There’s lots of interest out there in this story.
Update: There are comments on this entry on McCandless as well as this other entry.
September 26, 2007 by notverybright
There’s lots of interest out there in this story.
Update: There are comments on this entry on McCandless as well as this other entry.
Chris McCandless was a very intelligent man who took his dreams and actually conquered them. How many of you people who sit on your ass all day watching T.V. can say that you have done what you were meant to do. How many of you have dreams that you just pushed aside because your either to scared to try or your the everyday materialist american who feeds on money. Not everything is about want its about need and once you peole figure that out you will see what a beautiful thing chris has done! but since im guessing most of you people havent you can not talk.
-krsitina alvarez
“one of the many that have been inspired by Christopher Johnson McCandless”
i love what you are say, but these people who have no idea about what they are saying make me mad. Chris did what a person with a heart would do. He ended up realizing that “Happiness is Only Real When Shared.”
i think i might end up gong on the Stampede Trail to see bus 142. Looks like fun!!!
Yeah, fortunately, most of us don’t have to go off and kill ourselves to realize that sharing happiness is a good thing.
“Chris did what a person with a heart would do.”
Die? Because thats what he ended up doing.
good job! I love your post.
After living for awhile at 9,000 feet in the Rockies in my twenties, I know that even I learned that if you try a survivalist lifestyle in severe places, you have to be prepared to not make it back. In the film he couldn’t return because of the the raging river so he had to turn back to the bus. Nature is unforgiving, as Jack London stories show, and Chris’ sad starvation made the tale even more poignant because he did try to return but couldn’t.
Not a bright person, McCandless was completely unaware that a hand-operated tram crossed the otherwise impassable river 1/4 mile from where he attempted to cross. Had he known this, he could easily have saved his own life but he refused to take a map with him. Living in an idealistic life is no substitute for common sense.
Sorry Kristina,
It’s a beautiful story, and a tragic tale, but to romanticize it as some sort of spiritual journey is as stupid as going out into the wilderness without a map and starving to dealth. Granted, it moved me, and I envy his courage, and I understand his disdain for life as it is. Still, he died because he wasn’t smart enough to find a way back across a river when there was a manual way to cross less than 1/4 a mile downstream. It’s one thing to dream, and another to prepare to do things you need to do to see those dreams fullfilled. Still, I think God was with him and he is at peace now. His adventures will inspire both the brave and the foolhardy for years to come.
JBE
couldnt of said it any better! the book is absolutely amazing. We can all learn something from chris mccandless! he had it all! money! an education! but he threw it all away because he didnt want to just exist he wanted to live! man how great would it feel to be butt naked in the wild!!! away from all the conformity of society!!!!! away from paying bills and working the dreading 9 to 5. Chris used his money wisely.
He was a gift from GOD! to show everyone that theirs more to life than being a rich american snob! If chris wouldnt of died nobody would know the true meaning of sacrifice….
one love and god bless
Oh yes Chris did a beautiful thing. A selfish beautiful thing. Come on, get over the mystique of unbridled idealism and realize that this guy wandered out into the middle of nowhere woefully unprepared for the adventure. It was also selfish, he didn’t set out to change the world or to help others, he ditched out of society and left some poor traveller (who by the way was prepared for the adventure) to find his body. If you are truly inspired by Chris then you really need to get out more and find a someone worthy of it, not some dead silly idealist who couldn’t even be bothered to buy a map.
you obviously didn’t read the book. he went out without anything for a purpose. its been printed in every article that was written on this topic….chirs was offered a chance to get more supplies and he refused. this was about being away from everything, and away from what he believed to be a sick and twisted society. you don’t have to agree with him. i sure don’t, but you have to appreciate someone with this much passion. passion to do what they want no matter how unconventional it may be.
I also respect Chris for sticking to his ideals and trying to embody those ideals, but he was also a selfish fool who took off into the wilderness with a cocky smile on his face, and a bag that was filled with rice and a couple of books. And he died for it. I am aware that he knew he was severely under supplied, but that does not make any less foolish, in fact it makes it even more foolish. Also the fact that he just left his family without a word and never communicated with them again until his death is selfish and sick. No ideal is worth making other people suffer like his family did.
Sorry Chris for your tough childhood. We all have tough times in life! But to do what you did to your family is horrid. Your poor sister who did nothing to you but be your loving sister, what a jerk you were. Selfish , inconsiderate, spoiled brat. You took what GOD gave you and pissed it down the drain by running.
It proved nothing at all. I am sorry you were so miserable.
Yo could have at least sent letters home but no,, you had to be the big rebel and hurt. Too bad, you could have done so much more. Maybe those who have benefitted from your tail of woe can put the money to good use,,, you certainly didn’t.
At least you got some clarity before you did.
I was also angered at the cruel callousness displayed by this kid toward his family. They gave him a good education but were guilty of being imperfect . He had 12 years of school but he never learned to count his blessings……….. stupid kid.
Sym·pa·thy: the fact or power of sharing the feelings of another, esp. in sorrow or trouble; fellow feeling, compassion, or commiseration.
I sit beyond admiration. Avid in my travels – a military man, war veteran and self proclaimed backcountry enthusiast. I can’t sit unwavering and say that our “hero” the “supertramp” was right or wrong – mistaken, mislead, unrealistic, idealistic, selfish, dreamweaver, inspiring, loathing – all words that may in fact break the surface of man none of us knew, but have some how been effected by. Be it a book, a movie or a chance reading of an article.
By virtue we’ve all learned something from his tragedy. Those of us that feel the need to bash Christopher McCandless should pear back at his life with more insight. Something inspired you to bash his adventurous spirit – his heart filled glances and his misguided ways. Maybe, just maybe, he had something we all need and want – maybe, just maybe in his search to find “London”, he took it too far, but for a moment I think he wrapped his cold hands around it and it got away.
Let us not forget the beauty that risk can bring. Maybe we should just “hop over the fence with a loaf of bread and a pound of tea”.
McCandless went on this journey to get away from the people like you. He wanted to escape from all of the corrupt, and foul living wretches you are so proud of being. He wanted to find truth in himself, truth in the world. And those of you who call Alaska YOUR state, and are piss tired of all of those “hippies” coming into Alaska, stop and think, they have more respect for YOUR land than you do. You pollute the grounds you speak so highly of, and what did Chris do? He cherished it, he loved it, he helped it. You ruin your land with your modern technologies he wanted nothing to do with. And you ignorant people who claim he was ill-prepared need to do some research. He didn’t want to be prepared, he wanted to be completely independent, and he didn’t want a map because he wanted to explore for himself. Yes, it is a tragedy that he didn’t make it out, and yes maybe he didn’t clearly think things through, but that doesn’t mean he was a fool, or he had a death-wish. I am clearly jealous of this man because he did what so many of us dream to do, but are too afraid. He lived his dream, and he died happily. He fulfilled his life and he became something he loved and understood, while the remaining of us sit at home on our ass and watch awe-spiring movies like “into the wild”, or read books about other people and go on mind trips about how amazing it would be to do the things we always dreamed about. But, how many actually do this? Very few. He was clearly something amazing, and most of us are just parasites.
So, in short, you’re a coward and anyone who doesn’t agree with your perception that this guy is a hero….is what? A parasite and a coward? Anyone who has to put aside their dreams to say, fulfill responsibilities to such things as…raising a family or living up to your word or NOT abandoning your friends and family, is a coward?
So open mindedness, toleration and individuality are not qualities you respect then? It’s either, fall in line and agree with me or you’re a coward and a parasite?
It takes much more courage to not abandon the people around you. It takes more courage to try and make a difference then to run off alone and run away from everything you disagree with.
Since when did giving up or running away become a hero quality?
And I just love the fact that you all respect this man’s individuality, but you see anyone with a differing opinion on this story as a fool.
Lol…you people are such hypocrites.
you say he wanted nothing to do with modern technologies, to be completely independent…why then did he take a rifle,fishing pole, knives and whatever”modern” stuff he thought he may need….why live in a bus that “modern man” put there???
Your kidding right? He wanted to be completely independent? He lived off others, avoiding earlier bouts of starvation in his travels by taking handouts and relying on the charity of others. Does the fact that he didn’t actually pay for something (but someone else does), equate to indepedence? He had great respect for the land? He drove his car through, and then abandoned it, in a roadless watershed area. He used a rifle and poached what he could. How was he respectful of the land? During his travels, he sponged off others for food, shelter, and support, and at one point took a job at a McDonalds in AZ. He was hardly independent of society. He may have been a good person. But being unprepared and intentionally ignorant of basic survival skills, to the point of being foolhardy, does at some point become a death wish. Unlike his travels in the lower 48, while in Alaska, he was not able to fall back on someone else when he came to the point of starving – although he had hoped he could, when he left a note seeking help. I know Cub Scouts (i.e. young kids who are not even Boy Scouts yet) who are better prepared to survive in the wilderness than McCandless was.
If you want an inspiration for intelligent, independent Alaska living and respect for the wilderness, read up on Richard “Dick” Proenneke.
very well put
In May of 1993 – I left NY City with only a pack on my back (the same age as Chris Mccandless) – I made it cross country via train and took the ferry up the inside passage. I ultimately ended up in Denali, where I worked, explored and loved. That summer I had heard of Chris and his death. I ventured to the bus and felt the remains of a broken spirit. I envy and can certainly relate to Chris’ mindset. I cant help but think, however, that somewhere along the way he lost his will to live….to love.
I went back to Denali for 6 more summers, yet now the place has changed. Alaska itself is in fact still untamed, but I have seen the sad nuances of corporate infusion and Denali will forever be different because of it.
At least the 6 million acres in the park still hold strigent access and use codes. I will forever love that place and will go back at least for a couple of weeks every year for the rest of my life.
Billy, I spent two weeks traveling around Alaska and know exactly what you mean. It’s good for the soul. I’m ready to go back.
Im a mountain climber. Here’s the lesson I choose to take away from this story – for now
Analogy;
When you climb a mountain it’s not enough to “make the summit.” Not good enough to live your dream, it’s not enough to realize your biggest ideals. What I mean is when you get there, you can’t lay down at the top and just enjoy the view. When you’re still young, and inexperienced, all you think about is your ideals -some of us at different points are younger or more dreamy than others, and some even become obsessed with these big ideals for a while. But to do it right, to be complete, to see the trees AS WELL AS the forest, to “finish the job” etc, is to *PLAN* to come back down from the ideal – to balance the ideal with the practical, not to choose one and discard the other.
Getting to the top is not practical, its a dream, an ideal. It gets you exited and it provides a nice view, and as every climber knows, its the easy part. But in and of itself, it’s a useless thing really -especially nowadays- and only half the endeavor. It only means something when you incorporate the experience into the totality of your being. You can only do that if you live long enough to do that. Only then can you call it a lesson and perhaps even pass it on to others. It just doesn’t matter until you can do as much. To die on a summit, or to die in a wilderness without having prepared to the best of ones ability for the practical, the necessary but less romantic ideal of surviving, of returning, is nothing more or less than a failure. Chris McCandless (and some others) failed in that way. Coarse, maybe in the end we all do. And, keep in mind just how young Chris was when he ventured out, when he died.
In my mind though, he doesn’t deserve the harsh ridicule nor the heroic praise that he has often gotten. His death -as sad as it was- was a warning to those with the big ideals, with big dreams about the world and about their place in it: Do what adventuring you must, seek what you need, live your dream, but most importantly, plan and prepare to live, plan to return and teach. Come back down, and put the dream into practice. Life is too precious to throw away – even on an adventure. As strange as it sounds, Im guess Im a little pissed at Chris for not recognizing that much.
A well known mountain guide service near my place has the motto something like “Live your Dreams”. There are 2 parts to this motto, one is the “dreaming” part, but the other is the “living” part. Its really about balance. With every passing moment we leave a legacy of our dreams and our acts. In a way, we always teach by our example. Its not enough that you’re a dreamer, you are -or will be- a teacher as well. Hard to teach when you’re dead, unless your death becomes the lesson.
My point is of coarse not that death is avoidable, I applaud Chris’s dreams and his courage, I condemn his impracticality, beyond that, who am I to judge him?
From some of his last writings, in the last days of his life, it seems that Chris himself realized something along these lines. He wrote something like “happiness is only meaningful when shared”. So maybe he did convey the lesson after all. Its just too damned bad he didn’t live to see it and mature into the complete teacher he likely would have become.
What strikes me hard to understand about Chris is that if he truely came to peace within himself on his spiritual quest, (as said in his last words, “I have had a happy life,” and shown in his picture with a contented smile sitting in front of his bus) why didn’t he leave some kind of note informing someone how to contact his family since he knew he was going to die. Wouldn’t he want his sister to have some kind of resolution about where he was to give her peace of mind? If he loved her, would’nt he want her to know what happened to him. Wouldn’t he want to write a personal goodbye to her in his journal. To leave his family phone number or address written somewhere.
What he does know to be true is that he is going to die and that his family will live the rest of their lives wondering what ever happened to him. And there could be a chance that someone finds him. To me, it would be devistating not to know if a loved one was dead or alive or suffering somewhere. Couldn’t he have just given his family that courtesy by leaving this info or writing a goodbye note to them with the chance that someone would someday find him (which hunters did). Instead, when he was discovered, since there was no information about who he was or where he came from, he essentially left it up to chance that the authorities would be able to figure out where he was from through links in his journal. But everyone he ran into only knew him as Alex Supertramp.
If he had found peace, wouldn’t he have found a way to forgive his parents in his heart? The fact that he made several grave mistakes himself during his adventure, and reality proved that he, himself was fallible, (ie by killing the moose and not being able to preserve the meat, or not realizing the waters would rise, carrying no map or not even mapping out his nearby surroundings over the months he was at the bus,) wouldn’t he have seen that we are all human and make mistakes. If he had come to terms with his own humaness and humility, wouldn’t he have had the ability to address the unresolved relationship with his family and thus write them a heartfelt goodbye in his Journal? Or did he just want to fall of the face of the earth and turn his back, never to return or contact his family again. For someone who seemed to have compassion, this baffles me. He just completely neglects to address any feelings he may have for his family on his dying bed. There are no words that he even wanted to come to some resolution about his family as he is in the midst of facing his inevitable death. To me, this is so hard to believe that he was that cold. Was he in that much Pain that he could completely forget about his past like a blank screen? So did he really find peace or was it all an unconscious deathwish? I think this calls for the expertise of a psychoanalyst. Any thoughts? -Ali’s Glass
I so agree with u Ali..if he had a heart, he should have forgiven his parents n left them a note. His sister who loved him so much never even got a call from him..how sad…
I only saw this movie yesterday 14/July/2009….my boy who is 7 watched it with me…n his question was why do ppl do all this…n my answer 2 him was …everyone has a different mind set to c things in their own way…and Chris choose this way of life, which took his life…..
Dolly Gill of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Doug PNW, I haven’t commented much on the Chris McCandless posts here, but your sentiments probably most closely mirror mine on the whole thing. Obviously his is a story that evokes strong emotion, one way or another, and probably touches a nerve in many of us for different reasons. Simply put perhaps “eat to live, do not live to eat,” it is hard advice to truly understand and maybe even tougher once one does understand it fully, and by the time most of us understand it fully we have to remeber TO EAT in order to live. I couldn’t agree more that McCandless’ story is not a hero tale, nor a idiot kid/villan tale, it is at heart an extremely human story.
I also thought Doug’s comment was a standout.
[...] 31st, 2007 by notverybright This entry started out as a comment by “Doug PNW” to the Chris McCandless entry. I liked the comment so much I elevated [...]
What strikes me hard to understand about Chris is that if he truely came to peace within himself on his spiritual quest, (as said in his last words, “I have had a happy life,” and shown in his picture with a contented smile sitting in front of his bus) why didn’t he leave some kind of note informing someone how to contact his family since he knew he was going to die. Wouldn’t he want his sister to have some kind of resolution about where he was to give her peace of mind? If he loved her, would’nt he want her to know what happened to him. Wouldn’t he want to write a personal goodbye to her in his journal. To leave his family phone number or address written somewhere.
What he does know to be true is that he is going to die and that his family will live the rest of their lives wondering what ever happened to him. And there could be a chance that someone finds him. To me, it would be devastating not to know if a loved one was dead or alive or suffering somewhere. Couldn’t he have just given his family that courtesy by leaving this info or writing a goodbye note to them with the chance that someone would someday find him (which hunters did). Instead, when he was discovered, since there was no information about who he was or where he came from, he essentially left it up to chance that the authorities would be able to figure out where he was from through links in his journal. But everyone he ran into only knew him as Alex Supertramp.
If he had found peace, wouldn’t he have found a way to forgive his parents in his heart? The fact that he made several grave mistakes himself during his adventure, and reality proved that he, himself was fallible, (ie by killing the moose and not being able to preserve the meat, or not realizing the waters would rise, carrying no map or not even mapping out his nearby surroundings over the months he was at the bus,) wouldn’t he have seen that we are all human and make mistakes. If he had come to terms with his own humaness and humility, wouldn’t he have had the ability to address the unresolved relationship with his family and thus write them a heartfelt goodbye in his Journal? Or did he just want to fall of the face of the earth and turn his back, never to return or contact his family again. For someone who seemed to have compassion, this baffles me. He just completely neglects to address any feelings he may have for his family on his dying bed. There are no words that he even wanted to come to some resolution about his family as he is in the midst of facing his inevitable death. To me, this is so hard to believe that he was that cold. Was he in that much Pain that he could completely forget about his past like a blank screen? So did he really find peace or was it all an unconscious deathwish? Any thoughts? -Ali’s Glass
Doug – you made some great points in your dialogue – and while Chris could have offered the world so much throughout his years, he did not have the ability to recognize it at the time. There was no understanding of balance and the fine line between reality and obscurity was crossed.
In Alaska I held so much importance on learning. It wasn’t until my fourth summer after spending a harsh winter in Palmer that I ventured 200 miles north of the arctic circle for three weeks to live among the land. I was fortunate to come back home to Denali with a caribou (bow hunt)and a sense of knowing I was confident to utilize my knowledge and
humble enough to show my respect to a land that that held a strength I had never known before. That created a bond with me and Alaska ……….. humility was a big part of it.
Something in my brain told me at 25 years old in 1993 that I was not ready to accept certain challenges that the land had held. I guess I’m greatful for my patience – it has made all the difference in my life.
I only wish his notoriority never came to fruition……………..
Billy V
McCandless’ had a noble goal – to find his true self outside of the contraints of an organized society and return to “nature”. A philosophy espoused by Tolstoy, Muir, Rousseau, Kerouac and Thoreau and others, McCandless believed that man was essentially free only in state of nature, in touch with himself, the earth and exempt from the material needs and wants of modern civilization. McCandless’ nihilism and rejection of material goods, (symbolized in the movie by the burning of his paper money and identification cards) is something that many disillusioned with the ceaseless toil and routines of modern society can certainly relate to.
McCandless is romantic and idealistic, and sincerely believes in his search. His wanderings around the country, whether coasting down the Colorado river, taking refuge in a missionary in Los Angeles or working as grain shoveler in South Dakota are experiences that give viewers and readers profound insights into the diversity of man, nature and humanity.
In the end, however, McCandless’ adventure leads him to the wilderness of Alaska. Geographically isolated, covered with miles of uninhabited natural forests, mountains and idyllic landscapes, Alaska represents to McCandless, the last frontier, a place where man can truly return to nature and find utopia. While McCandless’ lofty vision and sense of adventure is admirable, heroic and and sometimes frightening, in the end it confusing and tragic. Those following McCandless to his last path down Stampede Trail in Alaska cannot help asking whether McCandless was really an enlightened individual or in reality was some sort of meglomaniac suffering from grand delusions that he alone was capable of tackling the extreme wildneress of Alaska ill equipped with the few meager possession he brought with him to this ultimate destination. Without any real outdoor survival skills and failing to equip himself with the few basic things that could have saved his life (such as a map), McCandless is exposed to the realities of a harsh and unforgiving nature, one where survival skills are essential and there no room for learning from your mistakes, especially when your life depends on it.
McCandless’ foolhardy journey down Stampede trail raises several questions of why he made some of the decisions that he did. Was McCandless not afraid to die? What would he have done had he not stumbled across the abandoned school bus? Why didn’t he at least bring a tent? Why didn’t he familiarize himself with the terrain, known hunting trails or talk to experienced wilderness trekkers who could have imparted some basic advice that would have saved his life in the end. And most baffling, why didn’t he take a map? Did McCandless believe that his life exploration would not be as meaningful had be been familiar with the basic geography of the area? Although it appears that McCandless made an attempt to return to civilization at some point, the realities of failing to equip himself and his ignorance of outdoor survival is magnified when he returns in the deluge and takes refuge in the only thing he is familiar with in the Alaskan wilderness – the old abandoned bus, and an ironic reminder of his modern origins. He is weak, exhausted, starving and scared and the inexperience and travesties of his small mistakes compound into eventual starvation and death.
It turns out that the Alaskan frontier, in the beginning, represented to McCandless freedom and serentity; in the end, however, it becomes his horrific prison. What is even more devastating is that McCandless realizes eventualy that happiness is found not in the solitary confines of some abandoned bus in the middle of the Alaskan wild, but in companionship and shared experiences with others.
While McCandless experiences are moving, after watching Into the Wild, you cannot help feel that the “great search for truth” eventually took McCandless to an ill conceived which prematurely claimed his life.
Well put, Imran. However, I have read that he did have “a road map” according to the Park Ranger list of his possessions; also, I have read that he had a $50 tent–not good enough I know. The amazing thing is that he survived as long as he did–and the tragic part is that he tried to leave and couldn’t. I agree he could have spent time mapping out the area during the months he was at the bus. Also good point about the irony of living in the bus in the wilderness in the first and last place. I haven’t seen the movie yet–there is another documentary of McCandless that takes issue with some of the points the movie Into the Wild makes. I want to read the book. Good comments–thanks. J.
hi Mr.Mcandless i would like to tell you that me and my friend sarah willey are big fans of your movie and the book because you tell so much details and and you are the most inteligent person for the roll in this movie and i would love it if you wrote back and tell me more about your next thing you mite right about all right talk to you later.
Chris mccadnless was a stupid hippy. A spoiled teen who rebelled from his parents with a selfish self titled “spiritual journey”. Some of you will call me naive because you choose to romanticize his maverick mindset and that is fine. Many people have been to alaska on “vacation” and somehow think they have acquired the unique perspective of understanding alaska and now have a soapbox from which to preach. Bullshit; I was born and raised in alaska. If you want the wild go get it. Live a life of responsibility to your life. The only way I will accept mccandless being defined as intelligent is if he truely wanted to to die. Otherwise he was an arrogant egomaniac, he thought he was above all of us and our ignorant acceptance of society.
The people I grew up with and all the other people of Alaska are the ones that should be respected and glorified. Not the egomaniacs who come to OUR state, promote the corporations which they later lambaste, then claim to have a spiritual awakening and etheral understanding. Get over yourselves.
Wow -I thought us Californians had pride in our state- But you Alaskans are truly proud. What’s wrong with being a hippy? Question reality. Most of us live our lives through someone elses interpretation of the world. I think he wanted to find his own. More importantly he was brave enough to do it. Did he succeed? Maybe so, maybe not.
A path of ignorance is taveled by those who critisize Mccandless. He wanted to get away from people and go on a spiritual adventure. Hw broke away from people and a thier structured mass. beyond judgment, hate and a path so blindly and ignorantly followed that narrowly leads you too the grave.
And for those who don’t know he was very well prepared. He survived in the alaskan back country for more than one hundred days rice and a 22.. For all of you who say “oh he didn’t even bring a map” that wasen’t a lasp of jedgement but his choice. He wanted to feel conected with nature and his own spirit. He loved what he was doing and i hope you love your walled in existent of forced morals and relations.
Cris Mccandless died living a great and meaningful life. I envy what he accomplished. His years on the road will mean eyons more than decades pf structured existence.
My keyboard sucks btw
Cope your an idiot. It is not YOUR state. Also he did much greater things then anyone who lived in the state did.
I’m not going to go into greater detail because i’n too tired right now.
To respond to previous points, it seems obvious to me he wanted a *safe* adventure he stayed in america after all. Secondly he was a young man no peace to be found there, i think he just wanted to test out this lifestyle, i dont think he would have remained in it. Thirdly he had money in the family, this provided a certain freedom to him, to give to charity, i doubt 24.000 would have made its way to oxfam if this wasnt the case.
I guess i would sum it up like this. To him society seemed plastic he wanted to taste something he deemed more natural. He wanted also wanted to immpress in safety so he stayed in american (police, hospital, familar culture etc.)_and gave savings to charity (money in family anyway). Then he did it and fucked up.
A major major point i cannot emphasise enough is money in the family this provides real real real freedom to do as you wish because your not working to get this security. At least he took advantage of this luxury
Whenever you feel like criticizing any one…just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.
I’m from the UK and have only just started reading Into the Wild having picked up on an article about Chris a short time ago. Although I do not know the full story (just the synopsis), but am starting to put together the full picture of what he did, tried to do, did not ‘try’ to do but did it anyway etc, I am starting to form my opinion.
It’s a difficult call for anyone to really make, to call him an idiot, a hero, naive and so on, surely the key thing to take away from his story is to pick out the resonant parts that link with your life, or the parts that jump out or make a mark with you, both good and bad.
Part of me thinks he was stupid to set out without the preparation, part of me thinks it’s very brave. I’m sure this opinion will change and evolve the more I read and digest the book. What I do fear is that the film will’ glamourise’ his life and simply not tell the facts allowing the viewer to make their own mind up.
To quote an earlier post, this is, whether you like it or not, a truly human tale with an ending surely makes us all stop and think, for at least a second.
I love what Chris Did!
Society is an invention. An invention of social and meterial needs. Chris mccandless wanted freedom from this.
He didn’t want to be a part of it anymore and lived a life many of us would deem strange. It is the only true life. To connect with yourself away from human relations. To find happiness and raw beauty were we were ment to find it.
Chris mccandless was trying to connect wit himself and find his true self. The road gave him a chance to do so. Although he touched the hearts of many people on his quest he needed to break away from them. He could not stay with them for any great length of time. He Needed to go out on his own and experience things many people don’t see beyond their blinders.
Whether or not he found himself is a mystery, but his self portrait and last message give me the idea he did.
Kevin i’m pretty sure staying in america doesn’t mean he wanted a “safe” adventure. He completely blocked himself off from his parents. Also i’m pretty sure he didn’t forget to bring a map as he had been planing this trip for some time.
Those who criticize McCandless as either a spoiled brat or as someone stupid/irresponsible/unprepared are hopelessly stuck inside the same conceptual and societal framework that McCandless recognized as being false.
Within your framework, yes, you can call him that. And the point exactly is … he didn’t give a shit that you think that.
The bravest thing a person can do is face the dishonesty and false sense of security that comes with unquestioned living of the conventional life.
