Christopher Jack London McCandless
Christopher “Jack London” McCandless
Anna Wilson
English III Honors
Petrulla
26 November 2014
Wilson 2 Two people in two generations so different, yet so alike. Jack London, an American author, wrote books like
Call of The Wild and
White Fang
. Both were about adventure and discovering something and that is exactly what Christopher McCandless did. Christopher
McCandless was an adventurer and a seeker of himself. Christopher read London's novels and novels from various authors, like Thoreau and Emerson. Jack London and Christopher
McCandless had similar childhoods, yet the outcome was different. Also, Christopher is relatable to Buck, the main character in
The Call of The Wild by Jack London, by how they view authority. Additionally, he is relatable to Buck as they both discover themselves in the wild but completely differ in the outcome. It is believed that McCandless listened to London and followed him as an example.
Both men discovered a radical family fact that impacted their views on their families.
When Jack London was only nine months old, his mother, Flora, married John London. Jack grew up believing that John was his biological father and when Jack discovered that John was not, he pestered his mother about who his father was. His father was supposedly an itinerant astrologer and when he found out Flora was pregnant, he told her to have an abortion, thus she faked her death and left. When Jack was born, Virginia Prentiss became a wet nurse for Flora and she formed a loving relationship with Jack. Jack would view his mother as cold and heartless. The same thing happened to Christopher McCandless with his father, Walt. Walt
McCandless had Christopher with Billie Johnson, Christopher's Mother and a secretary at Walt's work, all while he was still married to Marcia, who had a child around the same time. Walt
Wilson 3 worked hard to support his
Anna Wilson
English III Honors
Petrulla
26 November 2014
Wilson 2 Two people in two generations so different, yet so alike. Jack London, an American author, wrote books like
Call of The Wild and
White Fang
. Both were about adventure and discovering something and that is exactly what Christopher McCandless did. Christopher
McCandless was an adventurer and a seeker of himself. Christopher read London's novels and novels from various authors, like Thoreau and Emerson. Jack London and Christopher
McCandless had similar childhoods, yet the outcome was different. Also, Christopher is relatable to Buck, the main character in
The Call of The Wild by Jack London, by how they view authority. Additionally, he is relatable to Buck as they both discover themselves in the wild but completely differ in the outcome. It is believed that McCandless listened to London and followed him as an example.
Both men discovered a radical family fact that impacted their views on their families.
When Jack London was only nine months old, his mother, Flora, married John London. Jack grew up believing that John was his biological father and when Jack discovered that John was not, he pestered his mother about who his father was. His father was supposedly an itinerant astrologer and when he found out Flora was pregnant, he told her to have an abortion, thus she faked her death and left. When Jack was born, Virginia Prentiss became a wet nurse for Flora and she formed a loving relationship with Jack. Jack would view his mother as cold and heartless. The same thing happened to Christopher McCandless with his father, Walt. Walt
McCandless had Christopher with Billie Johnson, Christopher's Mother and a secretary at Walt's work, all while he was still married to Marcia, who had a child around the same time. Walt
Wilson 3 worked hard to support his