Chris Mccandless In Jon Krakauer's 'Into The Wild'

Into the Wild Into the Wild, a novel written by Jon Krakauer, reveals the journey of Christopher McCandless across the United States in search of a life that was different from what he had previously known. He set out on a journey in order to discover a way of life that was free of the material possessions his family held so dear. Chris graduated from Emory University and was described as a good student who achieved high grades, attained several academic awards and earned many accomplishments. His family seemed to have thought he would pursue graduate work and eventually had aspirations for him to become a lawyer. Throughout the novel, Chris is often described by those who knew him as a very bright and intelligent individual. He read often and used a robust vocabulary, frequently citing a wide variety of authors. Although many of the individuals he encountered on his journey were not exactly the most academically esteemed people, he was constantly characterized as being quite intellectually savvy. Although Chris was described as a bright young man, he often made decisions which severely contradicted his intelligence. There are several instances throughout his journey in which Chris makes foolish decisions that critically hurt his ability to survive in the wilderness. This paper examines these foolish
“In his state of hunger, McCandless simply made the mistake of ingesting its seed pods. A person with a better grasp of botanical principles would probably not have eaten them but it was an incorrect error. It was however sufficient to do him in.”(Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Doubleday, 1996.) If he was prepared to with his Geological survey topographical map he would have seen the cabins were only about six miles away and he may have been able to reach this destination where emergency food and shelter would have been