If you don’t look at things from the usual model of success & failure, then you cannot call what he did a failure. McCandless fate demonstrates the fact of the imminence of death, regardless of your attempt to create security by playing it safe, getting a job, picking the right spouse, etc.
Chris McCandless is King!
Long live Alexandre Supertramp!
With Sean Penn’s new movie release about this very story, it is indeed a very emotive subject and I can empathise with all points of view. I have just re-read Into the Wild and have been touched yet again by Chris’s adventure. What I find captivating and endearing about this tale is that being so inspired by the writings of Jack London and other adventure writers he was compelled to do it himself. So many people ‘talk the talk’ but very few actually ‘walk the walk’. As a father of two daughters I would be devastated if one or both of them lost their lives in such a tragic way, BUT, when I think back to some of the sailing adventures I had at his age, yes, they now make great after dinner stories, but I sometimes cringe when I think about the risks I took. Some of them were reckless in the extreme, but in one’s early twenties, that’s par for the course. Thoughtless, irresponsible, bravado, bravado! Call it the arrogance of youth if you like, but this is how we learn about life and we only really learn when we get it wrong! And in extreme cases that can sadly be tragic. But if one can draw any positive from this, it’s that Chris’s story has made people ask questions. In modern societies, strict rules and regulations are put in place to prevent citizens from taking risks and to conserve life and as responsible adults we fully appreciate this, but as teenagers and young adults…? As I said, I empathise with all points of view but would like to quote this little pearl of wisdom….The biggest risk in life, is to take no risk at all. Food for thought?
The story of Chris McCandless is clearly an emotionally charged depiction of one young man’s desire to put forth all of his energy to defy the need for material things and money, which most people in mainstream society embrace without question. Whether Chris had a mental illness or was just curious as to what it would be like to actually live out the philosophy of Thoreau and London will never be known to the average movie-goer or casual reader. The most facsinating thing about this story is that this young man actually embraced the lives of very intriguing philosophers and writers who questioned the need for material possessions. Many of the cynics who think he was just “crazy” and ill-prepared may not really understand the complexity of someone wanting to experience something more than what mainstream society says is appropriate. I give McCandless more credit than any person who sits in their luxurious office on Wall Street, making six figures, driving their SUV’s and accumulating ‘things’, but have never once contemplated what life is really all about!
chris did a thing not very many of you who have added comments can claim to have done, even i havn’t done it. He set his mind on living in the alaskan bush and did it even though he did not survive. however chris is stubburn and headstrong if you have read the book you will notice several times when he is offered supplies that would better help him survive in the wilderness and denys them. It’s not like it’s a power generator or a heating system, no people are offering him jackets or food or something like that and he denys them just so he can get in touch with nature. well humans were not designed to get in touch with nature as chris wants to. we need some things, were not covered in warm fur or can go weeks with out eating chris was just being stubburn and his death could have been easily avoided if he was just a little more opened minded
I RECENTLY SAW THE MOVIE IN THE WILD…IT IS A VERY STRONG MOVIE….LET’S UNDERSTAND THAT CHRISTOPHER LOVED HIS PARENTS AND SISTER…HE NEEDED TO DO THIS, SELFISH TO OTHERS OR NOT…I DON’T THINK HIS PARENTS NEED TO DO ANYTHING MORE THAN MOURN CHRISTOPHER’S DEATH…WHAT HAPPENED TO CHRISTOPHER IS NOT THERE FAULT… I AM SURE THEY DID WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS RIGHT WHEN THEY WERE RAISING HIM….NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO JUDGE ANY MEMBER OF THIS FAMILY INCLUDING CHRISTOPHER…HE WAS NOT TRYING TO COMMIT SUICIDE AS OTHER COMMENTS ARE READING….HE ATE A POISONOUS PLANT AND THAT IS ALL….HE WAS WRITING A BOOK…TALKING ABOUT HIS LIFE…THOUGHTS…DREAMS….HE WAS FINDING HAPPINESS AS HE THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE….I DO FEEL SAD FOR HIS FAMILY BUT I BELIEVE THEY CAN FIND PEACE IN THE FACT THAT CHRISTOPHER WAS DOING WHAT HE WANTED TO DO…JUST LIKE ANY MOUNTAIN CLIMBER….HIKER…ANY ADVENTUROUS PERSON LOOKING FOR THE THRILL OF THE WILD….SO TO EVERYONE WITH ANY OPINION OF CHRISTOPHER AND HIS FAMILY…..TRY TO HAVE AN OPEN MIND….
[...] 19, 2007 by notverybright My most off-topic posts ever, on Chris McCandless and “Into the Wild,” continue to generate exponentially greater traffic than anything [...]
I’m not exactly clear why McCandless is an inspiration. I’m also not clear about how he “conquered” his dream unless his dream involved starving to death in the Alaskan wilderness. It is an interesting although tragic story. I believe that breaking away from the norm and exploring a different path is admirable. More people should try it. I also believe wandering alone and unprepared into the wilderness shows more arrogance than courage. An “it will never happen to me” attitude that cost him his life and devastated his family.
to the blog owner: you can probably thank google for the traffic on this topic. when you google for Chris McCandless, your site shows up pretty high on the list.
to “Jen”: it isn’t that he ‘conquered’ anything. perhaps it is that the essence of life is not about conquering or being a success according to how the hordes of followers have defined it. The important aspect of his story is not that he set out to beat the elements. Yet that is what many people have focused on and have criticized him for. And that only proves to reinforce the point that overwhelming majority of people cannot see the ocean in which they swim: the unexamined collective assumptions from which they live their lives and judge others.
Cope – Granted you were born in Alaska – but I would bet the bank that I have seen more of “your” state than you have.
From the far reaches of the Aleutian chain to my fish wheel in Chitna I’ve covered all ground in between. I travelled that land with promise, hope and passion.
One thing I noticed in my travels in Alaska is that more than half of the people I met in Anchorage have never been 200 miles outside the city. They, just as people in any city , become complacent with their daily routine and security.
Don’t get me wrong – I have learned much from the locals – especially in Denali – but I think Cope is full of shit. I don’t think Chris made some great choices either but at least he had the balls to leave his mundane secure shelter and challenge his ability to dream. The land in Alaska is OUR land and we are lucky a wise man paid 1.9 cents per acre to make it a state of freedom to live and dream without fear or unrest.
Cope – I think you jumped on the wrong bandwagon.
Alaska is my land too god dammit – I earned it!
Billy V
From all the comments on Chris McCandless’ adventure in Alaska and others who did equally reckless things in their early 20’s, I gather this is something that males feel the need to do to put their lives in perspective. As young people, we feel that death is something that is far off, and we find that with each risk that we take that we survive only makes us stronger. Chris was no exception. He was an obvious risk taker, gaining strength from each goal he set for himself. He became so confident he started making stupid mistakes when things started going downhill. Each mistake ate away at his overconfidence, leading to his ultimate demise.
I was a 30 year old, divorced female, broke and confused, when I moved to Anchorage to take a job as an ad-hoc programmer. On the weekends, I would fill the trunk of my car with gear and provisions, and travel by road to as many places as I could. Did I make mistakes? Of course! I was a single female travelling alone. That was risky, to say the least. My first dozen travels, I did without a map. Co-workers spent hours telling me that had I taken the wrong road from Fairbanks to Anchorage, I would have run out of gas and no one would have found me. I never filed a plan with anyone, just disappearing after work on Friday, returning on Monday. Alaska is a big place, and I could have been anywhere. I could have been raped or eaten by a bear or even kicked to death by a moose. The longer I lived in Anchorage, the wiser I got about my travels. I eventually got a map, though I didn’t look at it very often. There are only nine highways in Alaska, so the map wasn’t very helpful. By then, I had been on most of them. However, I did see a lot of Alaska (by road), and saved thousands of dollars on hotel rooms by simply pitching a tent.
The things I got out of driving around Alaska was a feeling of contentment. I exorcised a lot of my demons by simply getting away from it all in my own backyard. What brought me back to my senses was a fateful day when my beloved father died. Suddenly, I felt that I had to play it safe to keep my family from having me die in some senseless adventure. If Chris had kept in touch with his family during his travels, it might have kept him grounded.
Eventually, I started to suffer from mental health problems. With a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, I was able to understand my need to run. It also explained why I didn’t sleep much. Anxiety and panic attacks ripped my life apart to the point where I couldn’t leave the house. In a bipolar rage at work, I was fired, which forced me to move back to the Lower 48.
I was living in Alaska in 1992 when Chris was found dead. August 1992 was a bad month for me, since that is when my father died. I remember the name Chris McCandless, but no details of his death. The year after my father died was a total blur.
My feeling is that Chris was reckless, inconsiderate, self-centered, but somewhat brave. Many people have the need to go and discover themselves, but lack the bravery to actually do it. People die in Alaska all the time, and usually they are young. The Alaskan wilderness is unforgiving, mainly because humans are not a part of the Alaskan lifecycle. If Chris had understood this fact, I doubt it would have stopped him. Chris never listened to reason, relying on only what he knew to be true. I’ll never be sure what to take away from Chris’ story, but each time I hear it, I find something new about myself.
We can all argue about why Chris McCandless did what he did. I felt the same of both sides of the argument at different times when I spoke with friends at work who also saw the movie. We can either blame Chris or his parents. But I think what really amounts to is that he found himself in the end. Two very important things I think we can all agree on that there are lessons to be learned from his adventure. These are lessons from Chris’s own words and from the old men who wanted to adopt him.
“Happiness becomes real when it is shared.”
“To forgive is to love, and light will shine upon us when there is love.”
I hope I quoted the right words correctly.
I am glad his family has finally found closure to their loss.
May Chris rest in peace and God bless his soul.
His life was better than yours. His death was better than the one you will get.
He succeded in both, living and dying. It is very tricky to do that. You cannot be succidal, but you should not like life so much that you cling on it, or worry about it.
All the good “real Alaskans” now saying he was reckless are usually travelling the bush in four wheelers, with guns and a lot of … beer ! Real adventurers, for sure !
The other “type” of Alaskans are well organized, well preparded outdoors men. They care for their life, love their life and worry about it all the time. They never let it go, they never, ever, enjoy it. They are too busy taking care of themself, make sure they don’t forget anything, in one word, they take themself, and their life, way too seriously … they should relax a little, and maybe, maybe only, they would understand Chris … but they don’t.
Death is part of life. All of those, who criticize him, or who admire him, will die. In the mean time, are you living the life you wanted ? Not only a few weeks in the summer, but all the time ? Do you relax enough to really enjoy the moment, without worring constantly about the futur (like, “I have to go back now, it is getting late, and I have to do that too, and tomorow I will do this , bla bla bla” …)
Where will you die ? Not in the wilderness in Alaska, in an old rotten bus, poisonned to death. You will very likely die in a car accident, or worse in a hospital room, surronded by other dying old bodies, eaten from the inside by cancer … Very good death, very meaningfull …
Good luck with your very serious and very important life !
Too bad you won’t even live it … not a single second. You’re too busy trying to protect it, to prolong it, but for what ?
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
Cyril, I’m sorry that you’re so upset. You may have a point that living life to the fullest until death is a valiant way to go. I’ve often contiplated that very thought. However, you are wrong about “real Alaskans”. They drink in bars, in their cars, but never on their ATV’s and never when they are out in the wilderness. There are too many dangers around to not keep your wits about you. The alcoholics you hear about are the Native Alaskans that were put in reservations (villages) similar to what we did to the Native Americans. These fine people were nomadic, and are now confined to small areas. When the sun goes down in Northern Alaska, it stays down for quite a while. They can’t hunt like they used to, and they can’t fish like they used to. Many are alcoholics now, because it’s the only thing to do.
I take it you are against living in society and its constraints. I am too, and have been for a long, long time. I have had problems in the “real world”, and now I’ve been taken out of it, being medicated to the gills. I get angry about if from time to time when my mania kicks up, but society wants me locked up in my home when my moods are out of control. I want to live, but right now I’m just surviving. I understand where you’re coming from, and I hope you have the guts to do what you need to do, as long as you don’t harm anyone else in the process. Let us know how you’re doing with this. Yelling at everyone else about it only fuels the fires within you, so you must act, but please, be safe about it. At least take a map with you. Learn from Chris’ mistakes, and you should be fine.
Anita
All of you are missing the point. It’s fine to have an opinion about Chris McCandless, but at the end of the day, the whole point is that he didn’t give a rip what others thought. He lived his life on his own terms and did not care about what society expected of him. Anyone who thinks he was “not very bright” needs to get over themselves. He wouldn’t care what you thought or said. And to call what he did “selfish” is the stupidest comment I’ve ever heard. He did what he felt he needed to do in order to feel whole, and there is nothing wrong with that. He did not hurt anyone else; in fact, all he did was inspire people. How many of you nay-sayers can make that claim?
To anyone who feels he was a fool, you just don’t get it. Simple as that.
I feel very bad for you.
You could’ve change your life in a different perspective way of seeing things. But then you choose not to. I understand you want to experience into the wild, but you took it too far.
You could of saved yourself crossing aroundor going toward up the river. Also save the pain of your parents feeling worry for you. For the past two years and looking for you. Your family needs you. I am ttrying to say that you shouln’t have been gone so long, and maybe you would be still alive today.
Perhaps his parents should have thought about what they put him through. If you treat someone like crap, accept the consequences.
Leah, clearly you do not have children. What his parents put him through? Are you even talking about the same person the rest of us are?
As the saying goes, “blame your parents, and move on!”
It was his life to live, and while we should not judge it, we have a great opportunity to examine his journey and draw from it. That includes not only applauding the purity of his convictions, but recognizing his substantial falibility.
Chris had an incedible capacity for appreciation of the natural world, and I admire his ability to live, and die by his ideals.
However, he sadly did not extend the same level of compassion to all aspects of life. He couldn’t forgive his parents, and most of humanity, for their weakness. Not a weakness of form, but of moral resolve and the sin of complacency. It can certainly be said that few people live their values as he did. He felt them so intensely that in his short life he couldn’t forgive those he loved most for not living up to them.
From those who deride his ignorance and many shortcomings, to those who admire his reckless abandonment of social norms, we can all empathize with his societal frustration, connection to nature, search for truth in raw natural beauty, and towards the end, his budding fascination with value being found in sharing that beauty with others (see his highlighted passages from Tolstoy, and etc).
Unfortunately, a journey for self-realization, whether explicitly set out upon for that purpose or not, bears little fruit if we don’t live to tell the tale.
As to the pursuit of an elusive, intangible transcendental wisdom, in this world the final realizations of that search are simple ones, a motherly kind of wisdom life will teach a sound mind regardless: appreciation, the fragility of every moment, and should the journey come full circle for those of us shown a good deal of love, perhaps a return to the warm sensations of our simple beginnings.
Appreciation for each breath, each person, and every physical and emotional sensation of the body is the greatest acquisition of all. Alex had ferreted out many aspects of that gift, and felt it intensely during his travels. Unfortunately for those who loved him, in his youthful self-centeredness he failed to acknowledge his human relationships with the same lasting brand of intense compassion. Though perhaps as Krakauer speculates, given more time, he would have.
What Chris did was an incredibly brave thing to do .It was also very stupid .
He has tainted the landscape of the enigmatic Alaskan wilderness and for that he can not be forgiven. End of.
Well Well
Lot´s of different thoughts in here and different view points.
Also judgement.
The whole thing reminds me of a saying:
If you are 20 and you don´t want to change the world – you have no heart
If you are 40 and you want to change the world – you have no brain
One thing we should not forget:
People can change and some do ! (after death experiences and so forth)
And some do just bacause of their power of imagination.
And others because they have to become adults.
For me – that is only my interpretation and a feeling – chris would not have stayed in the wild forever.
He just tried to get a better idea or understanding of life (or a place in this world) and to find out if he is able to live a „normal“ life or not.
For him this ment (at that time) to the biggest extend: escape it !
The privilege of youth !
We dont know how he would have thought about that f.e. 10 years later.
Excerpt from an article written by krakauer:
Source http://outside.away.com/magazine/0193/9301fdea.html
Satisfied, apparently, with what he had accomplished during his two months of solitary existence, McCandless decided to return to civilization. It was time to bring his “final and greatest adventure” to a close and get himself back to the world of men and women, where he could chug a beer, discuss philosophy, enthrall strangers with tales of what he’d done. He seemed to have turned the corner on his need to assert his autonomy from his parents. He seemed ready, perhaps, to go home. On a parchmentlike strip of birch bark he drew up a list of tasks to do before he departed: “patch jeans, shave!, organize pack.” Then, on July 3—the day after a journal entry that reads, “Family happiness”—he shouldered his backpack, departed the bus, and began the 30-mile walk to the highway.
To me this sounds like this big adventure was over and he was ready to go back to civilization.
For me – he probably would have made a good professor, poem, writer or what else after this trip or maybe other trips he would have made from time to time.
Now industrie has found a new object to manipulate things. A film that only concentrates on the jesus-aspect of him.
Writers that say he poisened himself:
Excerpt from an article in mensjournal:
source: (http://www.mensjournal.com/feature/M162/M162_TheCultofChrisMcCandless.html)
The book’s Sherlock Holmes moment comes near the end. Seeking to explain why McCandless grew sick and died so suddenly, Krakauer hypothesized that he’d unintentionally poisoned himself. To supplement his fortunes shooting squirrels, porcupines, and woodpeckers, McCandless had been eating the seeds of the wild potato, a native plant whose roots have provided food for the Athabascan people for centuries. Weakened and near death, McCandless had written “Fault of pot. seed” in his journal. The plant was not thought to be toxic, but, acting on a hunch, Krakauer sent some seeds found near the bus to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks for analysis. Initial results indicated the presence of a toxic alkaloid, one that Krakauer made much of, claiming that perhaps “McCandless wasn’t quite as reckless or incompetent as he was made out to be.” It was a small but crucial mistake. As Krakauer presented it, McCandless had been poisoned by a toxin that prevented his body from absorbing nutrients, leading to his starvation.
But the book was published before the seeds’ testing was completed by Dr. Thomas Clausen, the chair of the chemistry and biochemistry department at UAF. “I was hoping it was true,” says Clausen, in his lab on campus. “It would have made a good story. But the scientific results worked against my biases. I tore that plant apart. There were no toxins. No alkaloids. I’d eat it myself.”
Of course, this flies in the face of the McCandless that the public has embraced, and Krakauer’s take has survived subsequent reprintings of the book. Now a version of his theory has made its way on-screen. In Penn’s telling McCandless is poisoned by mistaking wild potato for a similar plant, wild sweet pea, though according to Clausen’s research that plant is equally harmless. Brent Keith, my guide, suggests it was poisoned mushrooms, or giardiasis from drinking untreated water.
Well. We dont know and we will never know why he starved to death.
I guess the reason why he did not let his parents know his whereabouts was some kind of revenge. He needed it to make peace with his parents. And probably he was able to come to peace after this time of total absence.
Unfortunately his way back was blocked and he was not able to get out of that trap.
And people put so much effort in telling that he was stupid. He has made some fatal mistakes, yes. Have you ever seen statistics about young people dying in car accidents in europe ?
To go on a normal – car trip is much more dangerous than what he did !
It is sad that he died – i guess he would have become a good person !
Reply to Maverick – sounds like you could use a spiritual journey. To make the comment,
“He has tainted the landscape of the enigmatic Alaskan wilderness and for that he can not be forgiven. End of.”
you very obviously have some issues and should probably seek some sort of assistance with your mental health issues.
I believe Chris McCandless though not a glorified hero was a brave guy. To give up possessions is a task many would struggle with.
To those who feel the need to come leave useless comments about Chris and how stupid and dumb he was, I ask why do you care? How does him not having a map affect you in any way? How did he taint Alaska’s wilderness, like some dumbass said up above. It doesn’t, Him doing what he did has nothing to do with you so why are you so pissed.
He did what he had to do for himself, and we do what we have to do for ourselves.
I call him brave just because he chose to go into the unknown and be happy, rather live a safe uncontent life.
That’s pretty cool.
And Also… the ones of you say Chris was careless and his death was inevitable, have you ever sat down and thought about the countless number of teens who get behind the wheel while intoxicated? They could have clearly prevented their death, but they decided to do something that was actually stupid. What Chris did was beautiful. even his death was beautiful.
You have a good point, Clementine, although I have written to the contrary. I personally think that Chris was brave, but he was also unlucky. Many people try these things at his age, but they are lucky enough to survive in spite of a “not so bright” move. At some point in everyone’s life, they look for clarity and a point for their very being on this Earth. How they go about finding it is something else. Some write in journals, while others go out into the wild to get the peace and quiet to read their own thoughts. I have no idea what other people do, but I know that the search for personal truth is out there.
Had Chris lived from his Alaskan adventure, I’m sure he would have found that his parents were human and not judged them so harshly. It’s a rite of passage. A lot of kids rebell from the life that their parents led, but eventually come back home. From everything I’ve seen and read about Chris’ parents, they weren’t that bad. We all make mistakes, and parents are not above making mistakes. However, parents feel they have to hide their mistakes so their kids don’t pick up the wrong message. When kids find out their parents aren’t the people they once thought they were, it is a huge blow. It literally takes years to get over it.
Chris wasn’t a bad kid. He was just a kid. He had a good life, but was unlucky at the end. I just feel for his family, who apparently loved him so much.
If you have NOT read the book “Into the Wild” and have only seen the movie, I urge you to read the book! The movie was BASED on the book, but many details were left out of the movie. I’m not sure where Sean Penn got the depiction of the parents in the movie, but it’s not what was in the book. It’s somewhat of a different story.
Well said, Clementine!
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
Emerson has said it well and it is applicable to 20th century America….It is applicable to what Chris Mccandless did.
Merry Christmas to one and all
Billy V
this KID, let’s remember, was a fuckin idiot. period. anyone can do what he did. we simply aren’t that stupid. people who idolizes this KID are people who have yet to acknowledge his real motives. his search for truth was bullshit. you know it and i know it. why do so many americans worship things that seem to be bigger than they are when they are so very clearly not? how this kid inspired anybody blows my mind. he inspired me to get therapy when i’m feeling oh so blue. cmon people. he was probably gay like the grizzly man, running from himself because he was to afraid to come to terms with his true identity. poor kid died because he was too fucking stubborn to live. the funny thing is that everyone thinks he was truly living by going out and killing himself. what do you think he found? no more beauty than a rational traveler would have found. people do what he did all of the time except they don’t die. if he lived no one would have ever known his name.
poorly said clementine……….he hurt a lot of people. maybe they deserved it, who knows. and chris didn’t piss me off in the least. it’s the people who believe this guy is a hero who piss me off. it’s people like sean penn who piss me off. his whole story was false. the movie, the book……….all bullshit. one of my good friends found this story to be so inspiring while i had to actually get up in the middle of the movie and leave the theatre. some people see a brave kid. all i saw was a troubled kid running from his problems. i very much doubt he found happiness. how the fuck would you know if he did? he fuckin starved to death. that does seem like a happy moment to me. did you know that people found a letter written by chris on the bus stating that he was dying and he needs help. like i said i have no real problem chris. i have a problem with stupidity and i have a bigger problem with people who fail to see recognize stupidity. it’s frustrating. and as far as giving up his personal possessions………….they found him with several i.d.s and 300 dollars cash. obviously he struggled with the task of giving up his own personal possessions like anyone else would.
i feel for chris and for the people who feel he had the answer,well……….i feel for you too.
there is no glory in any of this.
Leah, cmon. you are a simple hopeless romantic. parents fuck kids over all of the time. i was in therapy at age 8. i ran away from home with 500 dollars to california. i haven’t talked to my dad in years. i’m not all butt hurt about it. people need to get over themselves. my parents don’t deserve to be hurt for their mistakes. this isn’t an issue about chris doing it his way and whether it was right or wrong. neither him or i were right or wrong when it comes to our desires. it’s that he was a fuckin moron and you are twice the moron for finding him inspiring. it sounds like you need to find yourself because if you think this kid is inspiring than you haven’t done anything with your life.
cyril. you’re a fucking lunatic. why don’t you just go jump off a cliff now and get it over with because you are one crazy broad who will most likely accidently kill herself. actually i doubt you have the balls. that’s why you worship chris. because he had the balls you don’t. figuratively of course.
jen, you are smart
what the rest of you idiots don’t realize is that it takes a lot of fucking courage to live in the mainstream. it takes a strong will and courage to become successful. and we all know success is measured in many different ways. real life is scary no matter where you sit. to say that people who have an office job or work on wall street have no courage are just ignorant. it’s one thing to dog people who sit on their couch all day and watch t.v. but no one should be undercutting musicians, artists, designers, etc. you all immediately think of stuck up republicans when you think of modern day society. there are all kinds of people trying to find themselves in all kinds of places. chris was not special and his quest was nothing special. like i said before if he had lived no one would ever know his name.
To Hello,
You are pathetic. Do you think the only way anyone will listen to you is to say “fuck” in every sentence? Ya, real great way to demonstrate your intelligence and maturity. If you had the brains and character to state your opinion in any kind of grown up way, people might actually listen to you. To say to Cyril, “why don’t you just go jump off a cliff now and get it over with” only further illustrates what a complete waste of skin you are. The fact that Chris lived his life on HIS terms, rather than conforming to what dickheads like you think while all you can do to show your lack of integrity is to attack and judge people you don’t even know. Thank you for showing us all what is so painfully obvious – you are a complete and total dickhead who obviously had one too many shock therapy sessions as a kid.
ps. Hey, hello! What’s that on your chin? Oh, it’s your dog’s balls!
Just felt like sinking to your level because I thought it might be easier for you to understand. Gulp, gulp!
Ok . . . I guess I can have a little fun with you and become a ‘Hello junior’. I’m kind of a little leary about doing this cause if people actually think that there is ANOTHER useless tit out there, maybe they will ALL jump off a cliff and say ‘goodbye’. Personally, I think we should all just say goodbye to this hello freak. Oh . . . sorry there hello . . . ‘fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck’. Now do ya get it??
Oh ya . . . better rinse out your mouth! It’s kinda startin’ to smell. Gulp Gulp!
You blubber on with some useless chatter about what he did was nothing special. Sorry, but the rule of reality is that you take your eyes off yourself and look onto others comes into play here. Bear with me here as this may not make sense to you. He did what you would not have done. We all know this as you were whining over your $500. (which at 8 years old, you probably stole from your mothers purse) trying to get the sympathy that this was not enough. Not enough. Try it with $20 my short peckered friend.
Here’s an idea . . . I believe Chris tried it with $0.
You might have to leave your car behind though amigo!
hello, you’re such a dumbshit lol
Oh Goobs!
You shouldn’t really pick on hello too too much. How can he defend himself with his mouth full??
Gulp Gulp!
I’ve really liked reading these Chris McCandless comments over the last few months. #8, for example, was beautifully written and showed keen insight. It’s been nice to see so many people take an interest in the issues that McCandless’s life and death raise.
