Chris Mccandless Rebirths In Into The Wild

In efforts to find more meaning in their lives, many philosophers and adventurers have followed the path to discover themselves outside of civilization. Thoreau was most known for his transcendental experiences he wrote of in Walden. Henry Ticknor once said that “individuals have used the wilderness as a metaphor for life’s vicissitudes”, and many since Thoreau have sought out their own “spiritual rebirths” in nature (Ticknor 3).Chris McCandless was one who attempted to relive Thoreau’s exploits, but for as much as nature deals life it also deals death. In August 1992, McCandless was discovered dead in Alaska. Jon Krakauer wrote Into the Wild, after being inspired by McCandless’s story, and many more since then have followed in his footsteps (Krakauer--). After the publication of into the wild, McCandless’s excursion lives on in what one Alaskan park ranger calls the “McCandless Phenomenon” (Christian ---), more than a hundred people annually visit the bus where McCandless died. It has been reported that seventy-five percent of the rescues in that area are form the trail leading to the bus, in fact some have even died trying to reach it.(Moss--) McCandless’s …show more content…
Many would say that he had failed in his mission to find meaning, truth, and his own form of independence, although I disagree. For McCandless, the morality scruples with his parents lead him to break away from everything in order to find what he valued. His isolation brought him closer to nature and the philosophical ideas in literature. He had succeeded in his goals and attempted to leave but could not. Of course it is not known if he intended to return to civilization afterwards, but he had completed everything he had hoped to accomplish. He had found meaning beyond what had been expected, he found truth beyond the deceptions of his parents, and he found himself beyond society as he travelled into the