...Christopher McCandless was a young man who gave up everything when he decided to embark on a treacherous journey to Alaska. After a year of hitchhiking across the country, he finally arrived at his destination. Due to poor decisions, he eventually succumbed to his death. Many people, such as the Into the Wild author Jon Krakauer, believe that “McCandless wasn’t some feckless slacker, adrift and confused, racked by existential despair. To the contrary: His life hummed with meaning and purpose. But the meaning he wrested from existence lay beyond the comfortable path: McCandless distrusted the value of things that came easily” (184). Even though I do not agree with the methods he used while on this spiritual journey, I do agree with Krakauer’s assertion that he kept hope alive even while close to death, and that his life “hummed with meaning and purpose”. McCandless came from a comfortable upper middle class family. Many people would say that Christopher McCandless had a relatively good life. His parents worked hard to provide him with all the necessary tools to ensure that he had a secure future. When he graduated, his parents were under the impression that he was going to attend law school. Chris had different plans which became evident when he donated all his money to OXFAM, and he disappeared into the wild. He didn’t want to be tied down by the stresses of today’s society; he didn’t want an ordinary life. He felt “emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers...
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...Throughout the novel “Into the Wild” written by Jon Krakauer, there are many examples of the main character being labeled as not a smart person. In the novel, the main character Chris McCandless was brutally insulted by many when he appeared dead on the newspaper. Those statements consist him being, reckless, crazy, arrogant, and more. Firstly, I somewhat disagree and agree with Callarman’s ideals. As Callerman’s states, “I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time,” I start to feel their are many ideas how this quote can be related to my personal life and more. I agree with Callerman’s statement because there was no doubt Chris McCandless was arrogant, but he was not as ignorant as I thought. In my opinion, the...
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...Christopher McCandless was one of the most flawed characters in the history of nonfictional literary works. His ignorance and recklessness ultimately led to a miserable death in vain. He was inconsiderate and selfish in setting off on his foolish journey to his death. He didn’t bother to consider the consequences, and the grief that people who loved him would be forced to endure. Chris “…wasn’t a nutcase, he wasn’t a sociopath, he wasn’t an outcast.” He was an ignorant fool who threw away his life, hurting the ones who loved him most in the process. The whole foundation McCandless’s ideology and reason for escaping “into the wild” was baseless to begin with. He based his reasoning off of the Transcendalists, who started their movements in...
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...FAMILY OF SECRETS The Bush Dynasty, America’s Invisible Government, and the Hidden History of the Last Fifty Years RUSS BAKER Contents Foreword by James Moore 1. How Did Bush Happen? 2. Poppy’s Secret 3. Viva Zapata 4. Where Was Poppy? 5. Oswald’s Friend 6. The Hit 7. After Camelot 8. Wings for W. 9. The Nixonian Bushes 10. Downing Nixon, Part I: The Setup 11. Downing Nixon, Part II: The Execution 12. In from the Cold 13. Poppy’s Proxy and the Saudis 14. Poppy’s Web 15. The Handoff 16. The Quacking Duck 17. Playing Hardball 18. Meet the Help 19. The Conversion 20. The Skeleton in W.’s Closet 21. Shock and . . . Oil? 22. Deflection for Reelection 23. Domestic Disturbance 24. Conclusion Afterword Author’s Note Acknowledgments Notes Foreword When a governor or any state official seeks elective national office, his (or her) reputation and what the country knows about the candidate’s background is initially determined by the work of local and regional media. Generally, those journalists do a competent job of reporting on the prospect’s record. In the case of Governor George W. Bush, Texas reporters had written numerous stories about his failed businesses in the oil patch, the dubious land grab and questionable funding behind a new stadium for Bush’s baseball team, the Texas Rangers, and his various political contradictions and hypocrisies while serving in Austin. I was one of those Texas journalists. I spent about a decade...
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