Dylan Dang

Ms. Moore
ERWC English
January 25, 2017

In Search of Happiness

Unlike John Mallon Waterman, a mentally unstable hiker, who died trying to hike the

Denali mountains and Carl McCunn, a photographer of wildlife, who committed suicide after

finding himself trapped in Brooks Range, Chris McCandless was neither mentally unstable nor a

photographer or wildlife, he was a well raised kid who lived in a wealthy family and graduated

from Emory University. However, things changed and he was in search of happiness through the

wild therefore, he chose his exploration in Alaska. Chris McCandless chose a difficult path for

himself, which resulted in his horrid death. He was unprepared and uneducated about the journey

he chose for happiness.

To begin with, most of the reasons Chris McCandless went to the wilderness was because

of inferences. Through Jon Krakauers research, he found out that ...Chris had only recently

upbraided Walt and Billie for expressing their desire to buy him a new car as a graduation

present and offering to pay for law school if there wasnt enough money left in his college fund

to cover it(20). In other words, he disliked his parents materialistic life and disliked it even

more when they tried to force materialism on him by buying him a new car, He had a perfectly

good car, he insisted: a beloved 1982 Datsun B210(21). Another reason Chris McCandless

was seeking happiness was because of his hatred towards his father after finding out about his

double life, By 1965, however, his marriage was in trouble. He and his wife, Marcia separated.

Walt started dating a secretary at Hughes named Wilhelmina Johnson---everyone called her

Billie---who was twenty years old and hard dark, striking eyes. They fell in love and moved in
together. Billie got pregnant.(107). In addition, Billie and Walt had financial problems

because Walts separation from his first wife left him with two families to support(107).

In conclusion, Chris McCandless wanted to travel to Alaska because of problems in his

life. He disliked the fact that his parents were materialistic and that his dad, Walt, had a double

life. In the end Chris died a horrid death therefore, I do not believe he found happiness because

he said happiness is only real when shared().