These last dozen or so comments, however, are, to put it nicely, immature and lame. If this is the best you can do, attacking each other with junior high insults because you view McCandless differently, I’d appreciate your moving on. You’ve worn out your welcome here.
Chris is still alive, in a different form, in a different dimension. Why are you all so sad for him ? I’m preety sure he is in a happy place now.It is the living which suffer.
Passion is wonderful, but it seems strange that people want to grab someone else’s passion and turn it into their own – specially when the other person died in such a cruel and suffering way with help within grasp.
Self preservation is number one and maybe some people have to accept that there are others out there that just want to lay down and die, because they are afraid to face reality.
tens of thousands of people challenge themselves, give up all and go on life adventures. but to die in vain is selfish to yourself and others who cared.
it is a tragic story, with glimpses of enlightened happiness which still didnt satisfy.
All who read should take on board the fact that enlightenment, learning, development can all be achieved without having to die. create a path to tread, but teach and talk to family, friends and strangers along the journey – dont isolate yourself.
As an older adult who has partaken in a number of solo journeys and will continue to do so, I am shocked at the immaturity of responses here.
I also am confused as to why Chris is considered so “selfish.” Selfish is one of those overly-used and ultimately meaningless words. Surely everything we do is “selfish,” from having kids to going to church to being altruistic–we do “good” things to further our own sense of purpose on this earth. And who knows for sure what that is? Seems like everyone on this board is pretty sure about themselves and their place and everyone else’s in the Universe. Now that is arrogance.
Chris was a young man who did what he felt a calling to do. I think the people who get upset that he was selfish, romantic, and had no “right” to be that way can’t even imagine what it would be like because of their iron-clad ties to career, people, money etc. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s the equivalent of extroverts trying to imagine what it’s like to be an introvert–they can’t even mentally conceive of a life lived in that fashion.
It’s ridiculous to judge another person’s motivation and ultimately none of anybody else’s business. Chris committed no crime–he had the freedom of choice to live his life as he wanted. He was very young. It is extremely sad for him and his family that he made some critical mistakes, but to essentially damn him for this is preposterous.
I still think chris was very brave to do what he did. To take some time off – so to speak – and try to live in the wild. But it is tough for me to glorify this adventure like it is done in the movie.
The story of chris somehow reminds me of the following:
scene out of vietnam war movie „platoon“ – director oliver stone: (1986)
„king, taylor and other GI got a special job for stealing some beer:
while getting over this special job – they talk:
king: hey taylor how the f… did you get here anyway – he you look educated
taylor: i volunteered for it
king: you did what?
taylor: i volunteered – i dropped out of college …
king: you are a crazy f….
taylor: i figured – why should just the poor kids go to war – and the rich kids would get away with it
king: what we got here is a crusader
king: you gotta be rich in the first place to think like that.“
The last sentence is the one i am thinking of. I guess it was easier for him to take the time off – like it would be for someone without any diploma or school education and without his strong background (school, familiy, sports).
And another point was mentioned: if he would have survived, nobody would have even heard his name. True.
Now chris got full public attention (being subject of both – a book and a movie)
Wouldn´t it be more important to make a serious heartmoving picture about young kids – who commit suicide ?
source http://web4health.info/en/answers/bipolar-suicide-statistics
„Suicide in the age group 15-24
For the group 15-34 years of age, suicide is today one of the three leading causes of death in all countries (where mortality data is available). In the United States (2001) suicide was the third leading cause of death, among people between 15 and 24 years of age, with a rate of 9.9/100,000. The two leading causes was accidental injuries and homicide.
The suicide rate in Sweden, for this age group, is similar to the American rate. In Sweden, however, the total number of deaths by suicide has dropped significantly since the 1980s, except for this specific group.
The United States and Sweden still have a relatively low rate for this group, compared to the average number in Europe. The European suicide rate is 22.2 for boys and 4.8 for girls, or around 13 in average.
In Europe statistics are collected from 33 countries. The latest avaliable data for the group 15-24 years of age, shows that the Russian federation is at the top of the list (32/100,000), followed by Lithuania, Finland, Latvia and Slovenia. Sweden (which can be compared with the U. S.) is, according to this list, in 18th place (with less than 10/100,000). In the bottom of the list are Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy and last Greece (3/100,000).
It is uncertain how many suicide attempts there are for each suicide death. Different studies estimate a number between 10 and 20. In general, there are more attempts per suicide among women and younger people. Research also show that around 80 percent of attempted suicides among young people are preceded by clear warning signs.“
I learned recently that suicide figures especially amongst young kids (even being age 12) are going up and up and up…
Well this to my thinking is a real desaster !
@ned kelly – very well described opinion – respect !
And I also see another interesting point in this story.
Nature does not always produce the same kind of thing – this would not be clever and no good strategy for surviving. So from time to time it also creates different kinds of human beings. Regardless on how parents grow those children up or no matter what influence „society“ should have on those persons. In a lot of cases the will for freedom is much more developed on those special „issues“ and the need to question things, to find relations between things and the hunger for getting „insights“ or the curiousity to find out new things. I would call them seekers.
So how can you blame somebody for having that kind of mindset. It is just nature which wants to have it.
For me most people are driven by routine and dont like to change a lot.
This would be an easy example
If people for generations life in the same area and are farmers, but the climate is undergoing a drastical change only some of them would move to another place (especially if it is far away). The ones which stay- will starve to death.
For me chris was such a seeker.
Of course you can be a seeker but you still should watch your back !
I can remember hearing his name and the story when it came out. I was 22, just graduated from college. I know exactly where he was coming from. Watching my father, career retail executive, dodge downsize after downsize swallowing hard on his ego and my mother shattered from moving every two years no-longer able to please my father – disintegrate. You begin to question the reason your doing all this. Nice cars, nice houses ideal situations, everything. I love my father and mother for their sacrifice, provided me with everything I am today. I just felt it didn’t have to be so hard. Divorced now of course – me too. Married a girl for the security and simplicity I felt in her family. I wanted a family, she left to pursue a career in the state I left years before.
I knew at 22 I needed a right of passage – something that I could conquer. I chickened out and took a corporate job far from my family with the encouragement of my father – it was safe. I’m not the man I could have been or should be I know that now – somewhat broken after all this. Chris’s journey is something he had to do – in his mind he had no choice. I think he felt that contacting his family would let the sickness back in before he could cure himself. I have no doubt he loved his family, but when your insight is different, and you question things and tow the line in the hopes of making a happy family for so long and are crossed at every corner… you really have to hit the road!
Good on Him and God Bless his Family.
Hi, I’m a junior in highschool and just recently been assigned to read the book about mccandless. I just can’t help but think why are people glorifying him, he didn’t do much but think he could defy nature. I read apart in the book that hinted that he might have been gay so maybe he was just running away (spirtual journey) so he would’nt have to face himself. I agree with hello but I don’t agree with the language but minus the attiude hello is kinda hitting the nail on the head
It’s ok to think out of the norm, thinking diffrently is what shapes our society and on to the economy. But going into the wild with a bag or rice and a tattered map, isn’t thinking of the box. That kids been watching to many Hero movies. But I totally feel bad
I couldn’t help thinking about this young man’s life on my own birthday. Aren’t we all filled with romantic ideals in our youth?
How can anyone be critical of anothers footsteps. The danger is believing that Chris’ path is one to follow just for the sake of sacrifice. It’s an interesting story, one of personal journey. Lots of yin and yang. Was it a good path? It’s not for me to decide. It was the path Chris took. Simple as that. Me….I will go this way….not the easiest way…..not the safest way. But in my journey I’ve learned that we only get ONE life. And that’s not something to simply throw away.
I was only about 9 or 10 years old when I first heard of Chris McCandless. I am now 24 and graduating college in May. I’ve read Krakauer’s book as well as seen the movie. I’ve also just read all 78 posts prior to mine.
I think it’s probably very difficult for most people to understand why Chris McCandless did what he did. What I don’t understand is why so people feel the need to bash this guy. If Chris had walked out of those woods alive no one would have ever even heard his name. No book would have been written, no movie made. But because this guy died out there.. because he made a few mistakes and payed the ultimate price for it.. everyone feels the need to offer their own personal insight as to what kind of person he was. Seems like most are negative. Words that came up often in posts include words like, “stupid,” “selfish,” “spoiled,” etc. And it’s fine if that’s how you feel. But a lot of people have found hope and inspiration in Chris’s story, myself included. I don’t claim to know what kind of person McCandless was, but I know what he was looking for, and he found it and actually touched for a moment. He did what so many people only talk about doing or wish they could do… going off “into the wild” and “living off the land.” It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid. And now, with only 4 or 5 months left college, I plan to do so.
As has been said- life is precious and should be cherished.
its not about knocking the recreation of chris’s story from the information he left behind, its about learning from mistakes so they are not repeated just for the sake of someone creating an idolistic view of a tragic circumstance.
a total awareness of your surroundings, would have found the fully stocked cabin 6 miles away, or even the cable basket just down the river.
The lesson for anyone in the future is, self discovery is enlightening and wonderful – but dont use tunnel vision.
i live in western australia and i have seen and been invloved in trying to rescue people who have died from dehydration(no water) after they have got themselves stuck in the desert areas – no preparation or planning, only blind determination ‘ she’ll be right mate’ that fails when things go wrong.
“glorification of death makes the living feel a justification. but they are still dead to this world with nothing more” …..
People remeber the daring movies chris has taken but thats all, he didin’t change anything. He died, so what justifys your fixation on one dead man who died in Alaska, I’m sure he’s not the first
He had left all his ID in his jean’s pocket so it shouldn’t have been so hard for the authorities to find out who he was… Oh, and so what if he left his family? That was his decision, obviously its over and done with, he can’t take it back now and I don’t think it is what this story is about anyway.
Thinking, if you believe Chris’ only accomplishment is that he died in Alaska, I think you’re missing most of the story. And if you think he didn’t change anything, I don’t think you’ve done your research on him.
I just finished reading the book and I really enjoyed it. It caught my interest, especially since he was my age and grew up only a few miles away from where I grew up.
I admired him for being able to follow his own drummer. How many times have we all thought about just dropping everything, packing up the car and heading into an unkown? And how many of us have had the courage to do so?
He was young and cocky. I think most of us were at that age. Obviously his downfall was that he was so ill-prepared for what he faced. It’s sad that he didn’t make it out to tell us all first hand what he experienced.
I feel bad for the family; because he did turn his back on them and left them hanging. It must’ve been awful for them. Again, at that age most people seem to be able to afford a black/white view of everything. It isn’t until we get older that we start realizing that life isn’t so much black and white as it is shades of gray.
Anyway, RIP Chris (aka Alex Supertramp) McCandless.
I just saw the movie here in Australia where it is only shown as a limited release.
In the end he did say happiness was to be shared.
He found happiness doing what he wanted to do, being in the wild all by himself, the whole time, he did not cared if he had anyone to share that freedom and happiness with until he realised he was destined to die alone, that’s when he suddenly realised he had no one.
I think many people are living solitude lives by choice and perhaps feel that is for the better in their circumstances, but I suppose, like Christopher, when one knows one is dying, there may be a sense of regret that there’s no one around.
Just a thought, I did find the actor did an excellent job in telling the audience what the audience need to know.
I feel sorry for Christopher cos he died so young and he had so much ahead of him but at the same time I am angry with him for taking such a cavalier approach with regards to precious life, knowing full well human do not stand snowball of a chance in hell surviving in Alaska with just a backpack.
The guy travelled around america with no security ie: job, residence, steady source of income, for almost 2 years before going into the alaskan wilderness. That, in itself and of itself, is amazing and extremely difficult. Furthermore, there is a passage in the book, on page 185 to be exact, where Roman, an experienced woodsman, talks about how difficult it is to live off the land for 2 weeks let alone 3 months as Chris did before he got sick. Many of Chris’s “hardcore” Alaskan critics have probably never even dreamed of attempting something so ambitious, with or without a map. My two main criticisms of Chris are that he should have had a contingency plan in case things went awry ie: a map and he should have at least kept in some contact with his family, whether there relationship was strained or not. I have a lot of sympathy for his mother and father, especially. The agony of not knowing must of been unbearable. This said, I truly believe he had every intention of returning from his adventure and was not suicidal as some have suggested. Did he make mistakes? Absolutely. Ultimately I think he was unlucky and accidently poisoned himself. He goes from being healthy on July 28 to all of sudden on July 30 writing, “EXTREMELY WEAK. FAULT OF POT. SEED”. This, to me, says it all. I personally find his story to be inspiring and tragic simultaneously. Unlike some, I would have found his story just as inspiring had he lived.
What Chris did was beautiful. But as he was sitting inside a rusty, old bus starving to death do you think he was very…Inspired? Chris didnt set out to die- but he did and that is incredibly sad.
Man … this is so weird. When I learned this story, I was thinking — if I had more guts and could stand being alone for more than a day or two, that could have easily been me. In high school I had planned to go into the wilderness like this. I figured on taking a bunch of Total cereal, an ax and some other basics. Live in the woods. I was thinking of British Columbia, though. Anyway, I sure relate to this story. I even hopped box cars for a bit, met a hobo, got chased out of the trainyard. Being cold and alone wasn’t so fun. I’ve got to admire McCandless for his courage, but I also wonder about his level of selfishness. Still, to fully appreciate “the raw throb of life” away from society is still a dream of mine. I’m hard-wired to be a family man, however, so it may remain a dream.
“Hello” you’re pathetic and ignorant. I say that because you don’t seem to be dumb…just ignorant. Try spending some time seeking knowledge and understanding as King Solomon told his son. But like Solomon also said doing this will bring suffering and grief to you. You obviously have never struggled with understanding or knowing more about this life. Like many you are content with your striving for “Things” and don’t want to know how screwed up this life is or how many people everywhere are in pain and why and most importantly what can be done to help people Love each other and not just themselves or those close to them. You don’t seem like a completely uncaring person.. you just seem to discredit what you have not yet learned. Christopher was troubled and looking for answers. I did the same thing but not the same way (Road Trips, spending time contemplating life, making myself change). Should anyone judge him for what he did? certainly not. He was trying, attempting to live better… that’s what is to be admired about Christopher.
Chris, you made some good points in your comment. I can not understand, how people that doendt know much about chris mccandless, can write so weird stuff, like he wanted do die, or that he might have had a mental illnes.
Is there some form of jealousy, that I read in all the alaskan guys who think, Chris was just a fool? Chris survived for 3 full months, hunting with only a 22. Rifle, living from what he found there in the field and forest. Not many so proud alaskans did so yet.
I think, Chris had found what he was hunting for, maybe driven by demons. And that was the point, he went back, but was blocked by the Tek River flowing much higher as when he crossed it the first time.
People blame him, for not having searched a way to cross that river. Why should he? He was okay, no problems. He made the best decission every one would have made, to get back to known territory, the bus 142. Getting back there, he made pretty well untill suddenly, from one day to the other, we read “EXTREMELY WEAK. FAULT OF POT. SEED”. He was so week, he even had difficulty standing up. Imagine walking back to try to cross the Tek River again…
…. a lot of people also blame him, about not letting his parents know about his whereabouts. Do they know, why Chris had this strong anger to his parents, specially the father? Well, I do, but I dondt want to get in trouble with the McCandless. I understand what kind of reaction this might have sparked in the way Chris was thinking.
But it seems, that in the end, he was changing his mind, opend his heart and was ready to forgive what his dad had done to him and his mother.
Why did he not have a map? Chris was the kind of explorer that we might have had at the GO WEST time. He seeked the unknown. Having a map would have showed him all, no need to explore anymore.
But as even Alaska has no unexplored zone no longer, Chris solved the problem by having no map. So, it was unexplored terrain again.
Crazy way of thinking? Maybe, maybe not.
Point is that he did, what most of us want to do, but never do at all. We stick to our job, home, security…what ever.
I wonder what realy happend to Chris, that from the day he had this “EXTREMELY WEAK. FAULT OF POT. SEED”. accident, not even 3 weeks later, he was dead.
Something had made him die very fast. He was living there for weeks and weeks and weeks, and suddenly, wooom, he was gone.
You know you are living when you can’t predict what will happen tommorow
most have barely, if ever lived. They have simply existed, letting those around them make their biggest life decisions. Living with every day with expectations, a consequence for every action, a rigorous plan to success. They’re determined, they’re responsible. They’re fools.
My biggest gripe with the whole story is that Chris is labled as a hero. He said he wanted to change the world to do somthing. Sure he was on some sort of spiritual journy… but if you just want to go live in the woods have a purpose to it. It is possible to have adventures while still being constructive.
Just curious…all these folks who worship this guy as a hero after seeing the movie…have they tried to check anything about the story?
http://www.terraincognitafilms.com/cw-sub/debunked.htm
Also, he didn’t kayak. The part of the river he was on wasn’t all that freaky.
Who preaches to an 80 (+) -year-old man about life? Only someone who doesn’t know any better (read: doesn’t know what they’re talking about).
There were several things in the movie that were glorified and inaccurate.
Shame about the boy. Hopefully it won’t cause a raft of young people to decide to come up here and die, hoping that a movie will be made about them.
There’s nothing heroic in what he did.
Thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of young people have done the same thing (essentially). Many of them end up dying in even worse situations. Where are all the movies about them?
I wouldn’t call him a hero, but i would give him credit for having balls. I read the book and saw the movie. All i see is someone who’s tired of the current state of things. Going to bars, going to the mall…. Things that people do in order to tell people, the next day, what they’ve been up to. To feel like they’ve done ’something’ in order to feel ‘normal.’ The things people do are pointless. I don’t know how he had the mindset to do what he did, but he’s lucky. People work these meaningless jobs and for what? To buy a great car that shows your success in life? No. But i’m a hypocrite. I live at home with my parents and say i don’t need anything when really, they’re the ones giving me what i need so i don’t have to get it. I don’t know what the answer is. But Chris Mccandless tried to find it and for that, i give him credit. FUck.,
Not Very Bright, Not Very Bright, Not Very Bright???
He is Not Very Bright, selfish, miserable man!!!
Those people who praise him should follow his example!!! Go for it!!! Go to Alaska!!!
DWCatz and Sergio, you sound like angry old farts because of the attention Chris’s story receives. You are blaming him? What kind of lunatic will nit-pick over details Hollywood implies and hold such a stern grudge? Is there a reason you are so anal about this?
Here is a better question though. Have you ever been inspired at all? Or moved by sincere feeling enough to lay your life on the line to experience or conquer it? My guess is, hell no.
Don’t flatter yourselves in thinking he was just a spoiled, hippy rich kid that walked away from money and opportunity. Those kids run back home. He dug himself in deep enough to take away that chance.
Our history is full of (seemingly mindless) acts that later became honorable because of the cause and call to do so. Soldiers leaving family behind and fighting in wars they could never have won. Explorers taking on impossible paths and Seekers who wouldn’t stop until they got where they wanted to go. Those are the ones who gave something, not for glorification, but to answer the question. CAN it be done?
Nestle your selfish, fat asses in your armchairs and degrade what others at least tried. You’re not going anywhere so why not take cheap shots to make yourselves feel better about your own cowardice right?
As for Chris’s story. I hope you continually SQUIRM at every bit of attention it gets as you nit-pick over details to childishly discredit anything you can just to make it more “liveable” for your own pathetic conscience.
I have watched the film, but I have not read the book concerning Chris’ trip into the Alaskan Wilderness…I think that a lot can be learned from this story. For one, whether he accomplished his dream or not, he did have the nerve to take off for the frontier…that is more than I can say for myself and my friends…Also, from his death, we can learn that no one is invincible and that even our dreams take a certain amount of planning…and that sometimes being bullheaded just for the sake of it can be harmful, even fatal…for those people that just want to criticize Chris’ ambition….think about what you have done in the last few months…even though he did not survive, it is the willingness to go that sets him apart…I agree that there are countless other young men that do similar things….I agree that his death has made Chris into what he stands for today….but isn’t that the way it is in most cases? Think of all those people we know more about and idolize because of death….Jean Benet Ramsey (just another child pageant queen)….Kurt Cobain (just another Seattle musician)….Van Gogh (just another painter)….these people were wonderful on their own, but it is their death that people connect with and ultimately learn from…is it so bad that Chris is looked at in the same way?
I think that the most important thing is that people take this story for what it is…do not put your own romantic ideals into it…just take it for what it is….boy goes into the wilderness…becomes a man….finds himself…loses his life in the process….
In a way, I think that the best thing to be gained from McCandless’ story is that to find yourself, sometimes you have to lose your life….
I have the opposite perspective of landry, having read the book and not seen the movie. The story in the book seems to differ from accounts I have heard of the movie in that the book, while it focuses on what McCandless described as his “last great odyssey” to Alaska, it spends more time recounting the journey that lead McCandless there, the people he affected along the way, the spiritual and philosophic journey McCandless took, and the various criticisms of McCandless that have surfaced (many very similar to criticisms that appear in the comments to this post). It almost seems like McCandless’ death is only coincidental to the story in the book. True, the story would most likely be relegated to obscurity if McCandless had not died, but his death is not the central focus of the story. The focus of the book is simply to explore why McCandless acted as he did. In the meantime, the author Jon Krakauer describes the agony and ecstasy of nature in thrilling detail, supplementing his own musings on the subject with classic quotes from famous sources.
I found the entire experience of the book to be less about McCandless and more about the separation of man from nature. One major theme in the book is whether man has so completely divorced himself from his natural state through civilization that he cannot possibly survive in pure nature. That McCandless accepted this challenge and ultimately failed speaks more to the collective conscious than it does to the character of McCandless himself. The point of the book seems to be that most of us fail to even accept the challenge that McCandless took on.
I consider myself an outdoor enthusiast. I have been backpacking and camping with regularity since I was a child. And, while I have certainly experienced some of nature’s brut force, I have never been quite as exposed as McCandless allowed himself to be. Yet the spirit of nature still finds me, as it found me just two weeks ago, on top of Cold Mountain, with the wind gusting, clouds enveloping my environs, rain, sleet and snow blowing parallel to the ground. As I stood on top of that mountain, exposed to the worst that nature placed in my path, and looked out over a rock face that should have granted me visibility for miles and instead presented only the stark, grey nothingness of a storm cloud, I felt as if I was on the edge of the world, staring into the abyss. It is those types of feelings that one derives only from being in nature and exposing one’s self to the elements outside of the comforts of civilization, that McCandless was hungry for. I know this for a fact because I too feel that hunger.
I’ve just about finished listening to audio book “Into The Wild”…the story is complex & thorough in the authors’ research and summation/opinion as to what went wrong for Chris (aka “Alex Supertramp”) McCandless resulting in his death by either starvation and/or plant poisoning. From information provided, it seems that the McCandless family provided a comfortable, upper-middle class home for their kids but Chris discovered a “dark side” in his father’s past and apparently, rather than forgive his dad’s indiscretions, took everything to heart and turned against his parents. But, it was those parents who were left broken hearted in the end. They lost their son and I can fully appreciate Billie McCandless’ pain as I also lost my daughter to death at an early age. It just seems that some young adults do not see danger when it stares them in the face and are woefully ill-prepared for the unanticipated end of their existence. Call it attitude, immaturity, or myopic thought patterns—whatever it is in certain people nevertheless results more times than not in tragedy!
There is nothing romantic about piss poor planning. There is nothing romantic about seeking ones self worth if you fail to find it. There is nothing romantic about selfish behavior. Lastly…there is nothing romantic about death. If you have seen death upclose you will understand. To see what was once alive…breath its lasts breath and pass into nothing is far from romantic….its sad. Life is romantic and the life you lead is the feeder of this romance. Good or bad you can always find life if you have lived. Chris laid his life out in scrawled scripts of a confusing context. I wonder…had he died in the deserts of Arizona or California would the book had been written…would his life been such a mythologic tail or triumph over society….I guess the answer is no. I applaud his distaste for society, I feel the same. My distaste is drawn from a country of users who spit at the very freedoms they choose to abuse. Chris may have died doing what he loved but he dided from being stupid
Although the adventures of most young men would be considered romantic I think dying alone of starvation in a broken down bus in ‘bum fuck no where land’ slightly less so. Having read the book ( which is excellent) it would appear that Mr McCandless , although gifted musically, never actually wrote any music himself. He read a great deal, underlined some interesting paragraphs, but I see nothing left in his own hand worthy of comment . He turned his back on the mighty dollar, giving his savings to Oxfam, perhaps if he was as bright and intelligent as we are led to believe he might have used this money to better effect , but that would have taken him away from ‘his’ dream. I’ve yet to meet anyone born into poverty that renounces wealth, only it seems the pampered few. If Chris had succeeded in getting back to humanity there is ,I believe, a distinct possibility that he would have tapped into the same genetic pool as Mr Jones and that other nutjob in Wacko . Mr McCandless was by all accounts a charming young man who made an impact on people he met and received in return many gifts , I believe a kinder young man may have given his family the same consideration and put them out of their agony but, once again, this was not part of ‘his’ dream.
Chris lived his life exactly as he pleased, which appeals to us all, died young, and had by his own admission ” a happy life”. Nuff said.
FYI, TakeAhike, I haven’t seen the film at all, but I’ve read a lot- about what REALLY happened.
I agree that he was inspired; but it takes more than ‘talent’ to handle inspiration. It takes intelligence to survive; not to starve to death. He obviously lacked that.
What an idiot! I heard about this story because of the movie Sean Penn has done. So this prompted me to read more about this guy because I am always interested in biographys. I think it is sad what this kid did. And really think it’s sad that people are not only sensationalizing this story but also think of him as some hero. To me he was extremely ignorant, quite inconsiderate, and just plain idiotic! He hadn’t talk to his family in 3 years. Right there shows how inconsiderate he was. And then for him to go into the wild not preparing one bit. I think he deserved to die a horrible and lonely death because that is what he asked for. I am glad the Alaskan government did not have to spend money on saving this guy. To me he did not deserve their time or money! He should have had more respect for the land and others– then just maybe he would have been heroic. For being as educated as he was he was –he was quite ignorant! I only have a 4 year degree and I know not to go into the wilderness unprepared. The only thing this kid proved –was how stupid a human being could be!! My sympathys to his family, but I don’t have any sympathy for the stupid!
At the end of the day he made a mistake, but its understandable, too young to fully appreciate all the potentially fatal problems that humans discover in the world. And as yet hadn’t taken the necessary precautions, i.e. making sure you understand whats happening around you.
Honestly, i think everyone has their own opinions on Chris McCandless and whether he was stupid for seeking adventure. If any of you have even read the book you would discover that he was the kind of person who sought adventure which was the reason he didn’t bring a map and lived the way he did for a while. He found that by abandoning his car, this was another great adventure to experience.
People should stop criticizing what he did and how he died because at the end of the day it shouldn’t bother them. Chris went on his great Alaskan Odyssey and was looking for something in which he found in the end.
I think everybody’s over analyzing Chris’ story way too much!!
