For those who do not know this story, I'll give you a quick abstract. Christopher Johnson McCandless was a college graduate back in 1992. He was intelligent, funny, and very driven. During his years in college along with some incidents in his home life, he became extremely disgusted with society. After his graduation, he donated 24,000 dollars (life savings) to OXFAM and started a journey west with little equipment and little food. After two years walking the earth, Chris was found dead of starvation in a abandoned bus in Denali National Park. The book "Into The Wild" was written by Jon Krakauer, which has also became a motion picture.
Now the debate since this book and film has ever came out is whether or not McCandless is a hero or an idiot who was influenced by visions of grandeur.
Chris was a smart kid. Real smart. He was not one that backed down from a debate or argument, but he was a person that was so engaging in a conversation that you would never forget him. Everyone who crossed his path in his own "Manifest Destiny" journey was truly hurt by his death only after speaking with him for a few hours.
He was also very close minded. His determination was one of the main factors that contributed to his death. Chris's mentality was if he saw a goal he would acheive it no matter who or what came in his path.
During his journey, he met many characters that helped assist him with his journey. Hunters, wanderers, fellow supertramps that would give him tips and advice on how to cook meat out in that land and basic tips on how to survive in the wild. He would take notes furiously to make sure he had every aspect of the conversation on paper to ensure his survival. Also, he took out five books on plant life in the Alaska Wildlands to know what is edible and what is not.
Chris was not a fool by anymeans for doing this. However, I personally think experience is the best factor for this sort of journey because a how to book can get you so far.
His death was untimely, but he seemed to accept it from Krakauer's writing. He knew that things were not going to end peacefully, but this was the life that Chris wanted to live and he knew that this could possibly be his fate.
Some people seem to think Chris was mentally disturbed because of his inexperience of a journey into the wild, but I disagree. Chris did not have a deathwish. If he did, he could have easily found other means to rid himself of his life. I think Chris wanted a journey that would help define his life and the readings of Jack London, Thoreau, and Tolstoy. He wanted to prove that if they could live in these conditions away from society that he could as well.
Ever since the movie came out, thousands of people have journeyed to the bus on the Stampede Trail to see his final resting place and to read his "passages" written on the bus. Hell, I did feel an urge to travel cross country and to see the sights of this great nation and to feel somewhat of a great journey that Chris did endure.
To conclude, Chris was not crazy. He just did what some people could not.
Live his life the way he wanted to live it, without anyone or anything interfering.
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