Pursuit of Happiness
The Pursuit of Happiness
For countless ages the human race has had a deep connection with the wilderness, and many have found their way back to live off the land. It can be an escape for peace, and for introspection. For Chris McCandless, recently graduated from Emory University, it was not just a journey but more of a test of his self-worth. It was in testing himself that McCandless found his peace, but at a grave cost. His obsessions, with Jack London 's romantic wilderness and Leo Tolstoy 's moral standard, ultimately blinded him to the harsh and unforgiving Alaskan wilderness. Chris McCandless found his happiness not in the trivial aspects of 'modern society ' but in escaping and losing his inner self. Born in El Segundo, California and raised comfortably in Annandale, Virginia, McCandless had a relatively ordinary childhood. Chris was adventurous from an early age. At just two years old, Chris woke up in the middle of the night, went outside unbeknownst to his parents, and went down the street to "plunder a neighbor 's candy drawer" (Krakauer 106). It was this will that set Chris apart from his peers from then on. Chris ' sister Carrine recalled his relationships as a young boy as unimportant. "[Chris] was very to himself" and "didn 't seem to need toys or friends." His nature was most aptly described as "alone without being lonely" which presumably is how Chris must have felt from time to time throughout his young adult life (Krakauer 107). Chris McCandless was extremely competitive and well-coordinated, with ample "natural talent", but any sort of "nuance, strategy, and anything beyond the rudimentaries of technique were wasted on Chris" and the consequence was often frustration. He refused instruction from a young age and found his happiness doing things his own way. When Walter (Chris ' father) tried to coach him, in attempts to "polish his skill", Chris put up a "wall" and applied only his "extraordinary energy" in a blunt manner to attain
For countless ages the human race has had a deep connection with the wilderness, and many have found their way back to live off the land. It can be an escape for peace, and for introspection. For Chris McCandless, recently graduated from Emory University, it was not just a journey but more of a test of his self-worth. It was in testing himself that McCandless found his peace, but at a grave cost. His obsessions, with Jack London 's romantic wilderness and Leo Tolstoy 's moral standard, ultimately blinded him to the harsh and unforgiving Alaskan wilderness. Chris McCandless found his happiness not in the trivial aspects of 'modern society ' but in escaping and losing his inner self. Born in El Segundo, California and raised comfortably in Annandale, Virginia, McCandless had a relatively ordinary childhood. Chris was adventurous from an early age. At just two years old, Chris woke up in the middle of the night, went outside unbeknownst to his parents, and went down the street to "plunder a neighbor 's candy drawer" (Krakauer 106). It was this will that set Chris apart from his peers from then on. Chris ' sister Carrine recalled his relationships as a young boy as unimportant. "[Chris] was very to himself" and "didn 't seem to need toys or friends." His nature was most aptly described as "alone without being lonely" which presumably is how Chris must have felt from time to time throughout his young adult life (Krakauer 107). Chris McCandless was extremely competitive and well-coordinated, with ample "natural talent", but any sort of "nuance, strategy, and anything beyond the rudimentaries of technique were wasted on Chris" and the consequence was often frustration. He refused instruction from a young age and found his happiness doing things his own way. When Walter (Chris ' father) tried to coach him, in attempts to "polish his skill", Chris put up a "wall" and applied only his "extraordinary energy" in a blunt manner to attain
Cited: Krakauer, Jon. Into The Wild. New York: First Anchor, 1996. Print