but he had self-qualities that would say differently all the time.
#literary #literature #poetry #fiction #books #bookstagram #author #writers #writing #poet #writersofinstagram #novel #reading #booklover #writer #bibliophile #bookish #book #writersofig #manuscript #novelist #authoress #art #bookworm #playwright #essayist #literaturememes #paragrapher #booknerd #poems