Everyone has completely misinterpreted and absolutely lost all meaning behind John’s book! Stop all judgments, opinions and most of all, STOP being so ignorant! Take a moment to really find the truth and reasoning behind Chris… to put it simply, he just wanted to escape.
If you had really read the book, it clearly states that Chris was seeking to release himself of all aspects of this life. He wanted to leave behind the control and the planned. It was his intent to ‘take the road’ and ‘walk into the wild’ without a moments thought. No plans, no maps, no anything. So it’s ridiculous to scrutinize Chris for not “taking advantage” of nearby aid, or stopping to pick up a map. That was and still IS the point of his travels. To be lead into the unknown.
His purpose was to see the world, how HE wanted to see it. To bring a different kind of meaning to his OWN personal life. He did not set out to become famous. He did not purposely attract all of this attention. If that’s what he wanted, he would have followed his parents’ plan. And I bet you, if he were to choose a different course in his life today, he would have been someone successful and known not only for his death.
We all take different paths in our lives; don’t judge Chris for his. Death is destiny. It’s not planned unless it’s suicide. Only God lets us know when it’s time to go, or else Chris would have made it out alive.
I suspect most people siding with Chris are younger – maybe the age he was when he died, maybe a little younger or older. Most middle class people can’t have seen enough of the world at that age to make an intelligent decision regarding methods of engagement or disengagement from society.
Chris was selfish – I don’t think there can be any doubt about that. He left his family and friends without a real word. He dumped his car on public park lands. He persuaded an old man to leave the security of his life to explore the counter culture. The writings he left behind – through postcards, journals, whatever – always push his ideals without accepting there are alternate views.
Further, don’t assume Chris was living the life many of you have idealized for him. As Krakauer points out, Chris didn’t really live that far off the margin. In Alaska, he lived fairly close to civilization, much closer than many fly-in cabins in Alaska and Canada. It seems as though he took a very easy route – the bus being essentially down a dirt road which led to a main road.
In California he lived essentially among others even while at the hippie commune near the Salton Sea – he chose to live 1/2 mile further down the road but that’s not really much, is it? Time and again we find him in the company of others and that’s really how we know him – not through his enigmatic writing at the last.
He lived in a bus someone else provided him and lived largely on the largesse of others – whether it was hitchhiking, growing up affluent in Virginia, using money from a family friend to attend a decent college. Even his success at reaching the Pacific Ocean relied on English speaking duck hunting guides.
He failed miserably at true self reliance – when his umbilical was almost literally cut by the swollen river he could not cross. Yes, he shot birds, porcupines, and even a small moose – ostensibly (I can’t imagine how he would have done that with a .22. I think it’s entirely possible the moose was sick or injure and he dispatched it). Those things are trivial. It’s not even mentioned that most of the animals he shot have poor nutritional value and he would have probably died of “rabbit starvation” anyway.
Ultimately, when he could not simply hitchhike to a store for rice or pick up work and a meal he died – even when given the head start of shelter. Also, you shouldn’t overlook the pathetic quality of his last note – left in case someone came to the camp when he was out foraging. His death resulted because no one was there to save him.
Chris was not an original. He followed on the heels of more notable and better writers – men and women with the same passion but perhaps better plans, skills, an intellect. Naturalists and social critics alike. Thoreau, Muir, even Henry Miller better chronicled the plastic quality of American life.
For all that, it’s hard to say it wouldn’t be fun to do something like this once in your life. Would it offer you a lifestyle you could enjoy for a long time? I doubt it. But a brief sojourn would give you plenty to remember for the rest of your life.
For anyone looking to follow his path I’d say – do it while you’re young, make sure someone knows where you are going and when you’ll be back, and be prepared.
To respond to the first posting by Kristina Alvarez, I understand where you’re coming from, about how many people push aside their dreams, but I think it’s just more than that… Many of us have dreams, but some of us go after them and why don’t the rest do the same? I think what happens here is that perhaps some of us have deeper level of spirituality than the rest of others do. It’s always the spirit that pushes us to do greater things than we can imagine. The question is how come others have more spirit than others? What makes some people possessed to do greater things in life? Is it passion? Is it hunger for more things in life? Does it have to with experience that makes u want to do more in life? Nobody will know why Steve McQueen did all of that or why Ghandi did all of that or what drove Nelson Mandela do to that, but one thing for sure about these guys: They had the spirit to go after what was in them. Did God gave them the spirit to do that? Were they destined to do that? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being ordinary and there are many people out there who are content with what they have. But then u have certain number of people who just need to get out and do bigger things for unknown reasons… And on top of that, these kind of people had the tools to survive the ups and downs in the dreams they’re chasing, the kind of ups and downs ordinary people cannot handle… Ain’t nothin’ wrong with being ordinary, for their spirit ain’t pushin’ them to do bigger things they cannot handle… Nobody can force themselves to do big things in life, to go after their dreams, they may have it in their heads and hearts, but if their spirits ain’t pushin’ ‘em to do it, then it ain’t their time to do so, maybe they ain’t spiritually, mentally ready for that… But to those who are dying to do greater things in life, that their spirits are calling for them to do so, go for it and make the best of it!
I am posting this on every site I can find, it may be annoying to some, but I feel that it is only fair that I state my opinion and view of Mr. Christopher Johnson McCandless and his adventure ”Into The Wild” just as everyone else has.
McCandless to me, was a man of intelligence, but not intelligence of nature. He had book smarts. He seemed to be curious of the outside world, wanted to know what it was like without the money, without the everyday standards or stereotypes,without the constant battles to prove yourself to others,he just wanted to break away from it all and experience life being at peace with himself and the world. He wanted to get away from “society” as it was/is.
I believe he found what he was looking for. I also believe he didn’t intend to stay gone forever, whether his expedition ended by choice or not.
I do not think he was on a “suicidal mission” as others assume. I believe he intended to do as he had before, take a break for a while, collect himself, then return just as he had before. He may have known what he was in for, and that gave him even more of a drive to do so. He was being told he couldn’t do it, that it wasn’t safe, that there was no way he could survive on the limited knowledge and gear he had with him when he left. I believe that was his final drive, he was being told he “cant” so he went on his mission to prove everyone wrong. Which in a tragedy, failed.
He made a mistake, which happens, and like most mistakes, his was learned the hard way.
I dont belive he wanted end his life alone or scared, let alone both. Who does?
Remember he tried to return, but saw that the river was too rapid and harsh. He left himself with no choice other than to turn back to what he knew was safe at the time being. He most likely had the intention to try crossing the river again in just a few weeks. How was he to know his life would end before being able to attempt the river a second time? How was he to know that (mind you he had no knowledge of the river or the surrounding areas) that there was a stock-house for hunters, or even a pulley basket/bridge just a few miles down the river. Granted there were many ways he could have made it out, but in the state of mind and body he was in, how do we know that he did NOT try any other times? Because his journal doesn’t recall any other attempts?
He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Not knowing how to get out.
If only he had taken the time to wise up on nature, before he dove headfirst into it, he may still be alive today, to tell this amazing story himself. Even if so, would it be as amazing if he had came out alive, as it is now, ending in tragedy?
Christopher Johnson McCandless may the life you lived have been to the fullest and to your satisfaction. In death I wish that you continue to reach your goals and dream as big as you did in life. You’ve got cajones man! ;P
May your body rest in peace and your soul continue to explore the world just as you were set to do.
Thank You for your life. Without it, people wouldn’t have anything to bicker or argue about. Some wouldn’t have the drive to accomplish goals. And most of us, wouldn’t “reach out and grab it” when wanting something in life. Critics wouldn’t have anything to criticize. Instead people sit on their asses and argue about one mans beliefs and goals, and inspirations, while trying to teach their children to “go for their goals” to ”find something in life that makes you happy and do it”. How are we to teach our children one thing, but down another man for doing exactly what we are telling our children to do? Christopher McCandless had dreams, he went for them. Sadly his outcome ended horrifically. Unhappy, Alone and Scared.
Many people have many views, but only those who have open minds can respect the choice you, Christopher, have made in your life. Only you know why you set out to explore as you did. Many questions circle around your name on a daily basis that will forever go unanswered.
The greatest teachers in the world are ourselves, and you have taught us a great lesson, that will never be forgotten.
“Happiness is only real when shared”
( For Gracious Sake, Give the man a little respect, remember him for who he was, not how he died! )
I wish people would stop calling McCandless a hippy. A hippy would not have selfishly died without giving his family some sort of resolution. Also, I would appreciate it if some of you stopped portraying him as a second Jesus. Jesus was not a thoughtless, selfish, self indulgent, rich kid. (I am not casting any stones) He preached love for all human beings. Christopher, by his actions, demonstrated that he mostly cared about himself.
People condemn society for all their woes. The truth is that we make our own hell by the choices we make. It is a false pretense to believe that we can survive without society. Humans, by nature, are social beings. Our survival depends on the intricate relationships we have with others. Society has its ills. We have created a world so dependent on technology that we have lost our connection to the natural world. People sit in front of their computers and type away instead of going out and having conversations face to face. Yes, I recognize the irony as I type away.
People have created this cult around this boy, for he was a boy and not a man. He shuned his responsibility to his family and friends. People say that Christopher represents our adventurous spirit. I think he represents our folly, our belief that we are superior beings in the natural world. If Christopher had truly wanted to live by the land, he wouldn’t have stayed in that bus. He stayed there because he realized he would not make it on his own. It is ironic that the society he so harshly criticized provided his shelter for those 120 odd days. That bus was there to provide shelter for hunters during the hunting season. Had the bus not been there, the hunters would have never found Christopher’s body.
It is easy for us to criticize his mistakes. Frankly, if he was so smart, he should have had more common sense. How can you go into the wilderness without a map? He didn’t have to look at the map to get to where he was going. But, it was an easy solution in case he lost his way or needed another way to get back to the society he so despised. If there was no game, why didn’t he fish? He should have learned how to trap. And the killing of the moose was a complete waste, not to mention disrespectful.
People ask to give Christopher McCandless a little respect. Where was his respect to his family? To his sister? What evil had she done to him that he disregarded her emotional well-beingwith such contempt? I find him to be selfish and narcissistic and to elevate him to hero is a great folly. Learn from his mistakes. We need each other for survival. I believe that Christopher would have learned the error of his ways had he lived. But, I also believe that Christopher wanted to die. Had he wanted to survive, he would have made a stronger effort to get out of that valley.
I am not trying to judge him but it seems to me that people misunderstand what he did. He is no hero. To me, a hero is someone who selflessly puts his own life at risk to save others. The Fire Department are heros. The people of the Coast Guard are heros. Our soldiers are heros. Christopher was a deluded young man who thought too much of himself and too little of everyone else. He represents our arrogance, our belief that we are greater than all other living things.
I hope that people come away with some humility when reading about McCandless or watching films based on his life. He was misguided in believing that he would find himself out in the wild. To find yourself, you must look inside. You will not find the answers if you are afraid to take that inner journey. Too bad that Christopher did not understand that.
Cyril,
It seems to me that you are judging others just as harshly as Chris is being criticized. There is nothing wrong in clinging to life. It is the only life we’ve got. Was his life better than mine? I seriously doubt it. And, I hope that my death is not as senseless as his.
Hey Michele,
your death will be just as senseless,you think you matter to this world????I can’t believe what am reading here.As far as I’m concerned,all humans shouldn’t die tomorrow….but today.Were such a lame overrated species that eventually will come to an end because of our many wrong actions and decisions.And the obvious fact that we’re the only animal who lost the connection to nature.
I’m not sure but I don’t recall having seen a deer build a nuclear plant,or a bear that decides to drive a car….get my point,I could go on and on with that.Fact is we’re lame and hopefully close to extinction.I don’t agree with the Hopi and other native tribes that when the earth cleansing arrives that about 80% of all people die.In order to have a healthy working planet until the time the sun will eventually destroy everything ALL people need to die.
And whats wrong with that,dinosaurs are gone thousands of species of birds are gone,everyday species are gone forever we’re just another one,get used to that,all you life loving thinking we’re so fuckin great and importat…we’re not.Abviously we’re the only one that aren’t.
Him killing a moose a waste???So you don’t eat meat I assume,or have a heated house,nor drive a car,nor driving the streets that are build on natural soil,nor poluting the air in any way….get my point we’re all wasting everything,him shooting a moose isn’t any worse than living in this society, people consume too much anyway in any way…and if I haven’t mentioned it before,we’re stupid and a virus with shoes…but of course we think we’re great and smart yeah yeah.
And the stupid issue about selfishness,I don’t know if it’s because I’m Swiss that I don’t understand.Allthough I lived in the States four years.
What’s selfish when a person decides to walk into the wilderness instead of stiking around his family his whole life and tell em..oh I love you guys so much,or caling his sister every other day to tell her how great she is.Damn get your own life and stop clinging to your family the way you do..it’s sick and not helping at all.My brother who is the bomb,has been hiking all over the world for the past 6 years,sometimes I hear something sometimes I don’t for a long time.So what,it’s his life he doesn’t owe me and my parents anything,and guess what if he dies on his way,good for him it’s called life same as it happens in the natural world,but I know people aren’t aloud to die anymore,even if we’re born so crippeld that we wouldn’t have survived an hour hunderd years ago,if I ever turn out to be a vegtable strapt to my bed…please shoot me.
I guess people are somehow offended when someone dies.It’s like your pride is attacked.I mean if he was still alive this page wouldn’t exist in the way it does.
My final quote,good job Chris….I don’t care either way,are you all afraid of dying or what,cause thats what it sounds to me….we’re so far away from our path,humanity reduced itself to one big joke anyway,so enjoy the illusionest ride and die.
I’ll start by saying not once did I mention him to be a hero. I thanked him for his life because it taught people/myself a lesson.
So one quick question, as I asked before…
If McCandless had survived, would anyone be criticizing him?
His life? His beliefs? His knowledge, or lack there of, of nature?
No.
People wouldnt say anything about him. The only person that went into the wild, was himself.
People do it all the time now, from teenagers to grumpy old men. Why do they not get the recognission Christopher did/does?
Because they are still alive.
And what about those that have passed away attempting to make it in the wild as he did, why do they not get recognised as he did?
Because they werent “unknown”
Jon Krakauer wrote a book about a young man that reminded him of himself. To share with people the story of a strong willed man, who would do whatever it took to reach his dreams.
Sean Penn directed a movie about a book that was about a young man who’s journey had touched many,whether it be good or bad, including himself. Sean Penn read a story by a man, who’s words touched him so deeply, that he could not turn away from giving the story a chance to be seen or experienced by others.
Whether you are a critic, hypocrit, or an open minded human being, this story has touched you, the life and death of Christopher McCandless has touched you well enough for you to care. If not, then why are you so interested, peeved, or even angered by the adventure and life of Christopher McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp before, during and after going Into The Wild?
SwissGuy,
I concur.
Somebody please please please put this “Swissguy” out of his own missery! … the only one that deserves to be extinct here is this guy … and pronto! :)
SwisherSweet … let me guess .. you are Swissguy’s girlfriend … right? … then you deserve each other! :P
oh yeah…. and it was a caribou, not a moose that Chris had shot.
Details.
I’ts amazing how angry people are at how selfish Chris was. We’re all selfish. If we werent, why are people starving and homeless elsewhere? Why do we only take care of ourselves and loved ones? Why do we make sure to get what “we” or “i” need from the grocery store? Why do we roll our windows up or pass right by the transient on the street corner with his sign “will work for food” or “spare change, God bless”
BECAUSE WE ARE ALL SELFISH
A lot of people arent realizing that Chris found out all that he did was selfish and stupid, when he was on his death bed.
Everyone has done something selfish in life that they regret doing. The only difference between our regrets and Chris’s regret, is that we were able to move on past it, he wasnt. And now in death, he still has to suffer with the everyday reminder.
Dont you think 15 years is long enough.
I honestly think the only people that are sitting here criticizing McCandless, are those that regret not doing something in life, following their dreams.
Get off your rockers, and go for a walk.
Get out of your recliners, and take a hike.
Get out of the house and go camping.
Experience life as he wanted to. J
You wont regret it.
CHISPITA….
I have no idea who SwissGuy is. I just agree with him on some of his thoughts and views.
Nothing wrong with that.
Seriously though, how immatureMc can people get? I thought this was a thread about Christopher McCandless, not “how stupid can I make myself look by talking about others”. Guess I was wrong.
Man, I really wish I could find a thread with mature people.
In all due respect, I’d like to get back onto the topic of this thread and not spend my time trying to figure out whether you are 3 or 13 yrs of age.
McCandless to me was a MAN who didnt know what he wanted in life, and as MICHELE said, in order to find out who you are, you must look inside first, McCandless either failed to do so, or couldnt find what he was looking for and thought he had to search further.
I’m not a critic. I’m not narrow minded. I’m open to all opinions. Everyone is entitled to their own.
Looks like “SwisherSweet” and “Swissguy” need a hug … .. only then they could possibly understand how important it is to love and to be loved by another human being … regardless of their differences.
You just said it right there.
Its important to love and be loved by another human being REGARDLESS OF THEIR DIFFERENCES.
Why is it that everyone is to be angry or disappointed in McCandless because of his differences?
Doesnt he deserve a hug?
Yeap, and he got it … his mother and sister loved him and cared for him deeply … he got more than a hug from them (even from his own father) but he turned his back on them instead … his choice of course but how could you hurt the ones that love you so much …. why he was so hateful towards the ones that loved him so much that went as far as hiring a private detective to find him … he planed this … he lived to hurt his family … he told his sister he wanted his family to pay the “price” … how senseless is that? … and you want to put this guy on a pedestal? .. you actually encourage people to do what he did??… “Experience life as he wanted to” you say … are you kidding us??
anyway … let me go back to my “boring sedentary” life but full of wonderful people that make me want to get up in the mornings … the one good thing I learn from this guy is to be more in touch with my family and my friends!!
oopss … sorry, I wrote the above message.
C.
Either way you learned something from him. He taught us all something.
I dont praise him.
I dont consider him as a hero.
I just dont get why what he did angers so many people.
He died doing what he wanted to do. So be it.
Who’s to say for certain that he wanted to hurt people? That he lived to hurt those who loved him?
I have amazing friends, a wonderful family, and a beautiful son of my own.
Not once could I ever imagine myself telling my son he CAN NOT do something he wants to do. Whether it hurts me or not, a parent loves their child unconditionally and encourages their child(ren) to learn and experience things on their own. We cannot shelter our children from the outside world, and if thats what he/she seeks, then let them go.
Yes, I can imagine how hurt the family is/was with the loss of Chris.
Just as I remember how hurt I was losing a family member and having another turn his back on our family.
But we cant continue to be angry at someone or criticize them just because we dont agree with what they are doing or did. We have to learn to accept things as they come. The world is subject to change, so are people, and there is nothing we can do about it, no matter how hard we try. Everything will happen as it does and all we can do is pray for a cure, hope that people who are less fortunate “get well” and see to it that we live our life to the fullest, but only in the ways we are ALLOWED to. We live our life with written guidelines and rules.
We do not have freedom of speech, if so, why are words bleeped out on tv?Why do we have to raise our hands to speak in school then told that we cannot say certain things? Why do we have ratings on movies? Why are we stereotyped? Rich and poor? Alone? Fat? Skinny?
We are creating a world that people are no longer happy in because everything we do is a constant battle. We have to Fight our way to the top to get a proper job. We have to study for a test that we may not even pass. We have to earn what we have, nothing is given. Nothing ever will be.
So this brings me to my final question… is the world we are living in now much more than living it nature itself? Fighting for a home/shelter. Hunting/shopping for food. Preparing it. Debating/Fighting with others to make ourselves more dominant. Taking the land and what is on it and turning it into homes, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, gas stations, etc….
why dont we all go and live in a bus with no electricity, no running water, no food but the food we hunt, no change of clothes, and then say that McCandless was an inconsiderate ass, who cared nothing but of himself. Considering he gave up all his money, and everything he had and took nothing from society but himself.
He wasnt looking to become famous. It was self satisfaction that he was longing for. Do you really think he cares what ANY of us have to say about him and what he did?
What are YOU missing in life that makes you so angry with him? NOTHING.
We get it, you think he’s an inconsiderate idiot. Maybe even a lunatic. But in all honesty, he did NOTHING to you. He hurt his family. So did my brother when he left us to find himself, but over time you realize that he is doing what makes him happy, and thats all that we want for him.
My brother had no job, no money, and depended on his friends to give him a roof over his head, food in his stomach, and a warm shower. He believes society is BS just as McCandless did, yet we dont shun my brother for it, we dont criticize him for his decisions. We love him for who he is, not for what he does. He is happy, thats all that matters.
Yes it hurts, not knowing if he is still alive or not, and it gets pretty scary at times, but what my brother chooses to do with his life, is what he does. We arent happy with him but we do respect him for his choices. We have no control over what he does, and if we tried to tell him what to do, how to do it, or even just help him, it would only have angered him and push him away even more.
Maybe McCandless was the same way.
There are pro’s and con’s to everything… Right now we are all battling the 2 sides for someone who has passed away. Forever this battle will rage, and none of the remaining questions will ever be answered.
Stupid.
Inconsiderate idoit.
Teacher.
Moron.
Hero.
However we look at it is our personal opinions.
Noone can argue with you about how you feel.
Ah … so that’s where you are coming from ….
Good for you that you have somehow find a way to get a bit of “closure” in your life regarding your brother … and I truly hope that he is happy wherever he is and that you can continue to live your life without having him in it (physically anyway).
and I’ll leave it like that because this clearly is a touchy subject for you.
Best of luck with your brother.
C.
I dont mind speaking about it. I was just stating that in order to understand or accept something, you must be able to be in the shoes of the one walking or the shoes of the family to gain the most knowledge of where someone is coming from or in this case, going into. :)
I am, so I cant understand what it is that makes people so angry about those who choose to do what makes them happy in their life.
Have seen the film and read the book and feel the whole story is deeply tragic. I recommend the book highly (if you have just seen the film).
There are several key strands in this story that played out in Chris’s life. He was clearly enraged by his father’s behavoir – sounds rather a controlling bully who tried to impose standards that he fell well short of himself. Chris – a sensitive individual – already rejecting his parents middle class values and then to find he was a bastard child.
Interested in world poverty and wrote a degree paper on the subject seemed to be experimenting with himself what it was like to live without food in the desert etc – he nearly died before in the desert near Nevada. Driving a combine in South Dacota would have appealed enormously – I’m helping feed the world!
Like many of us, he really appreciated the beauty of the wilderness and loved the Alaskan stories of Jack London. Think he found a big thrill from living on the edge, enduring the experience of suffering and its effect it had on him. At this stage, he wanted to play out one last high risk experiment in a much more hostile environment – poor judgement, bad luck, an inadequate diet to sustain him in that climate sealed his fate – if he had not found the bus – maybe he would have frozen to death. He was well loved by those whose world he came into and he died far too young. I can hardly bear to think how terrible his final days must have been – past the point of no return and too weak to sustain himself and walk out and get help. Those final photos – he certainly had some guts.
SIMONP
I read the book many years ago at my sisters request, (she is an avid outdoorswoman, with the dream of one day climbing to the Summit of Everest). I could not put it down until I was finished. She had warned me, either I was going to love Chris, or hate him.
Once we found out that Sean Penn was directing the movie, we were extremely excited to see what view and take he had on McCandless.
I dont recall having any emotion but shock while reading the book, even after I had finished, I can only remember sitting in utter shock. McCandless seemed so full of life, adventure and curiousity. I believed he was only out to gain self satisfaction. To break away for the time being and calm himself, a sense of extended meditaion. Only he could understand.
When I saw the movie just a few days ago, it put me back where I was when I had read the book years ago. In shock. Penn didnt make Christopher McCandless/Alexander Supertramp look like a hero, or an idiot. He simple took what he had read and learned of Chris and put in on a screen the way he saw him, yet he still gave each individual watching the movie a chance to have their own opinion on what McCandless did and why he might have done so.
Congrats to Sean Penn for doing such a great job of making the book come to life, and creating such a captivating movie.
And Congrats to Jon Krakauer for having the balls to write such a wonderful book, that draws you in as a skeptic and spits you out a believer.
Hey Chispita
I’m in no misery……the world is.I can certainly get enough hugs…..yet it’s not enough.Unfortunatley not everything is solved with a hug and if you truly understand of how bad the earth REALLY is being Fç*”**; then you’d understand my point of view.Most people talk about it,because it’s such a popular issue right now,but really comprehending that in the near future we’re not going to be able to live here anymore,cause we’ve chosen the path of greed,killing,torturing,destruction,annihilation and all the other 700 things we do.I don’t think people really do understand that.Even if you don’t suffer at this moment…..millions of others are and thats not cool,damn am I the only one who thinks so……I guess that’s why were where we are.
I JUST DONT THINK ITS ALRIGHT IN ORDER FOR ONE SPECIES TO LIVE PRETTY MUCH EVERY OTHER ONE HAS TO SUFFER…….that has nothing to do with a healthy planet,and please,who are the only ones that do it…anyone a mirror handy?
I know that some people might think when they read my previous text(and this one),that am some depressed lunatic whos lost it.But that just proves my point of how people are not understanding what we’re doing to this planet.
Have you ever seen a frog drink out his own pond…well we’re doing more than that.
I’m not saying that I’m living the right and holy way,because it’s damn near impossible nowadays.I contribute where I can and try to do my best.But I’m certainly not denying what’s going on and admit that we have worn out are welcome some time ago…(and that we’re retards).
When I’m somewhere in the wilderness and I see a wild animal,that excits me more than the prick whos trying to shoot it.
Sorry…..just had to explain my point of view,and yes we are the pest,whoevers denying that is either stupid or ignorant,by saying that you can still live your life,ok..
SwisherSweet…right on,glad you understand.
I haven’t read all these posts but i’ve skimmed through them. Now that I see how many people have read the book and tried to live a McCandless kind of life shows me that McCandless was not stupid or arrogant rather he was really humble. I believe Chris wanted to be a teacher. I think that he really did care and that shows by how he lived his life. I think Chris was a visionary comparable to Martin Luther King or Ghandi. Through what Chris has done makes me yearn for a life like that. I don’t necessiraly think you have to live exactly like McCandless; that lifestyle is simply not for everyone . I have seen many people be humble by the simplicity of a suburban lifestyle. For some people they think Chris is nuts and ridiculous for doing what he did. But really he is a very wise man for simply doing his own thing. I dream of a day where I can travel to wherever the wind takes me and I one day want to just travel and talk with as many people as I can and see what I can do to help them. Granted I am just 17 and haven’t really had that much experience in life…yet. But I really think that Chris was a wise man. However, Chris practically isolated himself from his family; is this selfish? I don’t think so at all. I think if you see the big picture, his family should be glad he got to live how he wanted. So many people dream of owning this or that or they dream of being so rich that they wipe their butt with dollar bills! And in America today people think well that’s normal; they think money = happiness. And that’s just bs any way you look at it. I believe Chris was trying to write a book about how to live your life. And I think if Chris had wrote a book I think it would have obviously been about how to live life. And simply the way to live life is to do what makes you happy!
