The Two Sides of Christopher McCandless’ Adventure, Which One Are You On?


Would you ever leave everything that made your life the way it is today in a place that you called your “old” world? Would you leave your family, friends, money, food, transportation education, cars, and basically everything behind just so you could escape? Well, I know that I would not have the guts to do it, but Christopher McCandless did. Many people say that Christopher McCandless was just an arrogant and stupid man. But, in my eyes, I think he was one of the bravest and most inspiring men that many of us should look up too. He walked this earth for one hundred and twelve days on foot living off of wild berries and animals that he killed himself, no money, no family, no transportation, and no home. What an adventure!


“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth. I sat at a table where rich food and wine in abundance, an obsequious attendance, were but sincerity and truth were not; and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board. The hospitality was as cold as the ices (Krakauer pg.117).” McCandless chose to take this quest because he needed to get away from everything in his life that was pulling him down. McCandless was very mad and upset at the world and its various “classes.” He never thought in his mind that just because his family had money and nice cars that he was better than the people that live on the streets. But, his parents did, which is why he was not close to them. McCandless’ parents literally spoiled Chris with the materialistic things that many teens would want today, but Chris was not happy. He did not find joy in having more while others had nothing. How can someone say that Chris was arrogant for wanting to leave everything behind because he did not like the way the society worked?


During Chris’s journey into the wild, he met so many people that all had the same adjective that described him, very nice. McCandless met older people, younger people, hippies, and loners, but every single one of these different people shared something in common, they became so attached to Chris so quickly. To them, McCandless was not just a typical hitchhiker on the edge of the streets with his thumb up, but a real, genuine, and sincere person. Every person that Chris met on his adventure was in tears when they heard that he died. They all truly loved him and would never forget him. For Chris to have that many people to care for him in the few days that he knew each of them, he must have been a great person! Rob Franz, a friend of Chris’s, said while Chris was in Anza-Borrego that “Chris was too nice of a kid to be living by the hot springs with those nudists and drunks and dope smokers (pg.51).”

Not only was Christopher McCandless selfless and extremely kind, but he was also very smart. “He always brought home good grades (pg.119)” McCandless’ parents said. Wayne Westerberg, a friend of Chris’s, said that “you could tell that Chris was smart because he used a lot of big words (pg. 18).” Chris also loved to read; Jack London was his favorite author. He loved reading books and comparing them to his own personal life and experiences. McCandless was also a very hard worker. He never gave up and had high expectations for himself. He always finished something once he started. “Chris was the hardest worker that I have ever met (pg.18),” said Wayne Westerberg. Whatever duty that Chris had to accomplish, he always did it without complaining to the best of his ability. Do you really think that Chris was stupid because he wanted to leave to follow his dream?


Even though I think very highly of McCandless, many people contradict the ideas and accomplishments that he had. Some people say that Chris must have been mentally disturbed to take the crazy journey that he did. They also say that he suffered a foolish and pointless death. An Alaskan said that Chris was “a man who has given away a small fortune, forsaken a loving family, abandoned his car, watch, and map and burned the last of his money before traipsing off into the wilderness west of Healy (pg.71).” I strongly disagree with every single one of these comments. Chris took this journey for himself, to escape the world’s unequal balance. He needed to get away from the world that he was living in, and go into the place that he considered the real world, which was the wild. We have no right to judge his feelings and his thoughts that he had. McCandless knew what he wanted to do, and he turned his thoughts into actions. He did not care what people thought about him when he was alive, and he definitely does not care what people think of him now.

Christopher McCandless, the man who practically accomplished the impossible, is such a major inspiration. He had an idea; a thought; a dream; that he made come true. This dream that he had was not a simple and easy one, but one that definitely changed his life forever. Was he over-confident and arrogant about this dream, no. Was he stupid for having this dream, no. Was he a “whacko” to make this dream come true, maybe. But, at least Chris had the guts to turn his idea into an action, unlike most of us. He was finished with everything that his old life had given him, and was ready for “a brand new life, one in which he would be free to wallow in unfiltered experience (pgs.22-23)” into the wild.