Mick Marchan

Expository Writing P.3

5/19/2014

Into the Wild: Who Was Chris McCandless?
In the past century, there have been countless tales of adventurers and their journeys into
nature, but none have ever come close to resembling the idiosyncratic life story of Chris
McCandless. Having survived in the Alaskan wilderness for more than 110 days, McCandless,
who was relatively new to survival in nature, remains an anomaly, defying the bush-casualty
stereotype. The peculiarity of McCandlesss life has led to much discussion about who he truly
was, and much is left to ones imagination as his journal entries and photographs do not tell the
full story. On one hand, some say that Chris was a stubborn lunatic hell-bent on self-destruction,
whereas others, similar to me, maintain that McCandless was a bright and strong-willed ascetic
attempting to find himself in the wild.
When it comes to Chris McCandless, almost everyone can agree that he fits the profile of
an intelligent individual: able to absorb, retain, and apply knowledge with ease. Chris not only
graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.72 while majoring in History and Anthropology at Emory
University, he was also able to distinguish two very similar wild potato species, H. alpinum and
H. mackenzii, during his stay in Alaska, which allowed him to maintain his nourishment without
becoming ill from alkaloid poisoning. This is a feat that even experts in botany struggle with as
lateral veins on the underside of the leaflets are the sole dissimilar aspect between the two. Since
the only experience Chris had with these plants are from what he read in Tanaina Plantlore, this
is a clear demonstration of his intelligence, as he was able to competently apply what he had
retained from the book.
Though many agree that McCandless was intelligent, the unanimity of his character ends
there. Disputes often begin with the topic of whether Chris was determined and strong-willed or
just plain stubborn. Those who believe McCandless to be stubborn often point to his rejection of
aid along his journey and dogged demeanor when it came to side-stepping the hindrances of
reality. However, these people fail to understand the difference between stubbornness and
determination. To be stubborn is to be unreasonably fixed in purpose, whereas determination is
to be resolute and focused on maintaining a founded direction, which is resembles Chris
McCandlesss character more closely. This is because Chris held very strict moral beliefs that
reflected those of Asceticism, which involves denying oneself materialistic pleasures in order to
achieve spiritual enlightenment. Therefore, Chriss denial of help and intimate relationships has
founded reasoning, which leads one to describe him as a determined person.
Although there are many aspects of Chris McCandlesss life that are left uncertain, none
is more elusive than the purpose behind his journey to Alaska. However, the strongest conclusion
one can draw from the evidence presented in John Krakauers Into the Wild is that Chris was
attempting to test his beliefs and morals with the hardship of genuine self-preservation. It is
blatantly obvious that the origin of the trips intentions stem from McCandlesss ascetic beliefs,
but his precise reasoning remains unclear until one examines the paper trail left behind during
the expedition. More specifically, until one takes into account that Chris, a man who has fended
off intimate relationships throughout his entire life, noted in the book Doctor Zhivago,
HAPPINESS IS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED. This allows one to assume that
McCandlesss survival in the Alaskan wild had changed him and his beliefs in denying social
support and finding peace in solitude. Therefore, you can also conclude that Chris had traveled to
Alaska in order to analyze the integrity of his Asceticism and determine if his draconian morality
was justified.
In the end, Chris McCandlesss intelligence, strong will, and need to evaluate his lifestyle
led to enlightenment that could not be applied to his future as his life had come to a close soon
after. However, Chris continues to be an inspiration to those who find solace in nature and will
hopefully be remembered as the monk gone to God.