Chispita – One day you will rise and even if for just that one day – no one will be there to love you – to comfort you – to make you happy in your mundane existence.
Then what do you do, do you roll over and die…….. You should know what it is like to exist alone, to harbor feelings of anger and revenge, to take on the worst with only you as means to survive.
Im not saying people should exist like that day to day – year to year, but there will always be a time when you’re little comfortable bubble will burst.
You have no desire to face adversity ……
I’m Old, I just read the book and I was moved by the actions of this young man. To me it was a human story about something that each of us can recognize in ourselves.
He took a risk, it did not have the outcome that I think even he expected. But I just can not help identifying with his character. Young people need to explore their souls to find out who they are and make their own sense of this life we live on Earth. For this I applaud him. His life was very short and none of us can judge him, for he may have if he had lived gone on to forgive, teach, love and share his life.
I completely agree with ‘Signe’. SImply read that and be enlightened to the problem with most responses. Please people, things go deeper than they seem. Sacrifices have to be made to complete the purpose of ones life and if one is escaping society, they must cut off ties to such a thing.
Heroic, Selfish, Happy, Sad, Lost, Found and the list goes on – each word means something different to each of us and can change according to our circumstances. I make no judgement on what Chris decided to do and certainly have no idea what he was really thinking! We each decide in our own life what we need to accomplish – I see things I wish I could do and I see things I would never do but that’s different with each person. Chris did what he thought he had to do and whether he was sane or not really doesn’t matter because perception is each of our realities.
Anyway, like everything that seems to happen in our world – it makes you reflect a little more about our own lives and hopefully helps us find our own truths and reason’s for existence. The truth of the matter is that Chris’s life was depicted through the eyes of others and because we can no longer speak with Chris we will never really know the reason’s why he did what he did.
So for our amusement – including mine – we write down our feelings for others to hear and share and so maybe some of his last words were right – “Happiness is only real when shared.”
To call Chris selfish or stupid is extremely ignorant. Chris donated all of his money to charity because he felt he had no need for it. No matter what you believe there is no doubting that Chris’s story is one of the most sought out tales today. It is so because many people can understand why he did what he did. Those who cannot see the true meaning of what he did are very unfortunate because they have no idea what it means to take what you want in life.
Very true nate! Chris’s story is so popular because so many of us can relate to his yearning to make a new life. Free from all the material attachements. How can anyone understand what Chris was thinking when they are constantly worrying about money. It takes an amazing person to free themselves from all ties and attachments in order to understand the true meaning of happiness.
Much agreed. Happiness is finding ones true self, with no stress, or worries. Chris was able to experience life in peace. It may only have been for a short while, but I know, if I had the strenght to do what he did, that short while would be well worth it.
Christopher McCandless physically encased the restlessness, longing, and angst of youth.
I’m 17 years old, and after reading Into the Wild, I felt as if this young man was a part of me, a part that I am far to fearful to reveal. McCandless feared nothing. He embraced his longing and made a conscious decision to act while he could.
As a young person, I feel McCandless’s desire for truth and meaning. I myself question why I am here, what I’m meant to do, what life is meant to be. And the need to prove his independence is one I can relate to immensely. He was not trying to prove this to others, as so many have believed. McCandless wanted to show himself exactly what he was capable of.
McCandless was not selfish, or he at least did not realize he was selfish. When you’re young, you make decisions for yourself and yourself alone. It’s simply how we think. McCandless knew the repercussions of his actions, but it was something he had to do while he could. I understand him so well, I could go on forever.
I just ask people to look into themselves. Remember when you were young. Remember the desire to search. McCandless made that search, which is something most of us never do out of fear.
Christopher McCandless accomplished what most could not.
He lived.
Sitting in New Jersey amidst strip malls and suburban sprawl, I can see the lure of the wild. Life is more than Target, Home Depot, iPods, and “made in China.” As we gain possessions, we become trapped in a materialistic malaise in which our STUFF (and pursuit of stuff) dictates our lives. Each of us, regardless of our class or station, has but a limited time here. Do we let the pursuit of “stuff” dictate how that time is spent? Most of us do, and it is madness. There is wisdom in rejecting the culture of consumption and materialism. There is wisdom in seeing the preciousness of our limited time here AND bravery in choosing to honor it by living boldly, freely, and with zeal. Regardless of McCandless’ personal/family relationships (which it seems is not our place to comment), I think what is admirable is his courage to find his own definition of success AND pursue it with determination in the face of enormous risk. Such drive is rooted deep in the American psyche and deserves our respect.
“but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”
It was a very brave thing that chris mccandless did. I wish that i had the guts to just leave everything that I knew to try and find the answer to life. I mite go about it a bit differently but ya no he had every plan to come back and see his family and the people who he met in his travels. It was unfortonate that he died before he had the chance to do this. Everyone who has something bad to say about people must first look at themselves and then decide why they feel that way in their hearts. I would love to do something like Chris did and find my meaning in life and maybe i someday before my end.
Why does everyone assume the meaning of life resides in isolated contemplation, communing with nature? If you have a kid, ask yourself what the meaning of life is and I would bet your boy or girl figures in there someplace. Further, I would be willing to bet watching your child grow up is an essential part of that pursuit. Something of which Chris’ parents were essentially robbed.
Isn’t it possible that Chris went into the wild because he was actually afraid to live a real life? One in which he was not the only player? I point to the relationship issues between his mother and father, as well as the fact that he seemed to fail at forming friendships which were anything more than arm’s length.
His preferred method of interaction, indeed the way in which we know him personally, is through letters. It’s not at all surprising he went out and died alone. But I doubt he would have preferred it that way. To the one writer who pointed to sacrifices being made – look at his last note – he wanted help and he also wanted people to know how he died. His grand adventure ended pitifully.
To the people who celebrate his achievement – why aren’t you singing the praises of the two other people who went into the wild and died or disappeared? Turns out at least one of them was essentially as ill-prepared as McCandless and no one is lionizing him.
Finally, and this is just a question, are we really supposed to believe he shot and killed either a moose or a caribou with a .22? They are huge animals and even juveniles are tough.
My guess is that there was a diseased or injured moose/caribou who wandered near enough to the bus to be found shortly after it’s death. Maybe he administered the coup de grace but I doubt he brought it down otherwise. Just a thought.
Erik,
I am curious what your definition of “real life” is. I don’t think nature is the sole answer for humanity’s search for meaning, but it is ONE answer people have wrestled with for hundreds of years in literature, art, and religion. Chris wrestled with it. And he did it at a time in his life when he was young, fresh out of college, unattached to a family that depended on him for survival. And he did it at a time of life when one is right to seek independence and self-sufficiency. Sure he made some poor decisions and paid for them. But his attempt, his search, and his zeal are part, I think, of a longing in each of us to find meaning. I think what makes Chris’s story resonate is that many folks at some point or other felt similarly about letting go and living free. Most of us don’t do it. Chris did, and as a result everyone in some primitive way can empathize. His death, then, strikes a chord because of this common/utterly human–and fallible–dimension. My two cents.
I think Erik makes a great point and it goes beyond just your children. We never stop trying to find the meaning of life and of course it’s different for each person but I know that in the end it always comes back to my relationship’s with my daughter, family and friends and I think in the end that’s what Chris found out but because he put himself in a bad situation of which he obviously couldn’t escape so he never got to experience true happiness! My two cents !!!!!!!
Tres ému par le destin de Chris
Cet homme comme tous les hommes sensibles, venant de je ne sais ou mais pas portés par les vents du sud qui soufflent et polluent notre esprit d’homme libre.
Cet homme cherchais le vrai que l’on nous cache tous les jours.
Depuis plus de 2000 ans nous vivons sous des tonnes de “pas vrai”
belle image, forte image de volonté et de liberté qu’il nous a laissée.
Whether you see the life of this young man through the prism of hero or loser, explorer or suicidal depressive, etc. It is “his” story that brought you all into this forum by way of seeking out his name via Yahoo or Google. For all of your opinions and musings, allow for one second that “his” story made you wonder enough to search for more and to that end, this young man’s life has had a profound effect.
First of all I would like to just mention how much it saddens me to think that many of the people who have posted here in opposition to the amazing journey that Christopher McCandless took have merely done so to spread unnecessary hate. The thought of you logging on, finding this website and going out of your way to undermine the effort of one man to conquer himself without the limitations of his upper-middle class upbringing is not one that I can understand within any humane reasoning I have. You are the people that Chris McCandless spent what I imagine to have been a few of the most worthwhile years of his life trying to prove wrong.
I am not a religious person but have a huge respect for those who are. McCandless achieved something that I most admire in a person; he discovered a part of himself that was unique to him, a God that he felt at one with whilst out in the wilderness. He may have been scared, unprepared, cut off and lonely but he found what he was looking for and died knowing he had conquered what it was he had aimed for. Some of you may call him selfish but the truth of the matter is we are born into this world as selfish beings, if we weren’t then we would surely not have survived much past the age of 2. Ultimately many of us will die in a ‘selfish’ way but if that means that we have spent our lives discovering what life is through the eyes of OURSELVES then so be it.
Chris McCandless’ ‘great adventure’ was for a sense of self worth and a journey to discover a God. In my eyes he did this, something he would not have been able to do whilst trapped in the life he was. To me, Chris is an inspiration. You can all tell me that I am wrong or mistaken but your judgement is not worth my time. Stop slating a man who died feeling at peace, instead, please try and think what it is you bring to the world. If you struggle then in my opinion you have no right to pass judgement on people like myself and so many others who are writing on this website to show appreciation to an incredible man.
kristina alvarez, you are absolutly correct. I am deeply inspired by Chris and anyone who says otherwise obviously is either envious or stupid
Oh, and fighting over ridiculous things like this is elementary.
Of course everybody is not going to feel the way Chris does about things, he’s an entirely different human being, or was.
Don’t neglect that fact either; we are all different. Which is why we have so many disputes, because we want to whole world to share OUR opinions, to think the way WE do. But it takes a certain amount of maturity to realize that is ridiculous, do we really want everybody to be like us, to feel the way we feel?
Imagine that. You wouldn’t even be an individual person, just another one of those things droning on about the same thing the guy next to you is. Variety is the spice of life, and unfortuanately indifference tags along close behind it, so the best we can do is bite our toungue and take a while to listen to everyone else without judgement. Who knows, you might even enjoy it.
As for Chris, yes I guess you can say I can relate to him a little bit. My brother is the exact same way, and we are so close it reminds me of his and his sister carrines relationship. But that doesn’t mean I can’t listen to other peoples individual.
Chris was a rare persona, one that you either love or hate. But theres no reason to fight. He’s gone, he’s had his life. Now I think all of you guys should drop this incredulous argument, and move on with yours.
Much obliged,
M.
I have just spent too much time in the middle of the night reading all these posts—many of which are judgmental and and just plain mean. I am 2 years older than Chris would have been had he lived. When he died, in 1992, I was in the last trimester of my 3rd pregnancy, a married stay at home mom who was living in a house in the woods in the suburbs. Everyday I would look out at those woods and dream about just going out there and fending for myself and living with nature, away from the Jones’s and the stupidity of modern day life. But, I had responsibilities, I had 3 small children, a husband and a home to take care of, my wanderlust was buried deep as I lived my day to day life.
Growing up, I relished books—favorites being books where people have to depend on themselves to survive. The “Little House” books had me dreaming about being a pioneer and coming to the west with only what I could carry in a wagon and to start out with nothing. I read Jack London, and as a teen I dreamed about go to Alaska. I want to go and see Walden Pond–I have always said I should have been born in the dark/middle ages or in the 17th-19th centuries. I have always felt the pull to be self-sufficient and break free of the luxuries that we all take for granted. I watch silly shows like Northern Exposure and even Men in Trees—and I still feel the pull to Alaska and it’s wilderness now. I have sent in applications to be on the reality shows on PBS, Frontier House, Colonial House, etc., but having young children, we were always turned down. I have responsibilities and while I relish living in the wild, fending for myself—my kids don’t want or need that kind of life. I wish I could have at least been brave enough to explore more when I was younger and unattached! Don’t get me wrong, I love my life—but that yearning will always be there–which is why I have a lot of respect for Chris—he did it–not only in Alaska for quite a while, but he did it where ever he was—it was part of his life. I have to be content with living on the farm my husband and I just bought and trying to live more “simply” and self-sufficiently that we have lived. Chris was well experienced in simplicity and self sufficiency by the time he had arrived in Alaska—yes he still made errors, but we ALL do.
What grabbed me about Chris, was that he was BRAVE enough to actually DO IT. Sure he made stupid mistakes and he could be selfish—WHO ISN’T? I don’t know many people in their young 20’s that haven’t been foolhardy and selfish at some time—I know I was, even though I was a mother and a wife, I had my moments.
What bothers me is the extreme hatefulness of some of these posts. Michelle goes on and on about how selfish Chris was and how could he do that to his family. You know Michelle, young people are selfish and they do see things as black and white. I hated my father for YEARS for abandoning his family when his 3 children were young. When I finally got to know him again, many years later, I felt sorry for him—sure, we suffered greatly for his selfishness and mistakes—but he will suffer even more. He missed out on knowing his kids and watching them grow. He’s lost one son already—he’ll never know him. If you had asked me at 24 what I felt, it would have been anger and lack of forgiveness. Now, at 41 and having 6 kids of my own, I feel pity for him and I forgave him years ago—I did that for me. I am quite sure, as Chris grew up and experienced life more, he too would have been able to forgive his father and become close to his family again. We all make mistakes, some more horrible than others. I don’t think there is a perfect person out there who can say otherwise—and unless you are one, then you really shouldn’t be throwing stones in your glass house.
Being the mother of 3 teens can be very frustrating. Teenagers think they know it all and have all the answers. My 19 year old daughter moved out into her own apartment last fall. I tried to prepare her, to teach her things she would need to know to survive on her own—but she didn’t want my advice—she KNEW how to do things and could manage just fine on her own. This same person calls me everyday with questions on how to do everything she wouldn’t let me teach her when she was home.
Chris was brave. Most people could not give up all their possessions and their comfortable life to live on the road and bounce around from place to place. As a mother, I wish he could have taken the time to let his family know where he was and what he was doing. But I am not going to judge him for not contacting them—who am I to decide what was right for him??? Who has the right to decide? Maybe, after learning about his fathers’ infidelities and bigamy, he needed time to deal with it and time to work out the anger at this father—that is not selfish, it is human. His parents kept some pretty big secrets from him and I can imagine it was a shock to find out from people he barely knew. They were selfish/human in keeping it from him, and he was selfish/human in how he dealt with it. They were all selfish in their way and karma has a way of catching up with you after a while. It’s not right or wrong, it just is and those who rant and rave about how selfish Chris was needs to look at the WHOLE story.
I am really disappointed in the immaturity in many of these posts and the hatefulness. He was a kid, he had strong ideals and he wanted to find what many of us are missing. He actually did something. It may seem foolish to some, but I think he accomplished more in his 2 years on the road and his final journey to Alaska than many of the people who post to this board will find in a lifetime. I think we can all learn from him—the way he lived AND the way he died. As for me, I probably will ever get to Alaska—my youngest is 2 and by the time he is ready to leave the nest, I’ll be in my 60’s and I’ll hopefully be happy and comfortable and my wanderlust will be sufficiently tamed–it has been for years, although it pulls at me occasionally and I end up throwing the family in the van for a spontaneous road trip to somewhere. We’ve not gone too far, but we do tend to venture out further and further each time. We do play at medieval re-enacting so that quells some of my desires but we always end up back in our comfortable home. Chris was real, he came up with different plans, he executed them—in some he was successful, some he was foolish, some he was lucky that there are many good people out there to lend a hand. The man is dead, and calling him names and ranting and raving about how selfish and stupid and ignorant some might think he was is just—lame. I don’t think he was a hero, I don’t think he was any more selfish than anyone else. But I admire his tenacity and I wish he could have made it out of Alaska alive. I wish people could see that what he did WAS extraordinary, even with the mistakes. What is even more extraordinary about him is how his experiences can stir such deep, intense emotions in people–either they admire him for doing what they wish they could do, or they hate him for doing what they would never have the initiative to do. I admire him for doing what he set out to do—obviously he was a good person, he made some great friends along the way and no one really has ever had anything bad to say about him other than he was intense at times and selfish and foolish—which everyone can be.
RIP Chris, and bless his family and friends.
Leslie
Punk, that’s it. Had issues, mommy and daddy gave him everything he wanted and that wasn’t enough, now was it?
Richard Proenneke-a true Alaskan survivor. Read about him, admire him, idolize him if you must, but for God sakes, not this turd.
Isnt this what Chris had said he wanted to get away from? Society, every day pressures to become something you have no interest in being? Poor Chris is being chewed up and swallowed by the very people he wanted to break free from.
People are arguing about another mans decisions.. What good is it going to do you to sit and argue about how “stupid” or “selfish” you think he was? It’s not getting you anywhere.
I’m sure those of you who think negatively about Chris, are the same people that constantly fight/argue with family and friends thinking your sh*t dont stink… get over yourselves. if you’re not happy with what he had chosen in life, then let it be… there’s no need to come on, search for MORE information about a man that you have no interest in, just to put him down…. or is that whats wrong? you are totally interested in this man, but you dont want to admit that deep down inside you wish you would have, or could do what he did… just pack up and go, whether it be temporary or permanent, to give yourself a BREAK… please… some people make me sick… and its pretty obvious, you werent taught about respect growing up. best piece of advice I were ever given,
“if you dont have something nice to say, dont say anything at all…”
maybe others should learn about it.
I think it is possible for someone to be brave and stupid simultaneously. If someone wants to glorify this young man as a brave soul finding his own way in the world, I can buy that.
I can also buy that he was really really stupid, arrogant, and irresponsible – no matter his intelligence.
But his story is just sad, nothing more or less. If you got down this far without reading post number 8, go back and read it. Truly great description of the problems in McCandless’s idealism.
Don’t forget, near the end, Chris left a desperate note begging for the help he once shunned. He dismissed the knowledge of others when he didn’t perceive any immediate threat, but pleaded for this help when he realized death was around the corner.
Maybe in the end, Chris finally realized the social structure he rejected was his only chance at salvation. Maybe this social structure that he held in such contempt actually evolved based on its propensity toward preservation.
Unfortunately, Chris (brave hero, arrogant idiot, or whatever definition you prefer) is dead!
And life is for the living.
McCandless was neither especially brave nor especially dumb. He demonstrated care for people far from his life experience and disdain for his own family. He is not the first nor the last do-gooder to fall into that. There is a larger point here that is missed by most posters and I am willing to bet that they are not northerners.
Southerners and city people have the heartbreaking idea that wilderness is a commodity that they have a consumers’ right to look at and they sadly have no idea that there is a cannon of skills and knowledge that are essential to living with and in nature. They think that nature is a big benevolent mother and that we all have some “instinctual” roadmap to survival.
I have not watched this film because I have not been able to bring myself to witness the beatifying of yet another pathetic combination of arrogance and romanticism. After suffering “Grizzly Man”, wishing against hope that Herzog with all his genius would figure it out and give more than a cursory 30 seconds of screen time to a knowledgeable local (the aboriginal man close to the beginning) and seeing that the director left the wisdom out so as not to interfere with our voyeuristic romp, I don’t want to have to watch this well-meaning boy kill himself because he’s too self-absorbed to find someone whose life is imbedded in that landscape and learn from them.
If an aboriginal kid from a small northern town showed up in Chicago and walked the lane divider lines of the freeway, getting himself killed would we call him a hero or an idiot? From a northern perspective, McCandless did just that.
Chris McCandless sure was immature, misguided, assenine and selfish for a young man thought to be so bright. It just goes to show that “adulthood” is not reflected by chronological age but by hard earned maturity.
His need to go camping extreme style cost his family more than any family should have to bear.
I shiver to think that my students (I teach high school English) are infatuated with and amazed by his rash, selfish, idealistic and childish acts. I fully expect there to be sad, copycat incidents.
people who say that this man was selfish are right, he was very selfish. to leave a family who loves you, to give up up your faith and live for no one but yourself, and to practically throw away your life to the mercy of nature is very selfish. he did nothing to help cure cancer, he did not write a book about philosophy, he did not lead a country.
but in his selfishness, he inspired a book that became a national bestseller (thus making an author a secure future) and the book inspired a movie which has won mulitple awards.
ironically his selfishness has inspired hundreds of people to live, has caused hundreds to question their lives in the world. and with the release of this new movie, into the wild, i’m certain yet another wave of youthful travellers will set out to search for themselves.
selfish, yes, but in wake of his overall affect in the world, with his naive actions and ’stupidity’, he has done more for other people than any average person can boast.
i say he is a hero. he has lived, purely lived within life before he died, and that is more than i could possibly dream of doing.
I think Chris had a beautiful dream.. Obviously it wasn’t perfectly executed, but he had the nerve to want something, and make it his own, no matter what. He was a dreamer, and in some ways, an inspiration to us all. Those who want to point fingers at him, and call him names are just as guilty of being “selfish” and “stupid” in their daily lives. NO ONE IS PERFECT! It was his life to live, and his dream, and kudos to him for living his dream.
“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” Matthew 7:3. Chris Mccandless’ story struck a deep chord with me. Nobody has the right to judge Chris for what he did. Instead, we should look at how his story applies to our own lives. We all have a little Chris Mccandless in us, we just have to realize it.
I agree with Swishersweet’s one comment in his/her dissertation:
No matter what Christopher McCanless was about, no matter what reasons he had for his trek, his final comment was:
“happiness is only real when shared.”
To me that says it all. This person sought solitude and mental clarity and simple life alone. When he got there, he realized that only through interaction with another human being can life be worthwhile.
Kat
I apologize. I misspelled Chris’s name. It should be McCandless.
I’ve achieved my dreams. My dreams were to work for myself as a consultant by the time I was 28, with a paid off mortgage, been doing that for ten years. Have a successful marriage with a content happy woman, who was good in bed, have kids and work from home never starting earlier than 10am and never needing to answer to a boss or having my mobile phone go off at unpredictable times because they wanted me in a stupid “meeting” or on a “conference call”. Spend plenty of time reading to and playing games with my kids, picking them up from and dropping them off to school. My life is good and I’m happy with things. I expect I’ll be happy for at least another 24 years.
If CMC lived his dream then his dream must have been slowly starving to death and dying alone. Cause that is what happened to him.
DIMITRI-
why 24 years? Exactly 24 years from now will you be like “oh shit, I’m not happy anymore?” That’s beside the point. You obviously have the emotional capacity of a retard if you cannot see why Chris was happy in following his dream, although it lead to a possibly unnecessary death. You will follow the beaten path and be happy in your own way; good for you. But for others, there is much more out there. Write that down.
dimitrY, my bad
And I’m not as dumb you.
Chris died. Northeast appearantly doesn’t get that. Dimitry does. Others do. Many don’t. I think Dimitry’s point was that he didn’t follow a “beaten path”, but that he followed his dream. And his dream, a good dream, includes NOT starving to death.
Nonetheless it has provided the rest of us with interesting entertainment – discourse, books, a movie.
Maybe a few more of you that are empathizing with Chrs could off yourselves in intersting ways. I don’t know maybe sky dive without a parachute, play a friendly game of russian roulette, go for a swim with some crocodiles – use your imagination. The more creativity, the more likely you will be immortalized in print and film. It’s fun for the rest of us.
See this is what Chris did. He said, “I’m going to do something so freakin stupid, that if I survive, the experience will be amazing.”
I imagine standing in front of a wild african elephant would be an amazing experience. You know.. right up until that part where it bores out your insides with its’ tusk.
Chris died. Don’t you get that?
Sure, I definately get that Chris died in an unnecassary and ill-prepared way. Did you read the book? Jon Krakauer includes a chapter where he describes his journey to climb Devil’s thumb, a very hard solo ascent. From your perspective, “i’m from the northeast”, this may seem completely stupid and irresponsible. I see it as very necessary. Everyone needs to test themselves at least once, to push the limits and find themselves in some way. In my opinion, not doing so is a disservice to oneself. Chris just pushed the limits a little too far. As others have mentioned earlier, he failed to find a balance that would enable him to survive. Jon survived and seems to have lived a complete life. I am not saying everyone needs to go live in the Alaska wilderness for a long period of time, but I can clearly see why Chris did so. I can identify with that need, as can many others, becasue it is a basic human instinct wether we want to realize and accept it or not. The fact that Chris died is pretty insignificant to me when compared to how he chose to live.
GABBY- I am 17 as well, and I completely agree
Northesst, that is one of the most articulate demonstrations of naivety that I have eve read. “The fact that Chris died is pretty insignificant..”
It is wholly sgnificant, there would be no books, no movie, no discourse, no significance without his death.
I did not mean it in that sense. What I was trying to say is that at least he died happy living life to the fullest. The fact that he died was very significant, it is the reason why we are having this conversation. You just took what I said out of context.
I saw the movie and I remembered something… What Chris had done – this going into the wild – , that is exactly something I imagine(d) to do (only!) if the most precious person in my life would die (I can’t imagine to go on as before in such a case). I imagined to go into the wild, travel the world,…enjoy the nature and solitude…find peace, and come out living or die there, whatever. … interesting… I haven’t thought about that for some time because I am happy and content, no need to go away.
I respect the idea that this man had,but to go back to the wild on this planet one must see that its kill or be killed ,eat or be eaten, and it does not seem like he had that nature. i think in away he killed himself, some how he lost the will…or i would hate to say if he really thought he would live off the land for real, he was not very smart.As he did not look at the land around him to know there was a river crossing very close,and also a major high way.Also to hunt your on food and perseve it would take a great deal of know how, to try to do this with out any real trainning would be like suicide.What ever happend to this man may he rest in peace.
I’m portuguese and I dont speak/write very well (as you can see)
Yesterday, I’ve ended the reading of the book and saw the film.
I cant imagine the biggeness of american territory. My country is very small when compared.
I understand that one can feel the apeal of the big spaces and wilderness.
Who am I to judge anyone who pursuited a goal like Chris did?
I think he wasnt stupid or admirable.
I think he was unlucky.
If he was able to came back and cross that river, he probably will be admired for is adventures in the wild.
Who can say what he will do after the return? Its’s logical to think that he return to his family or to one of the places he stayed in that two years travel.
There’s much people like him that, after a similar experience, get married and had a job and a carrer.
He was unluck, thats all.
what a majority of people on this site are not taking into consideration is the fact that we are essentially not living for other people, we are living for ourselves. you are the only person that you can truly depend on in life and if your day to day life is not making you happy, then you should do whatever it is that you feel will make you happy. granted, for most people it would not be as extreme as doing what McCandless did, but that is what he felt necessary to do to make him happy and feel a sense of fulfillment.
so, before judging Chris, think about if you felt such a strong urge to do what you thought was right your whole life, but had to ignore it because it was not accepted. Think about what you would do to in that situation. the ones who have the guts would do it, the cowards would stand back and call us idiots.
