...The Beat of Chris McCandless’ Drum Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is an account of Chris McCandless and his journey to his final destination of the great Alaskan frontier. Many songs by Eddie Vedder contribute to the readers understanding of the enigmatic Chris McCandless as well as his approach to life and time on the road. The three songs that reflect Chris’ struggles and philosophy are Far Behind, No Ceiling, and Guaranteed. The first piece of music that mirrors Chris’s approach to life is Eddie Vedder’s Far Behind. Chris McCandless has a very unique approach to life. He believes that the less material possessions you have the better life will be. The reader knows this from a letter written to Ronald Franz. The letter included “... as a general rule spend as little as possible and you will enjoy it much more immensely” (Krakauer 58). Chris gave this advice to most of the...
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...desire for those who spend their life trapped in the cog of life and success, people who grew up with expectations set upon them, people like Christopher McCandless. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a book on Chris McCandless, a man who decided he would hitch-hike up north into the Alaskan wilderness. This is considered a non-fiction biography. Chris was only in his twenties when he set out on his wilful journey to Alaska, embarking on a trip of being alone to make his own decisions, being stripped down to his wits, testing his strengths, and ultimately taxing his weaknesses....
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...Shaun Callarman believed that McCandless was not courageous nor noble. This is actually how I see McCandless as well. He was crazy. It was probably the dumbest thing that Chris could’ve done with his life. Although he had a rough upbringing and a fallout with his dad, I do not think that going into the wilderness ill-prepared was the best way to deal with his issues. Chris McCandless was a boy from the suburbs of Virginia who was very athletic. He was only twenty four years old when his body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness. He was a student at Emory University and shortly after he graduated, he set off on his adventure that would later kill him. McCandless became angry with his family because he had found out that his father had had another family when Chris was just a child. This information is what set Chris off and provoked him to leave with no return. He had no intentions on telling his parents or sister where he was going. This is the most psychotic act I have ever heard of. Chris changed his identity by going by name “Alex.” Personally, I do not think that this was a smart idea at all. Chris...
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...believe that Christopher McCandless was not a crazy person, however, he may have been incompetent in the sense that he was unprepared and rash in his decision making. Throughout the novel, the author, Jon Karakauer, explained the life of Chris McCandless and his last journey in the American west. Krakauer describes McCandless’s journey with so much detail and information provided by his loved ones that it’s clear to suggest McCandless was intelligent, stubborn, and unprepared during his lifelong adventure. Throughout the novel, Krakauer pieces together the puzzle that was Christopher McCandless’s life. While most of Chris’s family was in utter confusion and grief as to why Chris would leave without a trace, Krakauer discovered why and...
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...his troubled relationship with his parents too much? A dialog between Mr. Franz and Christopher McCandless was: Mr. Franz “Don’t you think you ought to be getting and education? And a job? And making something of this life?” Alex – “I think careers are a 20th century invention, and I don’t want one?” Does Chris really feel this way, or is he just afraid that if he tries he might fail? “Some people feel like they don’t deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past.” Is Christopher McCandless running away from his past or starting a new future. The McCandless family bolted a plaque onto the side of the bus in Alaska when they went to visit it says “Chris, our beloved son and brother, died here during his adventurous travels in search of how he could best realize Gods great gift of life… McCandless family 7/93.” Is the McCandless family right in assuming that his pursuits were of a religious persuasion or have they mis-interpreted what he was looking for? If so what was he looking for? “You are wrong if you think joy emanates only of principal from human relationships. God had placed it all around us. It is in everything and anything we might experience.” (Christopher McCandless) &“Happyness is only real when share.” (Alexander Supertramp) are two quotes that directly contradict one another. The first is signed by Chris and the second by Alex. Does this demonstrate a shift in perspective or is he just being inconsistent...
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...“I now walk into the wild.” Those were the eerie almost-haunting last words written in a letter by Chris McCandless addressed to Wayne Westerberg. One of many people that McCandless spent time with while during his compelling & exhilarating grand odyssey across America before his trip to Alaska. For as he described in his journal “The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual revolution.” Informatively written and researched by award winning adventure writer and journalist John Krakauer. He has pieced together a compelling and investigative look at what happened during the two years that McCandless shed his possessions and hit the road traveling across the country up until, his tragic death as...
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...Krakauer’s, Into the Wild, the main character Chris McCandless ultimately achieves transcendence on his journey. However, this can be argued. At the beginning of the book one of the first things revealed about Chris is his death. So how did he achieve transcendence if he died? Isn’t that failure itself, not succeeding at your task? Even though Chris’s life ends on his journey in Alaska, he found peace before his death. On his deathbed, Chris shows a change of heart. On page 199, he wrote a note, “McCandless penned a brief adios: ‘I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. MAY GOD BLESS ALL.’” This note was a goodbye. Chris was never able to say goodbye to his parents, friends, and other...
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...possibilities rather they be dangerous or promising. For some, escape to the unknown can lead to a new life. For others, it brings death. Still others are running to discover something exciting and new. Chris McCandless did both. The biography of Chris McCandless, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, recounts McCandless’s journey from Atlanta to discover America’s last frontier- Alaska- and perhaps to discover something about himself too. McCandless was a well educated 22 year old who left everything behind to escape 20th century civilization and find a new frontier of possibilities. The American Frontier best symbolizes what happened to McCandless. Like explorers and immigrants...
