Wendy Puente Puente 1

Ms.Kopaitich

ERWC Block:6

10 December 2018

Into the Wild

There are times when isolation is best for a person to be able to find themselves. In the

novel “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, the character Chris McCandless decides that he wants to

“walk in to the bush and live off the land for a few months”(4). When reading this novel some

people thought Chris McCandless was either inspiring and courageous or idiotic and reckless.

Although some people believed Christopher McCandless was idiotic and reckless. Christopher

McCandless was inspiring and courageous because he traveled on his own leaving all his

belongings behind, he was was hardworking, and he was able to survive in the wild and was

fearless.

Christopher McCandless was able to travel on his own leaving all his belongings behind.

Chris decided to leave all of his belongings behind. Some of the things he left were his car, a

guitar, a football, some money, and twenty-five pounds of rice. Krakauer communicates that,

“When he looked inside, Walsh found a Gianini guitar, a saucepan containing $4.93 in loose

change, a football, a garbage bag full of old clothes, a fishing rod and tackle, a new electric

razor, a harmonica, a set of jumper cables, twenty-five pounds of rice, and in the glove

compartment, the keys to the vehicle’s ignition (26). Chris decided to leave everything behind to

start fresh. This shows how he was courageous because he decided to leave his things behind and

didn’t seem bothered by it he wanted to leave them behind. In the novel it also says, “ He could

simply
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abandon the Datsun and resume his odyssey on foot (29). By this you can tell that Chris didn’t

mind going on his adventure on foot because he had the courage to keep on going, he was

motivated to try and live off the land.

Chris was a smart, hardworking young man. He would do jobs that no one wanted to do

and do his job correctly. During the process of Chris roaming around, he met a man by the name

of Westerberg, who gave him a job. Krakauer claims, “During those four weeks in Carthage,

McCandless worked hard, doing dirty, tedious jobs that nobody else wanted to tackle: mucking

out warehouses, exterminating vermin, painting, scything weeds (62). Chris was hardworking

and got the job done, he wouldn’t complain and would just do what he was told. Krakauer also

declares, “He was smart. He’d figure out how to paddle a canoe down to Mexico, how to hop

freight trains, how to score bed at inner-city missions (46). By this you can tell that Chris was

able to survive on his own because he learned a lot of stuff while being out in Alaska and the

desserts. This shows how he was courageous because he learned important things all on his own

which were necessary for him to survive.

Christopher McCandless was able to survive in the wild for some time and was fearless.

In chapter 11 of “Into the Wild”, Carine, Chris’s sister believes that Chris was able to be alone

and not feel lonely. She believed that Chris was able to entertain himself when he was alone.

This demonstrates that Chris didn’t need anyone to be able to survive or have fun he was able to

keep himself company. Walt, Christopher McCandless’s dad opines, “ Chris was fearless even

when he was little (109). His dad knew him well and says that Chris was fearless he was able to

accomplish what he wanted. Krakauer specifies, “ He probably died on August 18, 112 days after

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he’d walked into the wild, 19 days before six Alaskans would happen across the bus and

discover his body inside (199). This shows how Chris was able to survive 112 days all on his

own, living off the land like he wished to.

However, some people believed McCandless was idiotic and reckless. Krakauer argues,

“When he talked, he was always going on about trees and nature and weird stuff like that. We all

thought he was missing a few screws (40). This shows how Chris would act weird and talk about

weird stuff with others and he could have been mentally ill. But, Chris was actually courageous

and inspiring and a lot of people he met along the way actually cared for him and were inspired

by him. Krakauer states, “ McCandless would wander the seedier quarters of Washington,

chatting with prostitutes and homeless people, buying them meals, earnestly suggesting ways

they might improve their lives (113). This is an example which shows how Chris would nice and

would inspire people by suggesting ways in which they would be able to improve their lives.

Christopher McCandless was courageous and inspiring. He traveled leaving all his

belongings behind, he was hardworking and smart, and was able to survive and was fearless.

Chris died happy because he was able to do what he wanted which was to live off the land. Chris

being isolated from others benefited him because he experienced new things.