I have read the book Into the Wild twice, and I found it very appealing, very real and worth reading. I saw the movie as well. There’s something great about traveling that I think Chris found in his travels. Whether he was compassionate or not, stupid or just mislead from the books he read, life is adventurous. I think now that we’re in the 21st century we have forgotten this adventurous spirit in us. And McCandless just reminded me, (and us who are into nature, traveling, and challenges) that we can do things we love. If McCandless was not smart by not taking enough supplies into the wild, or just wasn’t nice enough to his family after he left…. all that doesn’t matter. All of us have pasts, and all of us have flaws as he did. *So he didn’t do it the way you would of liked to do it*. Remember Judging is not the way, but it is the way he lived freedom that one should note.
Chris knew what he wanted to do with his life and he did it, for this he should be admired. How many of us are really living our lives, without regret? I will be pleased if my son lives his life with that kind of passion, for any thing! Don’t admire him for the mythical character his death has made him, look at how he lived.
I never knew chris mccandless so I can only speculate on his predicament and the way it has been endorsed and exploited by others. it seems he was overcome with a desire and set his body into a desired place accordingly; a self oriented sojourn that ended with a reluctant death. I cannot honestly call him a fool or a hero, but just a young man who attempted to walk away from civilization (it may or may not be relevant that he took a civilized tool with him or that he lived and died in an abandoned vehicle). I am unsure exactly what he did that was socially significant, but obviously people have looked to the aftermath of his behavior and found significance there. the writer whose novel popularized chris and his fate created a legend and yet I see more of an interesting anthropological story than I do a messianic epic in what impartial facts exist. but provocative points do stem from the glorification of this man’s struggle. the fact that society is not a human invention or contrivance but a natural aspect of our species yet the equal fact that certain individuals find a need or desire to challenge or escape the boundaries of a domesticated world. this type of behavior may seem heroic but in essence I think it is the self searching for meaning. words like selfish can be applied as these behaviors can hurt others (like say family) but this is not to say that the individual feels that he has a choice in his actions.
I have a strong connection to atmospheres in the natural world. since early childhood I have felt moments of a kind of calming bliss which have given me more positive validation in my existence than anything else I have experienced. if I were to be starving I would fight and kill to eat, not simply to survive, but so that I could maintain the balance required to experience this bliss. but I see masses that do not reflect my own experiences and who in fact seem to mock them indirectly with every turn. I see group logic as infecting banal and boorish. I see bumper sticker philosophies and hear tape loops chanting popular science and popular nihilism and not a voice among them seems to be unique. all temporal sheep of one kind or another, either slavishly following or slavishly commanding. rulers and followers all together slaves and sheep. conditioned realities and conditioned dreams. if I cry out at this or if I abandon it all am I being heroic or selfish or hypocritical or naïve? I would say that none of these terms apply. Rather I would suggest that I am simply one whose chemistry is such that I am driven, possibly against reason and respect, toward an individualistic end.
what I see in this man, chris mccandless, much maligned and glorified here is simply another individual in a world of individuals who sought something out and died in his search. maybe less time and energy should be applied to whether he was a fool and or a hero and to condemning or debating with people who don’t share one’s personal preference than should be spent discussing the issues of the individual and the social that this man’s predicament seem to call into relevance. or better yet, if possible, turn off the machines and take a walk outside. sometimes the trees have much more profound things to say than people.
Conquering fear is the greatest feeling in the world. How hard is it to tell a girl you like her, or stand up to your boss, fight it out with someone you know to be wrong or to simply go against the grain in a normal everyday circumstance.
Chris found strength and conquered his fears. He made a decision, even if it was a bit fool hearty.
Can I do this? Can I prove this to myself? Am I man enough?
Who am I really? What is my purpose?
We must find strength and meaning and noone can tell you where to find this. It doesn’t seem Chris was trying to prove anything to anyone other than himself. Impressive.
To become a man, a boy must venture out and kill a lion. It is this act that propells him to manhood. Where is this act in our society? Who determines when we are men?
Chris had to do something to become the man he wanted to be. It was his choice and his mission. We are lucky to be able to scrutinize such a mission to perhaps better find ourselves.
Leave it at that people. God Bless the journey and hope all of us find meaning and strength enough to become the person we want to be~
Peace in the Middle East~~~~~~>
jesus Freaking christ Kristina,
You don’t have to get so pissed. I like the dude too BECAUSE OF HIS TRAGIC FLAWS (which we all know are part of every hero/protagonist’s skill set) but can’t you see how stupid and inconsiderate of the forces of nature his planning (or lack thereof) was. Just because an amazing writer has put his morbid journey of self loathing into beautiful prose does not make what he did anymore glorified. He has been romanticized to be a man who saw beauty everywhere he looked because of his ability to quote at will much more enlightened men, but I know from life experience that surrounding beauty cannot be truly experienced and appreciated unless an inner peace resulting from the love of the true self has been apprehended by the intellect and more importantly the heart of a man. The titans of literature whom he often quoted were men of that caliber, but his shallow ejaculations of there convictions were nothing more than the failing dogma of his own misguided religion. He didn’t hate society as much as he claimed as was betrayed by his dying message to us. He hated and misunderstood himself and that is why he is dead. Make no mistake Chris J. McCandless was not enlightened in himself or by his experiences. If anything he was blind to their implications. In fact, his dying revelation was only profound from his own perspective due to the hurt and perversion of love he had to endure at the hands of his family as a young boy. I feel bad for him. His final epiphany was “shared happiness is the only true happiness”. I have been intuitively aware of this from birth. It is sad that what I would consider to be a basic truth, encoded in my very being, was that young man’s ultimate life realization. He was just another Timothy Treadwell. He thought he was a deeply misunderstood individual but what was he really? He was an individual who deeply misunderstood himself and his relation to the universe which surrounded him. He had no respect for nature and the wild for what it is but instead animated it with characteristics which he wished and fantasized it to have; a fatal mistake when dealing with the Mother Goddess. Furthermore he showed a lack of appreciation for human relationships, rejecting amazing chances for meaningful connections with people (who are our closest representation of the divine). I think his rejection of others stemmed from a basic fear either of his own rejection or more likely of the ties and responsibilities which human relationships and friendship impose. Not surprising, if you assume he was either consciously or subconsciously aware that he was to eventually push himself to the point of death. I see him as a boy who was subjected by outside forces of putrification in his own soul and couldn’t find the power within himself to overcome that rot until confronted with the desperation of his final moment in this life. I just hope, for his sake, that he worked all that bad Karma out before gasping that last breath so that next time around he can progress into putting his efforts towards something fresh. Transient existence is not a race and so long as he achieved something, however small, his soul and therefore our soul, the soul of the universe isn’t the worst for it. In short Kristina, I too feel the need to defend the underdog, but I have to say that Chris was only the underdog in his own evaluation of self and therefore needs no defending from you, so please don’t be so hard on everyone for pointing out the obvious flaws of his fallacies, however callous their observations may seem to you. After all, when is the last time YOU got of YOUR ass and did something truly profound? We all eventually do what has to be done for ourselves. That is the nature of reincarnation. Like I said previously it is not a race and in their defense, material is a necessity for physical existence and although erroneous, the materialistic attitude which follows is only natural for most people. Furthermore, there is nothing beautiful about dying without experiencing love and if it takes gasping your dying breath to see this then that only makes your death more tragic. Be inspired, just please don’t hero worship Chris McCandless for what he did. He did what he had to do for himself but it would be a shallow exercise in futility for the majority of us.
Peace
Suvonoge@yahoo.com
NO. 8. DOUG PNW.
Very well put indeed.
CHRIS SAW HOW SAD AND SICK AMERICAN SOCIETY TRULY IS, HE HAD THE WANDERLUST IN HIS HEART AND HAD TO CHASE HIS DREAM. THE SUBURBS BECAME THE CAGE OF HIS SOUL.HE WAS LIVING, WHILE MOST IN THIS WORLD ARE MERELY SLEEPING, UNCONCIOUS OF THE WORLD AROUND THEM THAT SO NEEDS TO BE EXPLORED AND APPRECIATED BY MORE PEOPLE. HE DIDNT WANNA LIVE LIKE MOST OF YOU, LIVING HOW TV TELLS THEM TO. WORK, BUY SHIT YOU DONT NEED, HOME, TV , SHIT, EAT , DIE.
YES, HE WAS YOUNG AND NAIVE IN THINKING HE COULD TAKE ON NATURE, BUT ATLEAST HE TRIED TO DO SOMETHING THAT HE WANTED, NOT WHAT OTHEES WANTED TO DICATATE HIS LIFE TO BE. IM A 20 YEAR OLD FEMALE, THIS SUMMER I WENT TO AFRICA WITH A BACKPACK AND 500$. IM JUST LUCKY I SURVIVED MY DREAM… CHRIS’S DREAM IMPACTED MORE PEOPLE THAN HE’LL EVER KNOW… TO WAKE UP AND LIVE!!!!!!!!
chris is just one thing:real truth.
Chris should have known that there was a KFC within 5 miles from where he stayed. Might have confused it for KFM (moose).
that’s the point:he could have gone to that bloody KFC anytime, if he really wanted to…he arrived to Alaska because he wanted to….i think he just thought that THAT wouldn’t be part of his real journey…
“If you want something in life reach out and grab it”
“Into the wild” helped me find true meaning of life. I understood that human relationships isn’t main thing in this world like i though before.
Chris McCandless thank you
you changed my life
rest in peace
There isn’t anything wrong with embracing nature or living a unique life outside of society. Being fed up myself regarding the selfish, materialistic, plastic society of today, I can understand why a person would choose to live his life on his own terms and by his own rules. Except that it is extremely naive and misguided to deny the fact that Mother Nature has very harsh rules herself. Your own body has deep physiological needs that must be obeyed. I am all for congratulating anyone who has the courage to live their own life in the way they see fit. I applaud them. But to glorify and romanticize a slow suicide is something I just cannot do. Too much freedom can be a noose. Christopher was a man lost. Nobody wants to die alone in a filthy bus of starvation. Sad pointless and totally preventable.
it wasnt that he hurt so he ran from the world, which is clearly shown by his personality and the people who knew him, it wasnt that he wanted to be remembered or revered for being some all knowing idealist, he fucking did what he wanted . if any of you have ever been out in nature, such as a nice walk through the woods in the summer and looked around at everything, all the beauty and amazing complexities of nature that work exactly how they must to live, or even the non livivng things like a rock smoothed by water, or even the soil which is the product of the entire earths life span and all the creatures until now you would see why he did what he did, because he wanted to, his loving sister didnt own him, he didnt owe anything to his mother or father, yeah they were hurt by his dissapearance and death, but they dont own him, if your family is upset by you doing what you want then they, not you are the selfish ones, and even that wasn shown by krakauer, saying that his sister knew he was doing what he wanted and that made her happy. so fuck everyone who thinks he was selfish or foolish. oh, and also, he may have not been well prepared for alaska, but it wasnt like it was the middle of winter, it was possible to survive and if he was going to survive im sure he would have researched more and learned what he needed to in order not to die, but he was there for the simple fact of living and doing new things that he felt he wanted to, and part of that was surviving knowing what he knew, and that my friends is an amazing thing and i feel if more people saw this the woorld would be a much happier place instead of a place where people like chris are condemned for doing what makes them happy :)
This comment came to me by email. I reprint it here with permission. NVB.
I have recently seen the Movie ‘Into the Wild’. I was extremely moved with this movie. Here was a young man who yearned for something far more in life than what our present society offers. He was on a spiritual search, to find his inner true nature and Self, and he wasn’t content to live with less than that. History is full of courageuos souls who walked the same path. Read the lives of the Saints, and you quickly realise that in the modern world some of them would have been locked up as insane, simply because they didn’t accept and couldn’t adhere to the materialism and shallowness of their day. They were on the same journey as Chris.
My own son at the age of 25, and struggling with ill health since adolescence, left his home and his loved and loving family to go and live in a small tent in a county area with few clothes and utensils. He wanted to grow self reliant, to be independent and learn to do for himself . He worked nearby at local wineries, until his failing health forced him onto a disability pension. My son Rod, like Chris spurned the materialism and hollowness of much of our modern lifestyle. He like Chris was searching for his true nature and Self. He questioned why did not our western civilisation know or understand the importance of the ancient rites of initiation into manhood, why did not our youth have strong male role models to follow and why were they left to flounder in a materialistic society with numerous pitfalls for our youth to fall into.
He finally moved to a semi remote rural area 3 hours drive from his family. His shattered nervous system could no longer cope with the noise, and pollution of suburban living. Here he found rental accomodation by the ocean, where he strove to try and recover his health, care for himself, establish a garden, grow organic vegies, do a little bartering, and reach out to others a friendly helping hand. This was Rod’s walk. Chris did what he felt compelled to do. They both had a higher vision, mostly not often understood by those who are satisfied with the status quo.
Rod’s life also ended in death. For five years he bravely and courageuosly struggled to do his best with family support. On his request, I moved in with him to care for him for his last year. During that year he wrote a book of his life, his struggles, his thoughts and feelings on society etc,which we his family have also published to try and fulfil Rod’s hope that it would somehow make a difference in the world. When Rod’s health deteriorated to the point where he could not live a fulfilling and productive life, without being dependent on me, he tragically, bravely and courageously ended his life.
We his family loved him, tried to understand his journey, and love him still. We know that he made the best decision he could make for himself. He took responsibility for his own life and death and on his own terms.
This is what Chris McCandless did, he followed his heart, made the decisions he felt the best for him, and at least decided his own destiny, No one took his life from him, he was his own man. People may judge him foolish, but I say we need more men like him. In a time when people are losing their lives every day to drugs and alcohol, give us men like Chris, adventurous, brave, independent and daring.
Those willing to accept the consequences for their own actions, those who like Chris can raise up a role model to those youth ready and ripe to fall into the drug/alcohol trap, and often to die an inglorious death.
Chris McCandless I salute you, and I honour you, as I also do your wonderful family who have made this story available. Thank you.
Rod’s mother
My comment about chris : “Man…you gave a lot of thought to every body….from negative to positive”…
But one think I learned from you : “you just teach us that “Life is Happy only when it shared”…..That’s we human all about…..connected each other, know each other, and respect each other”……who ever you are : Black, white, Asia, Africa, muslim, christ, budha, hindu…….”……you’ll happy only when you shared.
Thanks Chris……you inspired us.
Donal Husni.
I read a couple of the posts but honestly there was just too many to go through them all. For one, I don’t think that his journey should be held in such a high account OR such a low account. He did what he did because he wanted to. It isn’t heroic to step outside and go live in the wild. It is, however, inspiring to me that people want something and go after (whatever it is) instead of conforming to the standards of today. Who are we to say whether he did it for the wrong or right reasons? You truly never know someone or their motivations unless you live their life. I do think that he should have had a map or some sort of back up plan. He had no plan B and that was just a lapse of judgment or plain ignorance.
To those of you who are from Alaska I understand why you dislike this whole thing being idolized but I don’t think you should have a hate for him in particular. It is not his fault people interpret his journey for something that it could or could not have stood for. After all, I think that his journey was something very personal to him and I am unsure if he would even like all the hype surrounding it. I also feel (not that I know) that those of you that live in Alaska, however proud you are, need to understand that many of us DON’T grow up in such a beautiful place. Step outside your own shoes for a second and think about living in the lower 48. Why shouldn’t we want to come to Alaska?
The last thing I’m going to say is that I live in Chris’ hometown and I think that a lot of you don’t know what it’s like to live here. This is the second richest county in the nation and it feels trapping a lot of the time. Everyone that lives here is constantly money-hungry and in full rush mode. It really wares you down some times. It isn’t like the suburbs of LA or NY or any other city. Here, in the suburbs of DC there is one type of job mainly and that is the government. We don’t have most “scenes” that other cities do … here 75% of people don’t know what their parents do for a living or can’t talk about it because it’s government related. It’s a really different atmosphere here and I believe personally that it’s this atmosphere that made him want to break away. It’s not that hard to imagine.
Anyway .. it’s just my two cents. It is what it is, he did what he did. Let the guy rest in peace.
Every mistake defines a life.
Every love must be learned.
Every moment good and bad,
is one less left.
Every love defines a life.
Every person dies alone.
Being ignorant
of one’s ignorance,
is the malady
of the ignorant.
47 Leah
Perhaps his parents should have thought about what they put him through. If you treat someone like crap, accept the consequences.
Yeah, providing a quality home in a nice neighborhood and providing him with a quality education is really torture!!!
This glowing magnetic energy that eminated from Chris seemed to spark everyone that crossed paths with him and left those lucky folks with a light that will flicker on and never dim. Some of us are lucky enough to have also crossed paths with that light in its varying intensities. Another of my friends has once again died on a motorcycle, and again I can only say “he died doing what he loved most’ Riding free, in the wind! He too knew the risks. It seems that Chris absolutely loved his journey as Alexander Supertramp. Who am I to say he was selfish? Be he the Hero or the Villian ? Who are we to judge? To some, his exploits unimaginable, others can only dream. He battled with his demons, nature, and in the end had to accept what he could not control. He lived, he wandered, he led an unaccountably full albeit short life. To me he seems to have had a fuller life than some 65 year olds I know. Maybe Chris wasn’t all that comfortable being a terrestrial being. Driven by that wanderlust that I am compelled by causes one to have nature as thy mother and hope that my father is an owl. Hitting the road and saying to myself “I have nothing to lose but my life!” I cannot say his actions were ignorant. His distractions we will never understand. It was his truth, his life. To some it may be raw. To him it might have been peace. He did HIS own thing. A beautiful light in its extreme.
Another young man in search of his dream is Claude Dallas. That tale also has tragedy. It too tells of that desire to live off the land. A boys dream to be a cowboy.
“Give a boy a gun”
Chris is like alaska, untameable. Nobody can truly understand why he did what he did.
He did something that inspired many people to do what you really want to do.
If you want something in life reach out and grab it. joy of life comes from that sentence.
Lets face facts. This jackass threw away what could have been a great life on some bullshit quest to be a transient hobo.
thats it!
OK man. Why does it bother you so much that he died? If it makes you lose your temper for some strange reason, then just forget about it I guess. I think it’s pretty cool that he tried to survive on his own for a summer. He knew the consequences of failure, but he tried it anyway. It’s tragic that he died, but that’s just part of life. I just cannot understand why people have such rage toward the guy! Do you get angry when someone dies from a heart attack because they were obese their whole life? Surely not. How about a high school football player that dies from overexertion or a bad hit? “He shouldn’t have taken that risk” is what I can hear you say. No one’s saying you have to feel sorry for Chris. But surely you can just let it go without becoming enraged at some kid that died while pursuing a dream. If this is human nature, then I’m embarrassed to be a member of this species…
People smoke leaves containing nicotine sulphate one of the most dealy toxins known.
People strap boards on their feet and slide down mountains.
People exceed the speed limit every day going to work.
People drink a liquid substance that kills their brain cells.
People drive ATVs and snowmobiles at high speed through the woods in the dark.
People eat animal fat when they have elevated cholesterol.
People drive cars that release 6000 pounds of carbon dioxide and other toxic substancs into the air per year.
People get into airplanes and go 600 miles an hour. Or jump out of slower ones and hang by cords from a piece of cloth.
People buy tablesaws, and chainsaws, and snowblowers and lawnmowers without any mechanical knowledge.
People spread pesticides and herbicides their lawns without a knowledge of chemistry or even being able to pronounce the names of the chemicals they use. Without a respirator.
And send their kids out to play.
People climb on stepladders to change a lightbulb.
Ohmygod a person actually tried to survive for a few months on what he hunted and gathered, to see whether he could do it on his own merits and abilities. What a maniac.
Without a cell phone, even!
Why couldn’t he be like everybody else?
Well said, Guilf.
I think everyone has the right to do stupid things like smoke, drink, gorge out, and all that stuff you mentioned.
Including Chris, but most of your examples aren’t comparable.
Some of the things you said dont work for the point you’re trying to make.
For example if one chooses to ski, take a flight, speed on the highway, change a light bulb on a step latter most likely they will walk away from the event with their life. The chances are very much in your favor. Thus participating in such activities are not stupid.
The same can not be said for someone who treks into Alaska woefully unprepared.
Its a safe bet that you aren’t coming out alive.
Thats the difference. It dosen’t anger me that he did what he did. Im just sayin call it what it was.
STUPID
Some of you people are on this guys jock. Lets look at the reality. He turned his back on his family, in favor of living like a hobo. Then he followed his dream to Alaska and died. Just so I’m making my self clear I dont have a problem with any of that. To each his own. What blows my mind is that everyone adds all these positive traits to this guy like hes some kind of hero. Im not sayin he was worthless, just he was no better no worse then then the rest of us. Not worthy of admiration. Just a normal guy thats a little stupider then the rest.
Michael
It does not bother me that he died.
It does not make me lose my temper.
I also cant understand why people have such rage for the guy.
I do not get angry when someone dies from a heart attack because they were obese their whole life.
I do not get angry when a high school football player dies from over exertion or a bad hit.
I am not of the view point that the football player shouldnt have taken the risk. Thats a view point you projected on to me. Its wrong. Nothing Ive said even points in that direction.
I am not enraged with that kid that died while pursing a dream. When I decide to move on from this topic Ill do so as mild tempered as when i found this topic.
Im sorry you are embarrassed.
He didn’t go to Alaska, he entered the realm of myth. And it took him.
And he may have been unprepared for that. But ultimtely it seems like he accepted it. It was his doing, he seemed to understand that. He went where people don’t go.
The myth place is The Wild. He wanted to enter The Wild. You can call it by other names, too.
If you don’t believe in that, then, naturally, you’ll see it as a bunch of BS. And in this society, as opposed to many native societies, you’re probably right.
If you do believe in that, then you see this as a different kind of story.
I live in the northern woods, though not as severe a place as the woods he entered. And sometimes when I’m in it, it’s the woods, and sometimes when I’m in it, it’s not just the woods.
If you haven’t experienced that, you’ve got your head on your shoulders good and square, and you probably never will, so this will all seem dumb. Again, you’re right on your terms, and no argument here to try to convince you to experience it in any other way.
We all have different experiences and relate to others, and our inner selves in personally unique ways. We all see the world differently, too.
I am interested in this story and this person because I believe he wasn’t just trying to rough it in a hard place. I think he was trying to go someplace we don’t (and he didn’t) understand, and that’s a frightening and brave thing to do.
When you go there, you tend to take nothing with you. I think that’s the evidence it was his inner intent. That’s why he took so little. I don’t think he was stupid. I think not knowing was purposeful.
I think he knew the likely result, too, before he went. He wrote about it that way, made his goodbyes without explaining much. You can’t take others there. Not friends, not family. Do you want them worrying you won’t come back, when you are deliberately setting out to very likely, not come back?
It’s a disturbing story. I wish it hadn’t happened. Yet I cannot dismiss it, or him. And I believe there is something important in it. Now. In this world.
There are worse things than death. Life without life.
first of all look at how many of us are here judging him and what he did…. if it wasnt for the movie most of us probably wouldnt know anything about him, none of us knew him so why judge him… for all we know the things we do know about him might be only like 2% true. he didnt like his life and wanted to learn more about himself so he went on a journey to try and find something better for himself.. and from what i have learned about him he got what he wanted. he ended up dead but im sure if he was alive he would tell u how much he doesnt regret anything he did
“the core of mans spirit comes from new experiences”, btw i loved the movie , great quotes, great music, one of my favorites so fuck all u haters
and judging by the movie (i am also going to read the book soon) i dont think what he did was wrong or he did it in spite of his parents. he was grown, his parents relationship wasnt going anywhere, his sister was old enough.. so why is it wrong that he wanted to get away from a world that he did not enjoy. he had a dream to go to alaska and he did that, im sure he wasnt expecting to die. im sure everyone that saw the movie enjoyed it so thank him for that, dont judge him. the only reason i would call him stupid is because he had a loving sister who he left behind and he just graduated from college and couldve done something with his life instead of hurting people, but i praise him for being so brave.
This is not for anyone to say. What did or did not motivate this man. Maybe he chose to have no map, or training. Maybe he did not want to die, but at the same time was o.k. with nature claiming him. Its to easy for the experienced outdoorsman like myself to get all riled up about what could have been. We will never no. And thats the beauty of it. Thats what drives us. Chris was a fellow human that I would have been honored to have had as a friend. His family loves him dearly. And he loved
can you remember how much money christopher mccandless gave to which organization before leaving ?
coucou
This morning I finished reading the book Into the Wild. Being a mother of two, my heart goes out to Chris’ mother, Billie. I had to close the book and walk away when I read how she visited the bus and was first to enter and was sitting on the mattress where her son died. My heart broke for her. I remember holding my babies in my arms for the first time. And I am sure that thought crossed her mind at that moment.But no one has the right to judge any person for what they may or may have not done with the life that was given to them. As a mother I hold my children to no unspoken debt to pay to myself, their father, or to society in a whole. They did not ask to be born. When life is given to a creature it is theirs. I don’t think I was sad for Billie because she felt as if he had abandoned them. But rather that I would have been proud to be his mother and that I would hope he found whatever it is he was looking for. We all look for something in life. Very few of us even can place a finger on whatever it is we are searching for………but Chris had the guts to try. He had a very short, but a very pure, bold life and obviously left many in his wake that are in awe of him. Those that critisize him may only be envious of his journey. My goal for my own life is to be as honest and pure. I chose to have the responsibility of a parent and a wife.So I must put the emotional and physical needs of my family ahead of my own, But in no way do I consider Alex’s choices to be selfish . Our journeys are all different. We can waste time trying to pick apart why he didn’t do certain things that would have made it easier or ensured his survival, but that was who he was. Beautiful, amazing, raw. We need to focus on our own lives and make sure that we are just as true to ourselves as he was. He never put any other lives at risk and he had a true respect for life itself. Hence the moose….I am not surprized that he chose to die naturally. That may have been his last journey. To embrace nature even as it embraced him in death. I will remember this book for a long time to come. My heart goes out to his family……….I am sure that he loved them very much. He may have harbored dissapointment for his father only because he loved him and admired him so very much to start out with. We all have our dissapointments….some hurt more than others. Hopefully as the younger generations grow older they will start to see paternal and maternal figures as human beings capable of mistakes also and learn to forgive. Forgiveness and respect for young and old. God, you would think I have laundry to do or something. Sorry for babbling on and on.
Yes, 24 thousand to oxfam, the charity dedicated to fighting famine and hunger.