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...Chris McCandless is a young man in Jon Krakauer's novel who drops everything to journey into the wilderness and find adventure. Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer characterizes Christopher McCandless as careless and independant. Chris is described as man descriptive adjectives by many people but one that I believe fits him very well would have to be careless. “Alex admitted that the only food in his pack was a ten-pound bag of rice. His gear seemed exceedingly minimal for the harsh conditions… Alex didn't seem too worried” (Jon Krakauer 5). Chris went into the wilderness unprepared not ready for what he was about to encounter out there. He was prepared for what he was going to face mentally but not physically definitely not physically. All he had with hi was a pack of rice which probably didn't even last him a week so as you can there is one...
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...man named Christopher McCandless graduated from Emory, donated all of his savings, and embarked on a two year journey, which eventually resulted in his death in the wilderness of Alaska. Prior to his expedition, Chris uncovered the secret of his father's infidelity and of his second family. This cause Chris to separate himself from his parents, and fueled his desire to escape the greedy, complicated nature of society. On his travels across the western United States, Chris befriended many and kept in a distant touch with few, one of those select few being Wayne Westerberg, the owner of a grain elevator in South Dakota. After two years of hike-hiking as far south as Mexico, McCandless reached his final most northern...
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...McCandless’ Attitude Toward a Flawed Society: 1. This tells me that McCandless has always been obsessed with living life in a primeval way and hasn’t really been satisfied with living in modern American society. It doesn’t surprise me that he took off to live in the wild because, from what I’ve experienced in my life, when people think about something for as long as McCandless thought about leaving society, they become infatuated with their dreams, and start to become determined to make their dreams a reality. 2. The fact that he got angry whenever he talked about his parents or politicians shows me just how dissatisfied he was with his whole life. He didn’t see his parents in a positive way, didn’t trust the government and he ridiculed the “American dream”. If I felt as negatively as he did about the modern United States, I probably would have done the same as he did. 3. McCandless felt very passionately that here, in a westernized country, nobody should be starving. This shows me that he had a good heart and cared about the well being of others. Maybe he went into the wild to experience what it was like to be starving because of his...
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...Into the wild is a book about a man named Chris McCandless who tramped around the west coast and some parts of the mid west for about two years and then his adventures led him to mexico and Alaska where he eventually pass away. Chris McCandless was a one of a kind man that lived such a short life but in that time touched the heart of so many people and lived a very full life which is incredible because what he did would take any normal person years to get the courage of doing what he did. Even though Chris was somewhat of a free spirit he had a deep sense of friendship and he cherished the friends that he meet. Chris’s intention to go into the wild was not only a way to prove himself but it was a test to his belief that all of his traveling was a way of finding who he was, and to find out if he could use his skills that he had learned. the books that he read certainly led to him thinking that he could live in the Alaskan wilderness. Chris was a well read person and his favorite books where that of writer jack London. Jack London wrote about life and surviving in the alaskan frontier with books like call of the wild or to build a fire. Many people have suspensions of why chris went into the wild, but a lot of evidence point to that he was influenced by his personal belief that he had to be the best in everything. a quote from the book into the wild that proves this is “ Chris had so much natural talent”(pg111) this quote was said by his father that chris was do his best to learn...
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...The description of Chris Mccandless, according to some, is that of a mad lunatic because of his outlandish actions displayed in Jon Krakauer’s “Into The Wild”. However, there are a few people who understand and show sympathy for McCandless’s view. An example of an individual that shares the same thrill as McCandless is the author himself. Similarities between Krakauer and McCandless mirror in their parental situations as well as their love for exploration into the unknown. These two individuals will demonstrate the struggle with family and identity that society has a hard time accepting. Family and society take a toll on both McCandless and Krakauer, because their fathers demand so much from them, wanting them to exceed the legacy that they have established. While investigating into McCandless’s odyssey, Krakauer starts to reflect on his own personal life,“But i believe we were similarly affected by the skewed relationships we had with our fathers....
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...Chris McCandless was a very isolated person. He depended on one person only, that being himself. Not only did McCandless push away his family, he pushed away the society as a whole. On page 55 it says, “He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family.” This and his parents achievements show that he may have left his family because he felt like they expected too much of him, making him very independent. Chris was not close with his father, Walt. Walt was a very successful. Because Walt was successful, he was a busy man. Because if this, Chris did not see Walt very much during his childhood. This made Chris and Walt become distant and not close. As said on page 64, “Both father and son were stubborn and high-strung.” I think that because...
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...Chris McCandless died trying to prove something to himself, walking into the Alaskan wilderness knowing that he was ill equipped and unlikely to be able to walk out, relying solely on himself. How is that not brave? In the novel, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the readers get to travel with Chris, starting at the point when he leaves college and disappears for the first time, all the way up until when his body is found in a bus in the middle of an Alaskan forest. Jon Krakauer believes that Chris was a brave, heroic, noble young man who chased his dream until death caught up with him. Krakauer’s beliefs about Chris, and the way that he chose to live his life, were spot on. Krakauer describes as being brave, heroic and noble because he walked into the wild, all alone, to chase his dream. Webster dictionary defines brave as “having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty”. Krakauer believes that Chris was brave because he walked into the forest trying “ to...
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