Consumerism, conspicuous consumption. Harvesting wheat. Working at McDonalds. The all consuming desire for truth. The hunt for food. Eating that which does not feed. The food that starves.
very well put kristin :] only if more people saw it the same way u did
It was a very brave and inspirational thing that Chris did. He went for his dream and not very many people do that. I wish i could have the balls to go out and sleep on dirt everynight and hitchhike all the way to a far away place. Thank you Chris. He made me realize that its not all about money and a good home and family. You don’t need any of those things in order to be happy. Follow your dreams and your heart. You may not have another chance. Go WILD!!!!
I LOVE CHRISTOPHER McCANDLESS!!!!
<3 Love always,
Christina Doster
Chris did a very brave and inspirational thing. He went out there and followed his dreams. He slept on dirt and hitchhiked all the way to a far away place. He made me realize that you don’t need money, a good home or family to be happy.
I LOVE CHRIS McCANDLESS
I agree with RP’s comments at 198 & 199.
By reading the majority of your posts’ I feel as misguided and taken advantage of as a blind man playing scrabble with a bunch of Gypsies.
You insult my intelligence with your poppycock hogwash colloquy.
RP….Post on brother…Post on
Michael B. (I am sure we know what the B stands for) Your smug, lackadaisical, contemptuously impertinent attitude sickens me. Please do not confuse odium towards you & your delusory obiter dictum for “becoming enraged”.
Chris was a myopic errant. He hadn’t the mental nor physical means to undertake this peregrination.
His inadvertent pullulating erroneous decision culling indubitably points to the fact that he: Lacked the mental ability to perceive or distinguish ANY realistic far-sighted working plan.
The cogitation that this escapes you racks my mind.
Chris strikes me as a profound innately un-witted, inept fool.
From reading your posts’ alone, one would envisage a man who is unmatched, unparalleled, & unsurpassed in perspicacity and acumen. The above language is indicative that Chris’ idiocy and illogicality is deserving of prodigious plaudits. You speak as though he was both stalwart & venerable.
Sad yet true, your encomium in the form of the above compendium of Chris M., Is the summation of monotonous talk filled with platitudes; rendering both trite & banal statements.
Chris was an irrationally adventuring, nonsensical excursionist. He was not prodigious in luminosity, and charisma. He is the inverse antonym, invariably teeming with faux pas, obliquity, & temerarious actions.
His multitudinous erroneous blunders are an atrocity!
How he managed to survive to the point of adulthood baffles me; yet, reminds me that one (Chris M.) does have the ability to physically mature whilst remaining a mental infant.
SAY SOMETHING NOW RP…….
You were a real tough guy before, but you ain’t got nothin’ to say now do you PUNK!
I didn’t think so.
You strike me as tha’ type of guy that scratches his ass, picks his nose, than bites his finger nails. I hope someone introduces you to a Belgian steamer.
As a person who lives in Alaska because I couldn’t live anywhere else, I loved the movie and his quest. I don’t understand the hate for him, but it does illustrate one of the societal traits he despised. Being an Alaskan, an outdoorsman, and someone who travels many hundreds of miles a week, in the middle of nowhere, when I saw him go into the wild, I was amazed at how unprepared he was. Alaska if a very, very unforgiving place and I think he was completely oblivious of that fact. It was good that he waited until spring to come here or he would have died much sooner, as temperatures in that area can hover around -50F for weeks on in, in winter.
I think he did a great job at surviving as long as he did, but ultimately, reality showed up and he paid the ultimate price. If he didn’t die from poisoning himself, he still might have died from starvation due to being trapped and the lack of food in the area. I am not judging him only coming to conclusions with the info offered.
As for his quest, when I watched the movie, I can totally identify with what he was doing and his quest. I’m not going to get into if he was right or wrong, smart or ignorant. His trek was an amazing one, and what he experienced, most people will never experience in a much longer life, and that speaks volumes into what he was able to do. Seriously, how many could just burn/donate all of your money and just wing it with no real plan, other than a plan to get to a certain destination. He probably learned more about himself than 99% of people on this planet will ever know about themselves. Look at all of the talk about his quest and you will see, in his death, he has taught many people about the good and bad in certain ideals and man’s never ending search for the truth. Brave or naive he took life by the balls and said, “give me your best shot”. Ultimately, he died, but in all actuality, he realized the dream he chased so hard, for so long, and who knows, maybe he died the happiest he had ever been? Maybe his entire quest was the ultimate escape, to actually become part of, one with, nature. He was successful in that endeavor.
As for myself, I have been all over Alaska, and to locations 99% of Alaskans have and will never see. I worked from Anchorage to Fairbanks to the Bering Sea, on the frozen ocean. I worked in mobile camps which traveled from Fairbanks to the Bering Sea over the course of winter, and let me tell you, it was an amazing experience. I’ve been in the middle of fifty moose, dall sheep, polar bears, hundreds of bald eagles, wolverines, wolves, caribou, Mt McKinley, 100’s of other mountains, streams, rivers, vistas, etc., and I can tell you, Alaska is all it seems and more. It is a place for a true adventurer and adventurers who love nature should all make time to experience. I can’t express my love for Alaska enough and the pure, unbridled beauty that it possess. Chris McCandless’ realized this dream of finding the epitome of going “into the wild”.
My recommendation would be to do the same, if that is your quest, but if you decide to do it, you must be prepared, you must be equipped, and you must stay in touch with people in case something bad happens. learn all you can about where you’re going a formulate a plan. A GPS is a true life saver in Alaska as it is very easy to get lost in the wild. This goes for those who are even casual travelers.
In closing I was touched by Chris McCandless’ story and his travels. I am not going to judge him on his personal issues because they are his own and we only know what others have said, and not his own thinking behind it all. Let his travels be a lesson those who are thinking about doing the same. His legacy is one of having the ultimate adventure and paying the ultimate price for being unprepared. His outcome can save lives, in my opinion, so that’s turning a positive into a negative. He will make you think and be more careful, and for that, I thank him.
P.S. After all of my travels in Alaska and my love of nature I have become a serious nature photographer. If any of you want to see some of what you’ can experience in Alaska, check out my photos at http://www.flickr.com/amalgamutt
Good luck to all who strive to learn more about themselves
J Parker, your last comment, which I’ve now deleted, crossed the line by a wide margin. You’ve been banned. Take it elsewhere.
Gino, really terrific photos. I call myself a nature and wildlife photographer some days, but I don’t have many shots like that. If you’re ever interested in sharing some secrets, or advising on lenses, drop me a line.
Good reading your thoughts, too, Gino.
Call him mad, call him an extremist, label him with some commerical brand that exagerates and clouds Christopher McCandless’ true intentions. Read it, watch it, there is method in his “madness”, and therefore it is not madness. Remember the man and what he did, remember his motives, and not these false accusations of insanity, incompetence, it is not who Chris McCandless was.
A man who lived his life the way he wanted to. He freed himself from the ties that bind him and lived his life the way he wanted happy, free and in the moment.
He didn’t want a map he didn’t want a watch he made his own choices, choices that cannot be deemed right or wrong becuase they are his, as soon as they are judged it becomes about the man who judges him and not about the human being and beautiful spirit that was McCandless.
a man who felt his own real truth in life, and found his own meaning.
it was his freedom and his adventure!
love always
x
His search for meaning and adventure could have cost other people their lives. While not in Alaska, I’ve been involved in Search and Rescue in the local mountains where I live and people that go hiking or camping or skiing out of bounds while unprepared could ultimately cost the lives of the people who end up getting tapped to save them. And then there’s the taxpayer cost to a rescue. The kid was likely bipolar and narcissistic.
And Into The Wild has disputed facts regarding Chris McCandless’ death, just as Into Thin Air has other people who were involved in that ill fated summitting of Mt. Everest disputing the events as portrayed by Mr. Krakauer. It seems he may not like the truth getting in the way of a good story.
Watching “Into the wild” made feel incredibly sad, and is also the first movie in a long time that had me thinking about it days afterwards. It touched me so much because I too often think about the things that Chris did before he started on his journey, and so I felt a connection with the story in that way. However, the fact that someone so young and full of potential threw their life away not because of an ideal, but a lack of being prepared, is just something I can’t wrap my head around. The picture of Chris by the 142 bus is haunting. It’s truly a tragedy that he did not live to teach the lessons he’s taught so many in death.
I just watched the movie.
I am 45 years old and have a 15 year old boy.
The mother of the boy left him and me when he was six.
All I can say is McCandless was unprepared for the violence
of Nature. He gambled and he eventually lost.
The one thing that scares me about this film would be
other impressionable boys (for sure mine isn’t) watching
it might get some whacked out rebellious ideas and try
to emulate his lifestyle. Especially ones who are having
problems at home.
That ..would be a big mistake.
Kids with their heads screwed on straight would not have
a problem with this movie..ones who don’t I fear for.
He seems like he was a good soul but even good souls
can die a violent lonely death, especially if they don’t make
preparations and use caution in risky situations.
C’est la vie.
Fuck all of you who think it was selfish
that was directed to the piercedangel bitch
Chris was a brave person that acted selfishly. Life is sometimes to short to worry about others.. he fulfilled his dream, and apparently “had a happy life”. What more can a human ask for? He enjoyed the one life he had, i envy how he felt over those two years, and what he accomplished; however, i do not envy what he did. He left his family out to dry. Contradicting myself, i would like to say he was selfish but did what he had to do to enjoy his life, to do it how HE wanted. Who cares what others want.. HIS WAY.
Ben Zupan
In my opinion I would have to say that regardless of what anyone else claims Chris was a hero. The type of hero that makes everyone feel a little more alive, the type that makes you realize how much more there is to life than what we’re all used to seeing. He chose his path, be it alone, it was his life. And reading all the posts from the experienced hikers….to the parents and the people saying how selfish he acted. Just remember one thing, He impacted all our lives and taught all of us a valuable thing. Maybe its to be a better parent, to be a more prepared hiker, to be more adventurous or to see that life has so much more to offer us. But, I must say take YOUR lesson for what its worth, I only wish I had as much courage as he did to follow all of my dreams.
Bryan
Some points I agree with Bryan and some I don’t.
A hero…no….terry fox is a hero.
Makes everyone feel more alive..yes.
Makes you realize how much more there is too life..yes.
I would not call him selfish.
His own actions did himself in..nobody else.
It was his business.
Only impact he had on my life were the postings I have been making here.
For a kid who was afraid to swim, hiking in the wilds and
taking kayak trips down rapids…you really have to think
this kid had nine lives, and his luck finally ran out.
Some people theorize it wasn’t the poison plant that killed him rather his inability to hunt solid game and sustain
protein intake.
His inability to get across the raging river that had swollen
was also an issue. I can’t believe that was the only crossing. He should have went along the shore of it till he
saw a crossing but I never saw a topographical map of the place. To die alone like he did and how he did on that bus
wasn’t pleasant for him. I bet you he was cursing and regretting he had put himself in that position at that time.
But we’ll never know and based on the legibility of the notes
he left behind, those notes were made while he was still
mobile and not close to the end where he could barely
move.
RIP buddy.
It was his own life. Why does it matter to some people what he did with it? I would rather live my life the way I wanted than live a boring life.
chris is the truth! real truth
I don’t feel like Christopher’s idea was an altogether bad one. Spending some time in the woods, alone, living off the land…it’s something everybody should try, just one. But he went about it in the dumbest way possible. No map? Little supplies? What was he trying to prove? I honestly think that he went out to those woods with the intention of NEVER reentering society, even if it meant dying. Yes, he did make a couple of attempts to go back, but subconsciously, he was absolutely done with this world. It’s very tragic, but at the same time, he WAS a grown (if misguided) man who made a choice.
J Parker is a real peice of shit and obviously guilty of plagerism (214)
I think what Chris did started out as being insightful. He wanted to get away from everything that ruins our country. I think along the way he forgot to love himself and everyone around him. I think he became selfish and lost all site of what he was doing. He made a point to his family, and now they all have to live with the hurt. A very selfish act on his part. He could of lived but he choose not too.
Christopher, I hope you found it. PEACE
Wow lots of thought here!
Its just 1 life not that big a deal, we are all going to die the only difference is how. That was his way, he did what he needed for himself. No one will ever know what was in his true thoughts, or why he did what he did.
I am sure he would agree with me.
Escape from all judgement, dirty society, that we have created. The masses forcing their views on us, in many forms ,day to day. Government is for cowards. He probably wished he was never born in this shit.
There is no peace for humanity in these times.
Social id numbers, birth certificates passports and all the other stupid numbers we are given.
He realized at a ripe age its all BULLSHIT.
How do you all like your life right now?
I have just viewed the movie “Into The wild” and really feel that the movie exploits the spirit of individuality and individuation, and emphasizes values on quixotic tendencies far above what should have been a balance of both autonomy with pragmatism in McCandless’s precarious situation.
During the movie I reflected back to 1977 when I began hitchhiking across America and although there was many experiences that were beneficial life lessons, there was much danger in the very nature of what I felt was at the time an adventure.
In my short six years of hitchhiking which included sleeping in a tent, abandoned cars, abandoned houses, the woods,the wilderness, etc. I can say truly that I hope earnestly that no young person watches this movie and decides to imitate it. The highway today is far more dangerous then it was 30 years ago and it was not safe even then. I can not even remember all the situations in which my life was in jeopardy while hitchhiking, but let me point out just a few.
Once I was picked up near California by a man welding a gun, no he didn’t have the gun out when I first got in, but he soon produced it and began ranting about wanting to get even with all the people who had taken advantage of him or who had slighted him. Now I could have been easily shot if this man had decided to take out his frustration on me an easy target, but luckily I was spared.
Plain old Luck or just coincidence or maybe even some special protection from above,(fighting with this one I’m agnostic), spared me on at least six or seven occasions in the course of my six years of hitchhiking. To believe or be under the impression as the movie attempts to assert in so many ways, that hitchhiking and a nomadic existence is brave, daring or the epitome of individualism is dangerously misleading.
On another occasion I was picked up on the East coast by a young couple who had just ingested some LSD, now this became apparent when they crossed the meridian and began traveling on the wrong side of the highway rushing head on against the oncoming traffic at a rather high rate of speed. Yes I lived through the experience, in retrospect I’m amazed I did. Not to mention the creepy perverts, robbers,thieves who attempt to steal your backpack and what little belongings you possess, psychopaths, and the harassment you receive by the state patrol and local police for hitchhiking and quote “being on my highway” as one state patrol officer told me. Of course maybe the police and state patrol understand the dangers and was just trying to save the hitchhikers some grief.
In Florida while hitchhiking someone actually shot at me and I heard the air breaking as a bullet passed closely to my head, very uncanny feeling to say the least. I’m not even going to mention all the other obvious dangers in hitchhiking and a nomadic existence so glorified in this movie, you the reader have the common sense and capacity to figure that one out.
Life is an adventure in itself without enhancing the dangers, too bad Chris McCandless had to find out the hard way with no preparation resulting in his loss of life. Take the advantages you are given in life and avoid the pitfalls if possible, Hollywood is here to entertain not educate.
First of all, piercedangel is a moron. Nuff said there. There was nothing selfish in the slightest over what Christopher McCandless did in fact, it was quite the opposite. What is selfish are the people in our lives who think when their children reach adulthood they still have the final say in whatever path their children choose to take.
He didn’t help anyone but himself? Really now. When was the last time anyone posting on this forum ever wrote out a check and gave every penny they had in the world to charity! Not a damn one of us, that much you can take to the bank.
What he did show us is how life actually was meant to be lived–peacefully, non-intrusive and uncontrolling. He decided to control his own destiny, choosing not to be shackeled by our inclination to live as others feel we should live. That makes people like piercedangel very uncomfortable because deep down they know that they don’t have the guts to do anything without a guarantee.
It would be nice if all the people who say they are concerned about his family’s pain would stop calling their son stupid and selfish. I don’t think it would be easy to read a blog full of public criticism if I lost a family member, no matter what the cause. Outrage is not empathy.
And the argument that others lives could have been lost in some (hypothetical) volunteer rescue attempt should apply those standards to all non-sedentary behavior.
Let’s make all outdoor sports illegal, for a start. Boating, skiing, fishing, hiking, mountain climbing, flying, heck, driving. These could all pose risks to others who might volunteer to help in an emergency. Let’s all stay at home and watch TV. And eat raw food to reduce the risks to fire departments. Surely, we could do that as a responsibility to others.
I doubt there’s ever been a person who died in the entire history of mankind, who didn’t hasten that moment through some choice, preference, lifestyle, inadvertence, or lack of foresight. Or more than one of those. Or a lifetime of it.
If only I’d worn a coat. Made a left turn. Gotten an x-ray. Stopped smoking. Stayed in bed. Ordered the chicken. Had my blood pressure checked. Stayed at that job. Left that job. Taken my pills. Stopped taking pills. Exercised. Slowed down. Stayed awake. Slept. Gone to the hospital. Stayed away from the hospital. Not thrown that stone.
He was selfish. He didnt achieve his goal and he didnt live life the way he wanted. He died asking for help.
Thats all.
How would that make him different than you or me?
Never been selfish? Always met your goals? Life went the way you wanted it right up to the end? On your way out, will you be afraid, ask anyone, say at a hospital, for help?
How are you any more, or less, admirable than someone else, actually, just like you?
If you’ve got an answer for that with a righteous and perfectly planned life, please do the rest of us a favor and write an autobiography, so we can take lessons from your exemplary behavior and fabulous luck.
Otherwise, we all do the wrong thing, fairly frequently. Especially from the point of view of others.
I really think he found what he was looking for – and it was himself – not Alexander Supertramp, but Chris McClandless. The fact that he died while doing that makes it poetic and ironic – but I really don’t think there are really any larger lessons to be learned from his death. And you know, finding out, I mean really finding out, what it’s all about for yourself -man – if he accomplished that, he’s ahead of most of us.
And I have to say that knowing, even if it’s way back in your mind somewhere, but nonetheless knowing, that you had money, that you had someone to stake you when you get back from your adventure – knowing that, at whatever level, allows you to take some chances you might not otherwise take. Yes, money can make you cautious – if you need it to survive, or more importantly, to help others survive (like your kids or family). But knowing you have it waiting for you, even if you don’t want it, gives one a certain insulation from that caution.
I probably have a jaded view of the whole $ issue as I have seen too many trustfunders out doing good knowing that after they dip their little toe into the underbelly of society they can always return to the comforts and privileges that have given them the freedom to think and act the way they do in the first place.
While i dont have a problem with people making their own choices in life, or choosing their own path. What Chris did was indeed selfish. Mad at you parents or not, running off into the wilderness unprepared to face whats ahead of you only to end up killing yourself is incredibly selfish and narcissistic as well as stupid. He had people in his life who loved him deeply, no matter how flawed they were, they still loved him all the same. I a previous posted stated, his sister. She didnt nothing to him but love him. Why should she suffer because her brother thought he saw something glorious in ditching society? i know as a big brother with a sister only a few years younger then me who adores me, she would be crushed if anything like this happened to me. While its not on the same par as suicide is pretty close. Had chris at least contacted his family, even if was just his sister to let them know he was happy and doing well, just to give them peace of mind. that might have made his adventure something more to appreciate. But since he didnt, and left for utterly selfish reasons. its just another thing for selfish people to romanticize. Running away from society and claiming is some type of “soul searching spiritual adventure” is just another excuse to run away from the pressures of life. Unless of course you left the ones you love know you plans have every intention of returning safely.
Alright, Chris happened to die in Alaska – he could of died during any of his other experiences while he was on the road – he was unprepared for those as well and while he didn’t rely on the kindness of strangers, he certainly took advantage of it. He was out finding himself – that in and of itself isn’t selfish. Sean Penn wants us to think he found what he was looking for, could be, could be not. But the fact that he was seraching isn’t selfish, or at least not to me. To me the litmus test for this is what if he would have made it out, a more complete person, more able to deal with the reality that was his life with his family – would that have made him selfish?
And what makes one selfish, anyway?
I watched the movie again with my 16 year old son last night. I want him to take off after he graduates from high school and go see the country – without mine or his mother’s expectations or constraints. Will I worry? You bet. Am I selfish enough to not want him to find himself? No way. That’s called love. Love is just as much about letting go as holding close. Picture someone you love – forced choice – unhappy and with you or happy and will never see you again? Pick one. Don’t be selfish.
There are probably only a couple of times in our lives when we could actually do what Chris did – no obligations, no family to support – just go.
I can see why Chris’s story brings out such strong emotions in people – there are some very intense, personal, universal themes that can be found there. In the end, though, his story doesn’t belong to his family, or the survivalist Alaskans who didn’t get that he wasn’t trying to conquer the wilderness, but discover it, nor does it belong to the people he met on the road. It belongs to him.
Come on, man. When any of us examine our lives deeply enough, we might have the capacity to go running off in the other direction. He had motive and opportunity, as it were – and he took advantage of it. And he died doing it.
NONSENSE
I am not going to read this crap anymore, I think I will go in the woods.
Grizzly’s have more brains than most of you morons!!
I think 246 is pointing to 244, not 245, judging by the timing. Too bad he can’t clarify anymore.
Woods around here are pretty deep in snow right now. Might as well keep on reading. Can’t argue that grizzlies are smarter than me. Don’t know about anybody else.
Hey ED I think you need serious help!! 235 tells me that.
ED, 235 get help!!
Steve, your the one that needs help!! You don’t even know it. What is the problem, I don’t conform to the rules your parents or society has inplanted in that rice size brain of yours, might as well have your head up in your ass. Sorry I don’t abide with society’s rules. My friends has a donkey ” beast of burden” that grasps life better than you!
Your probably in your late 30’s early 40′S doing what your mommy taught you, and society expect from you, living in your concrete jungle, spend half your time on your PC, the other half watching tv, knowlegde for couch potatoes. With very little theoretical experience. You are living in a box, packed with rules! you are being used every day, you don’t even know it.
Is this what your therapist told you? lets not forget them, they are there for when you go off the track , that leads nowhere! and then help you get back on the train, certainly for monies.
When the Hellenic people (greeks rudely referred to now and days) created society this is not what they had in mind. They
should have known there would be a new breed of people that would corrupt anything possible.
Including you!!!!
The desire to make others wrong and responsible for the ills of the world always excludes the “I” in the problems of that world. Works on both sides of the fence. Makes the fence. Puts barbed wire on it. Electrifies it. Us and them. Me and you. I and the world.
But the world is made up of all those “I”s. All are equally responsible for it. No one can duck that.
The wild is inside. The frightful things may be projected outward. Or the wild is inside. And that commonality the basis for understanding. I am not other than you.
For ED
The term Hellenistic (derived from Ἕλλην Héllēn, the Greeks’ traditional self-described ethnic name) was established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to refer to the spreading of Greek culture and colonization over the non-Greek lands that were conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. The Hellenistic age marks the unification of the Greek world, sharing a common culture based on that of 5th and 4th century BC Athens, along with a fusion of Near Eastern cultures.[1] The period is characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization which established Greek cities and Kingdoms in Asia and Africa.[2] Those new cities were composed by Greek colonists who came from different parts of the Greek world, and not from a specific “mother city” (metropolis) as before.[2] The main cultural centers expanded from mainland Greece, to Pergamon, Rhodes, as well as to new Greek colonies such as Antioch and Alexandria. This mixture of Greek-speakers gave birth to a common Attic-based dialect, known as Hellenistic Greek, which came to absorb and replace all idioms of the Greek language.
Here is the question you all have to ask yourself.
How many of you in here would have changed places
with Chris knowing you would die alone on a bus in the
alaskan wilderness.
Be honest?
And don’t say “He didn’t know it would end that way”.
Knowing what you know now, and the fact he did die
the way he died……..how many would have traded places
with him the last two years of his life at the age of 23.
If you really defend what Chris defend you have to answer
that you would change place with him.
There’s simply no other way to put it.
Hence..back to the original topic of discussion…”Not Very
Bright” for such an intelligent young man.
That’s what I thought.
Another idiot, he didn’t plan on dyeing !
Go watch some more TV.
DONKEY!
I find it’s possible to identify with the feelings and thoughts and lives of other people without having to do exactly what they do, without living their lives. If the only people you can feel for or identify with are exactly like you, and do only exactly what you would do in all circumstances, then you are truly isolated. Because, no one else will ever measure up to your expectations.
The Hellenistic description was copied straight from Wikipedia, by the way. Seems like it ought to be properly attributed, even if the reason behind the paste job isn’t explained.
Not Very Bright does not refer to Chris McCandless, and is not “the original topic” It’s the nickname of the blog owner, in reaction to anti-feminist remarks. This particular thread is just one of many different topics on this site.
The fact that the nickname Not Very Bright happens to be coincidentally printed on-screen with the Name Chris McCandless in Google lookups causes this blog to rate high in hits, particularly with people inclined to criticize him.
Ed..where did I say he “planned to die”.
Learn to read, interpret and comment when you have
something intelligent to say. I know that is asking alot.
The only thing good about the movie was eddie vedder
and hard sun. They should have had the whole song playing
full bore..and it should have been at the end full bore while
chris was dying looking at the sun.
The moral of that song…”You can’t beat mother nature”.
Chris found that out.
Oh well if you like music, and catchphrases, there are a lot of commercials with snappy music showing people driving SUVs up vertical cliff faces until they reach some tiny pinnacle. Apparently they haven’t heard that old saw, either.
Sells a lot of cars though, even with three dollar gas, an oil war, polar ice melting, maples dying in the north, and New Orleans stomped. Seems like Chris wasn’t trying to beat nature, just survive in it. I’d say he preferred meeting nature on its own terms, rather than through a tinted windshield on or a blueray screen.
I thought it was funny in the book where the hunters drove across the river in 4WDs and put the engine under, claiming that was somehow “sensible” woodsman-like behavior. And then mis-identified the moose he shot as an elk — rather than the reverse.
ED – wow, you really are articulate. Sorry to short-circuit your brain with reason presented in a logical manner. Carry on.
Uh Koman, he was referring to the post before yours.
Koman- your post has merit and not judgemental. F.Y.I. merely a layman. Otherwise I might agree with most here.
Jim – never mind.
Hi all,
I saw the movie and I felt I needed to say something about Chris McCandless. A loss of life is a terrible thing and I feel great compassion for Chris and his family. But, there is one part in the movie that, I would say was the moment for me. Chris met this lonely old man named Ron Franz and Mr. Franz asked him “son why are you out here, why aren’t you getting an education?” Chris responded in an almost proud type of way ” I am not destitude, I have a college education. I choose to live this way.” There is almost an arrogance to his statement and it is at that point I knew why Chris lived the way he did. He lived this way due to his privliged life. He lived this way because he knew if things ever got too bad he was just a phone call away from home and the protection of his family. I believe Chris may have panicked when, he finally was really alone in Alaska with no phone and no safety blanket. People respect Chris because he chose to live this way, I think without his upbringing he would not get the cult status. Sean Penn in my opinion believes he shares many chararistics of Chris- that Hollywood and riches have not changed his core. I believe that deep inside Sean Penn believes if he had to he could survive on the toughest of battle grounds. Although many consider these noble traits, there is a due amount of respect to people who live hand to mouth everyday with no saftey net. No matter if it is the dark streets of New York or the icey cold Tundra. I believe people misinterpet Chris’ journey as one of meaning when in actuallity it was probably done for the wrong reasons. He wanted to prove something to his parents, himself the world- he wanted to make a statement. If Chris had followed the rules, told at least his sister about his plans and worked to get the proper training he could have lived in the wild safely and peacefully.
Jim, dude, Chris wasn’t trying to “beat” mother nature anymore than he was trying to “beat” the river or the wheat fields,or anything else in his story. He was just trying to peel back the layers of society and get back to what is real. For him that involved nature. He may have found himself and he may have done it in Alaska – to draw any larger conclusions from his story is to interject your own story with all of its baggage and bias into Chris’s.
Chris went off to find himself in the best way he knew how. Was it flawed? Aren’t we all? He died. Maybe he died while searching, maybe he died after he found what he was looking for. He didn’t ask for his story to be told.
I don’t know what, or even if there exist, larger lessons to be learned from his story. I do know, however, that inserting your own (anyone’s own) necessarily distorted beliefs into the story, marginalizes whatever we might find there, if we really try to understand the story on its own merits.
A few thoughts from Marcus Aurelius
“Anything in any way beautiful derives its beauty from itself and asks nothing beyond itself. Praise is no part of it, for nothing is made worse or better by praise.”
“Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish. ”
“Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it… Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle. ”
and finally,
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one. “
Koman..that’s all fine and dandy what you say.
A philosophical viewpoint and an analysis trying to make
sense and offer some kind of reward for the entire venture
the lad went through for two years.
Bottom line is he died unnecessarily and tragically.
That was the final chapter of his odyssey any way you
cut it. The message after I watched the movie was this…
“To each his own” and the lifestyle Chris engaged in gave
you an idea what it was like to live as a North American Indian before the white man came.
That’s about all it left with me.
For anybody who would want to follow in his footsteps…knowing the risks and dangers involved..forgive me …but you would have to be carrying some psychological problems or have a huge ego.
There are plenty of ways to die in this world without inviting the reaper to your doorstep.
I have no problem with the expressions that Chris was human, sometimes wrong, made mistakes, had his own interests which he put ahead of the interests of others, etc. I have no problem accepting that he didn’t want to die and was desperate for help toward the end.
Of course I wish he didn’t die in that way, that he and his family could have been re-united, etc.
To me none of this frightening story diminishes my admiration for him as a person — to the extent that I know of him — limited as that is.
A true hero is not some kind of comic book superman who vanquishes all evil. A real hero may fail. A real hero may have, as we learned in high school, flaws. This was a true tragedy if ever there was one — it is the struggle of a real person, not some cartoon idealization, with complex and even mysterious issues, close to to heart of what it is to be a person inside or outside of our society.
The tragedy of Chris McCandless doesn’t answer any questions. Good guy doesn’t beat bad guy. Nobody was good or bad. It leaves behind big questions. And in coming to grips with THOSE questions we have a dialog about things fundamental to us as human beings, individual in this world, in this time, in this place.
And I don’t idealize him. I just feel for him.
Wasn’t trying to make any “sense”. I’m just saying that as soon as we begin to apply our own experience and values structure to Chris’s story we stop trying to understand the story on its own merits and begin feeding our own ego and attempting to justify our own sense of what is right and what is wrong.
After hearing about Christopher Johnson McCandless or better known as “Alexander Supertramp” and also viewing the movie it has inspired me to find myself by adventuring on my own. People tell me it’s stupid and a waste of time, but I think to myself theres got to be more out there than say the gratification of a good grade or a promotion. McCandless has helped me see that living within the system or within society is twisted. It is true that people are too afraid to venture out and do what they really want. My dream has always been to get away and just live and Christopher Johnson McCandless has really showed me that…
May he rest in Peace
from a writer and and inspired fan.
What struck me odd is why did he not call his sister.
I traveled with no money or next to none when I was 18/19 and bummed it and met mad cool people and had a hell of a adventure. It does not take a special person to be a bum. Since when is burning your money and putting your life at risk cool?
Have any of you ppl idolizing his antics ever spent a night hungry? Been utterly alone & homeless stuck in your own fucked up head?
What do you admire him for? Being homeless, killing himself, ignoring his loved ones, not trying to get help and rectify his life but running from it?
My dad was 10x worse than Supertramps and I did not deal with it as bad as he.
This movie was great & I enjoyed the story as a young kid when I first heard it years ago.
He was pissed, felt money was the root of all evil, blah, blah, blah. He was this psuedo intellectual kid without a clue as to what it took to live in the real world. He had been sheltered even on the road.
He may of been a great kid, smart, cute, starry eyed dreamer but he was selfish.
Even him telling his friend in SD to return all mail to sender was a selfish act.
He left behind an interesting story but what we saw in this movie was not verbatim. It was a fill in the blanks deal people. His journals were not that in depth.
He went to Alaska unprepared and died. So what??
MENTAL ILLNESS PEOPLE MENTAL ILLNESS
Do you ppl know that within miles all around his bus there were cabins with emergency supplies to help people like him?
There was more than one.
Also they had been freshly vandalized at the time of his death.
His “hatred” for society no doubt led him to ruin anyone elses chance of survival should they had needed it.
For a person who wanted to rough it in the wild he had no common sense.
Even the biggest vagabounds had street smarts, they knew where to sleep safely, eat, bathe, get medical care, Etc.
OK live in the wild but bring more than rice and a raggedy sleeping bag.
Also he was a jag off cuz he did not think that if the bus got there, there had to be a way out.
How else did it get there? The bus fairy? Santa Clause?
Also where he claims the river was to swollen to cross there was a hand operated tram a few miles downstream for people caught out like him.
He also killed a Moose and watched thousands of pounds of meat rot in front of his middle class selfish eyes.
Why did he not try to cook as much as possible? He could of cooked a lot of it. I’m shocked he did not get killed by the animals feasting on the carcass.
He did not try to prepare himself nor did he use that fancy education (so many ppl are killing themselves to get) to survive.
He threw everything that others would kill for in the worlds face!
He did not have to become a yuppie, he could of traveled and roughed it and still had a life altering experience.
He was selfish and stupid!
He claimed love for his siter and yet he ignored her while hitchiking and quoting others words in a journal.
He was not some hero he was a jack ass who dies ad he lived: Foolish
Chris was not broke when he split you idiots! He burned some cash but do you see how he had to work along the way..Gee, a hypocrite is the word I believe fits him. He claims no need for our dirty money yet he worked hard for it when his ass was stanky and his belly rumbling! A real vagabound did it without working.
For all his gruff he was a simpering fool!
It’s amazing, even in death, dying alone in a place far from others, doing nothing to them, taking nothing from them, strangers in another time will hate you for it. No wonder he shunned the wholesale rage of this society.
Rest in peace, Chris. In some quieter place than this one.
I’m through here.
Thanks for letting me speak.
What’s with the insults? I can’t believe that people would insult a dead man. Christopher McCandless had a pure love for life and would stop at nothing to be true to himself. Christopher McCandless didn’t believe in careers and never wanted to live a superficial, boring life like 99% of the world… And I hardly think that working at McDonalds and at a grain elevator for a few weeks makes McCandless a hypocrite. Re-think your lives, please.
Great comments, guilf.
One more time, this is not the DamnIWishMyLifeWouldHaveBeenMoreLikeChristopherMcClandess’AndNotSoMuchMineOwnAndThatItWillEndTheSameWayAndThatIHaveNotEvenAPercentOfAPercentOfAPercentOfApercentOfTheLiveLivedThatHeLived thread.
Let’s talk about what happened – in it’s truest form; unburdened from the sensibilities of whatever person IS reading it or seeing it.
Unburdened by anything except looking at what that thing is
In its truest form (thank you, Marcus Aurelius).
And then considering it.
Get over yourselves. The story is not about you.
Damn, sorry. It should have been the -
DamnIWishMyLifeWouldHaveBeenMoreLikeChristopherMcClandess’AndNoSoMuchLikeMyOwnAndIThatIHadEnoughTimeLeftOnThisPlanetToLiveEvenAPercentOfAPercentOfAPercentOFTheAmountOfTimeThatHeActuallyLived thread.
Keep it real. Really. Real.
Now look people. I am 38 years old, majored in art but have worked in the dreary cubicle for years and mostly conformed in this little ho-hum box world we have and yet I shed a few tears each year as I watch my dreams fade away; that crushed yearning to do something more that would be my true path, just like most of us do, crushing our spirits little by little yet running the rat race like our parents did with a boring office job while we all know that no matter how much insurance and money we have we can still die at any time and will eventually. I sit more and more in that tired old conformity box, but I hold judgement back on Mr. McCandleless, because by God he at least had the guts to try his passions. His only failing was in being a young man and yes he was underprepared, but aren’t the best of us who try to plan everything perfectly?? Look I’m old enough to know that life hands you problems no matter what you do, so I will not criticize him to make myself feel superior(that’s so petty), but rather relate to this brave and very human young man who reminds us ALL to hold on to some of our passion. Yes you may have to pay the bills, but perhaps you will take that guitar lesson you always wanted, take a weekend adventure hike, surprise your date with a new town to check out, go on that fishing trip you’ve post poned, write that journal you’ve put off. Now let him be people, he did have a purpose, to make us all think and love our lives a little more instead of just living it in our little boxes, which we all know can never be entirely safe, life is risk filled whether we like it or not. We all need to live a little before we die; at least say we tried, took that class we wanted or trip. If you can only criticize you do indeed miss the point. That boy had spirit and so should we because something can always happen no matter how safe you think you are. Live more people and quit judging so much. Now I need to go paint something. Hey, at least that boy tried. And that took guts, by God.
Finally, at least KC knows what is happening to her life!!
Now I go smoke a big one :-)
Lesson learned
to have ideals and dreams is the breath of the human soul.
To work towards them successfully takes careful thought, planning, preparation, due diligence, resourcefulness and courage. Our goals can only be reached by making use of all the resources one can obtain which includes other people. Living our lives takes resources and selfishness is the root of materialism. Making wise use of the resources we have includes giving to others in need and only using what you need to survive. I think the only good thing that can come of this person sad death is warning markers for others to avoid similar pitfalls. If idealism leads to an untimely death this seems the natural conclusion.
I don’t understand why some (a lot ) of you are getting so upset by what others take away from Chris’s story, “diversity of thinking is what makes us who we are” My Alaska is my family, I would love to just take off on a self discovery and I hold no malice towards Chris for having a go, But I have a wife and children who depend on me and its sometimes a very scary place to be, I have no map and I definitely went in under prepared, I fail a lot but would like to think I succeed even more, its hard to strike a balance of doing whets rite without loosing your true self in the process, so what did I get from Chris’s story?
Love your kids and tell them so, stay in tune with them the best you can and offer understanding, wont what’s best for them and guide them with out imposing your views, its there life and its up to them what they do with it, the gift of life I give, no strings attached, or it would be a false gift, respect is given when respect is received.
I don’t think Chris’s parents were perfect, they were doing the best they could do, and its sad that Chris could not see that, my gut feeling on Chris is he did find true happiness for a brief period in his life all be it a life to short, but how many of us can say that? And after all its was HIS life! Mistakes and all.
R.I P Chris, you have given me food for thought …
very interesting. why cant people say whats on their mind without being bashed? even if they come across as arogant and so forth. ive been learning wilderness survival skills for a few years and its a good idea to be prepared . but dont let our fears rule the outcome of our life . what if this what if that .
lets try and accept what others do say as okay and not judge them . love is more nice than harsh words.
A few observations…
1. His story did touch many heartstrings. This blog is still going strong since 10-06-2007!!
2. Just saw the movie and I had a desire to learn more about this young man. I have four boys, to me as a single custodial dad of four, it’s very sad.
3. I’m 51 and feel lucky to be alive with all the stupid careless things I did as a young man.
4. I was selfish and hurt my parents many times, and am glad that I have lived to try and make it up to them a bit, and thank them for loving me so much
5. It would be very painful as a parent to have a child die while they were estranged from you
6. For a single person to do all that he did is considered forgivable; when a parent or anyone in charge of others lives does it, it’s irresponsible, selfish or criminal
7. I think we all have feelings that – in this life we want meaning from our lives, maybe to accomplish something ‘great’, if only to ourselves, others to leave a legacy behind, to make a difference. I think he wanted to prove something to others and to himself (movie said he was afraid of water) and to make a difference (because he cared about the poor and needy)
8. Sometimes we can show alot of care towards others and be very harsh on loved ones, maybe because we don’t consider their need to be loved like anyone else, and we take for granted what they provided for us, and their sacrifices for us, in spite of their failings, mental health issues, and struggles
9. Some people are pure evil, but even some parents who’ve made some bad mistakes are probably doing the best they can
11. I think the most dangerous issue in all of his journeys was that he did it all alone, with nobody for a rescue, nobody to discuss options. I can’t imagine going down the Colorado alone. Each success made him more confident that he could do it all on the fly.
12. When I was younger, everything was an all or nothing proposition. I would have been a hard railer on one side or the other, but please forgive me for feeling that it’s okay to be in the middle and admire his youthful courage (wreckless abandon to wholeheartedly pursue a dream, however ill-conceived or idealistic) on the one hand, yet hope my children learn their lessons and see that life does not have to be an all or nothing proposition to find joy, contentment and add meaning to their lives on the other.
What a great example of how self-centered our culture is. It’s Chris’s story, not ours. What a sad commentary that we have to assume ourselves into the story in order for it to have meaning.
Chris McCandless’ life stands on its own – it doesn’t need any of us to give it meaning.
What I think is Emily is right. He didn’t just take off on his family and yes it was wrong of him to not tell his family, but what he said was very inspiring. “The core of man’s spirit comes from new experiences.” All Chris wanted to do was what he dreamed and wanted to experience new things. Many bash his life and say he was stupid the poor guy is dead and others are hypicritical and feel bad for him and then you say he was stupid…I just don’t understand.
I have just seen the movie and am in the process of reading the book. It turns out that Chris and I would have been only 4 months apart had he lived. However, while he was traveling through Alaska, I was having my second child. I understand his quest. I understand his dreams. I understand his need to not just live quietly to survive the day, to keep your chidren safe to work, to take care of your spouse. Chris LIVED life. He took this gift that we are all given when we take our first breath and enter this world and used it, he didn’t put it away in a drawer somewhere to save for later. He used it. The two years he spent on the road were like a symphony. Joys, sorrows, up’s and downs. Life is an adventure. Yes, being a parent can be an adventure, but so often we wrap ourselved up in our children’s lives, our spouses lives that we forget who we are and what we are here to live for. I have found that he was right. Your life and happiness cannot depend on your relationships. So many people are on quests to find a mate to find someone to grow old with that they forget to live. I’ve been through two husbands now and found out finally that living for someone else is not where I should be. My last husband could not live with my ache and yearning for adventure and walking the earth in taking in it’s beauty. My fullfillment through hiking, canoeing, swimming in rivers, jumping off rocks, climbing trees, searching for bears each time left me satisfied and content and able to be a better person. He could not understand this need and felt my behavior was reckless and selfish. My adventurous spirit proved to be too much for him to live with.
I understand what Chris was doing. His family gave him life. That did not give them the right to own it forever. My husband tried to own my life. I am gone too. I want to LIVE my life not just survive it…
I am thankful for the people who appreciate Chris’s life and take it into consideration. Now Melissa I wanted to ask how is Into the Wild (the book) I’ve heard very good reviews on it and am soon going to buy it! Also another a lot of people don’t understand is one persons will and love for nature people think it stupid or silly because I want to experience all of that on my own its a way for people to find themselves and shouldn’t be made fun of…
I believe since he is dead, it would then be best not to be negative. Yes, what he did was selfish but it takes a lot of courage to walk alone.
Kristen, I am halfway through the book. The book so far is really good. There is a lot of letters from Chris in there. I love his writing. I find myself reading the words he wrote over and over…
As a reporter in Alaska for more than two decades, I was among the first to wallow in the McCandless story, and I confess to early on thinking he was but another of those poor, misguided fools who die in the north with some regularity. I no longer believe that.
Almost every psychiatrist, psychologist or mental-health professional I’ve talked to about “Into the Wild” over the years has noted — at least among those who’ve read the book — that schizophrenia or bipolar disorder was one of the first things that popped into their thoughts. Most have been reluctant to go on record saying so. Psychiatrist Dr. Michael Cull of Remote Medical in Seattle is an exception.
McCandless, he said, was “probably schizophrenic. I read (the book) some time ago, and it was an interesting book. If he was totally insane, as in psychotic, he wouldn’t have lasted more than a few days. (But) it’s a trip into insanity. It’s his journey into psychosis, and it gets more and more bizarre as times goes on.”
Schizophrenics, Cull added, often tend to be loners like McCandless because they function best as such.
“For a shizophrenic, if they are isolated from society, they can sometimes do better because what confuses them is external input,” the psychiatrist said. Unfortunately, if they are living in the wilderness and their psychosis worsens, there is no one to help them. And in a state of severe psychosis, Cull said, “they have a lot of difficulty just getting food in their mouths and clothes on their back.”
Cull said there have been psychiatrists who have discussed McCandless’s apparent mental problems, but they don’t do so very publicly. One cannot help but wonder how much this reluctance has to do with mental illness being one of those things we just don’t talk about in this country. Because to leave such a diagnosis unstated, or to at least fail to raise a discussion of it as a possibility, is to further the idea crafted by Krakauer and furthered by Penn, the idea that Supertramp/McCandless was a sad but iconic victim of the search for that knowledge many seek when they wander into the wilderness
Another unattributed quote. Do a Google on any sentence in “Anonymous” little speech.
Humans make mistakes.
1 in 1,000,000,000 will ever give their life savings to charity.
Read the book before you watch the movie.
Opinion: To Each His Own!!!!!
Chris McCandless R.I.P!!!!
Apparently the author, like many popularizers doesn’t understand the difference between schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder.
P.S
If Oprah gave her life savings to charity, she could probably feed Africa for a few years.
CRAIG MEDRED
OUTDOORS
Published: November 4, 2007
Last Modified: March 12, 2008 at 12:08 PM
First the book and now the movie try to portray Alexander Supertramp as the Everyman example of youth gone off to the wilderness in search of the meaning of life. Unfortunately, Tramp wasn’t Everyman. And he most certainly didn’t go off to the wilderness searching for the meaning of life.
No rational individual can overlook the note he left explaining what he was seeking. He went into the wilderness, in his own words, to stage “the climatic battle to kill the false being within.”
Tramp obviously wasn’t searching for anything. He was running from something, possibly almost everything.
“No longer to be poisoned by civilization,” he wrote, “he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.”
Note the third-person reference to himself there. It’s a textbook signal for schizophrenia.
Lost is a good place to be if you suffer from this particular mental illness too. Lost is a place removed from all the outside stimuli that make life horribly, and sometimes dangerously, confusing for a schizophrenic.
Normal people lack the desire to become lost in the wild. Normal people use maps, compasses and GPS devices to avoid becoming lost in the wild.
CRAIG MEDRED
Outdoors editor Craig Medred is an opinion columnist. Find him online at adn.com/contact/cmedred or call 257-4588.
CRAIG MEDRED
McCandless’ story isn’t really told in the book or the film
CRAIG MEDRED
OUTDOORS
Published: November 4, 2007
Last Modified: March 12, 2008 at 12:08 PM
“Into the Wild” is a misrepresentation, a sham, a fraud.
There, I’ve finally said what somebody has needed to say for a long time.
First the book and now the movie try to portray Alexander Supertramp as the Everyman example of youth gone off to the wilderness in search of the meaning of life. Unfortunately, Tramp wasn’t Everyman. And he most certainly didn’t go off to the wilderness searching for the meaning of life.
No rational individual can overlook the note he left explaining what he was seeking. He went into the wilderness, in his own words, to stage “the climatic battle to kill the false being within.”
Tramp obviously wasn’t searching for anything. He was running from something, possibly almost everything.
“No longer to be poisoned by civilization,” he wrote, “he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.”
Note the third-person reference to himself there. It’s a textbook signal for schizophrenia.
Lost is a good place to be if you suffer from this particular mental illness too. Lost is a place removed from all the outside stimuli that make life horribly, and sometimes dangerously, confusing for a schizophrenic.
Normal people lack the desire to become lost in the wild. Normal people use maps, compasses and GPS devices to avoid becoming lost in the wild.
Over the decades, I’ve met a lot of the young men who’ve gone off to the wilderness to search for meaning or, just as often, adventure. They didn’t change their names, try to forge new identities or contemplate killing a “false being within.”
A few of them, myself included, did turn their backs on civilization for days, weeks, months or years — but not because we were fleeing from it. No, we were seeking a world that existed long ago. Some of us still run to that place on a regular basis. It is good to stay in touch with the land. Just as it is good to remind oneself how comfortable and easy it has become to live in the 21st century.
People who change their names and run into the Alaska wilderness to escape have different reasons. Offhand, I can only even think of a few — “Tramp,” aka Chris McCandless, staved to death; Timothy Treadwell, aka Tim Dexter; got eaten by a bear; and Papa Pilgrim, aka Robert Hale, went to jail for incest. Among this trio, Hale at least had a legitimate reason for changing his name. He was fleeing a shady past.
McCandless was emerging from his teen years into early adulthood — the time adult-onset schizophrenia is known to hit a number of young men — when he changed his name, ran away from his family and friends and started acting strangely. When Jon Krakauer constructed the myth of Tramp in the book “Into the Wild,” he tried to portray these behaviors as part of an edgy but normal search for self.
CRAIG MEDRED
As others have pointed out, the content of Comment 291 matches the writings of Anchorage Daily News columnist Craig Medred, who has advanced in the McCandless-was-a-schizophrenic theory in various places. You can read more of his armchair analysis here.
I personally find the evidence for such a theory incredibly thin, and the practice of advancing it about a dead man therefore distasteful and unfortunate.
Incidentally, the doctor cited in the article, Dr. Cull, is listed as practicing in “Primary Care, Psychiatry and Anesthesiology.” It’s hard to find anything to suggest he was qualified to make the diagnosis he offers.
Medred writes of psychiatrists’ reluctance to read a book or watch a movie and then diagnose McCandless as a schizophrenic as follows: “One cannot help but wonder how much this reluctance has to do with mental illness being one of those things we just don’t talk about in this country.” Medred seems unaware of a better explanation for the reluctance of psychiatrists to diagnose someone they’ve never met: Ethics.
The New York Times did an article on this type of diagnosis of celebrities, quoting a leading psychiatrist as follows: “This idea of making a diagnosis of someone they’ve never met is completely inappropriate, and it gives mental health professionals a bad name… Trying to make such a diagnosis based purely on someone’s behavior — and worse, their behavior as portrayed selectively by the media — is scientifically impossible.” Source.
“Normal people lack the desire to become lost in the wild”
I agree. In fact, normal people lack the desire to become lost ANYWHERE. There’s that “panic” that sets in whenever you think you are “lost”…even when you’re driving down a street with plenty of people and services around …..imagine being truly “lost” in the “wilderness” ( Chris was only 1/2 mile from a tram that would have taken him across the river that he IMAGINED too daunting to cross )
Using peer-reviewed scientific literature, relying on calculations developed by the World Health Organization, and informed by McCandless’s own food journals, we tested this hypothesis. Our conclusion was that, despite some success hunting and gathering, McCandless was not able to secure enough food on a daily basis. He slowly lost weight until he reached a Body Mass Index (BMI) that was fatal. To test this hypothesis, we calculated his energy expenditure and compared this to his caloric intake. To assess his energy expenditure, we predicted the basal metabolic rate (BMR) of McCandless using a regression equation developed by the World Health Organization for young adult humans, age18-29. His BMR was adjusted to reflect his physical activity level—hunting and gathering—as defined by WHO criteria. McCandless’s caloric intake was estimated from his detailed 113-day food journal. In the end, a day-by-day comparison of his energy expenditure (BMR) and his caloric intake showed a consistent caloric deficit, i.e. weight loss. By Day 113, his Body Mass Index (BMI) had dropped into the range of 13 kg/m2, a level considered incompatible with life. It is believed he died on that same day.
This empirical analysis of McCandless’s energetic state shows a steady loss of weight. He may have gotten sick from one of his meals at the end of July (“Extremely weak. Fault of pot. seed,” he writes on 7/30/92), but this was not the cause of his death. The data show that he died of starvation because he couldn’t meet his energetic needs over 113 days. There is no need to devise a theory based on a botany mistake, or the ingestion of toxic seeds. To suggest, as Krakauer does, that McCandless was “hungry but doing fine” (9/20/07 NPR interview) and “in reasonably good health” (Into the Wild, p. 189), and starved only because he ingested moldy seeds is to ignore the data. However, the poison or moldy plant theories accomplish two things: they enable Krakauer to reprint his book Into the Wild without substantially altering the original text, and the original theory; and second, they allow both Krakauer and Penn a dramatic device (some might say “technique of fiction”) to heighten the tragic nature of the story, and assert that “the guy wasn’t quite as reckless and incompetent as he has been made out to be” (Into the Wild, p. 194). Ironically, it could be argued that having Chris unable to correctly identify a plant, or having him so foolish as to be eating mold, is actually to cast him as more reckless and incompetent than he probably was, and belies both his intelligence and toughness, and his will to live.
“Incidentally, the doctor cited in the article, Dr. Cull, is listed as practicing in “Primary Care, Psychiatry and Anesthesiology.” It’s hard to find anything to suggest he was qualified to make the diagnosis he offers…”
I believe that the “anything” that you are looking for would be that Dr Cull is a Dr of Psychiatry……
‘Almost every psychiatrist, psychologist or mental-health professional I’ve talked to about “Into the Wild” over the years has noted — at least among those who’ve read the book — that schizophrenia or bipolar disorder was one of the first things that popped into their thoughts. Most have been reluctant to go on record saying so. Psychiatrist Dr. Michael Cull of Remote Medical in Seattle is an exception.
Medred writes of psychiatrists’ reluctance to read a book or watch a movie and then diagnose McCandless as a schizophrenic as follows: “One cannot help but wonder how much this reluctance has to do with mental illness being one of those things we just don’t talk about in this country.” Medred seems unaware of a better explanation for the reluctance of psychiatrists to diagnose someone they’ve never met: Ethics’
Note: Medred does not mention that any psychiatrist was in any way reluctant to “read a book or watch a movie”, in fact , He mentions that many a renowned Psychiatrist DID READ THE BOOK and in conclussion: that schizophrenia or bipolar disorder was one of the first things that popped into their thoughts.
Yes, yes, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and multiple personality disorder, they’re all the same thing, and they do tend to be the first things en masse that pop into a psychiatrist’s, or no wait, was it a psychologist’s (well they’re the same thing anyway, one of those psych guyR