Chris Mccandless Argumentative Essay

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In the April of 1992, Chris McCandless set out from South Dakota to Fairbanks Alaska. Five months later, McCandless's body was found rotting inside an abandoned bus. Chris McCandless had run away from his family and had hoped to survive in the wild with only the bare necessities. McCandless was a fool for what he did, he was a hard working, and vigilant man, yet he embarked without a backup plan, nor the proper supplies to survive out in the wild.

When Chris was given a responsibility or a challenge, he would do it with tremendous effort and not layoff until he was finished. During the conversation between the author and a coworker of McCandless at the McDonalds in bullhead city, McCandless is complimented for his politeness and skill:
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McCandless went out into the wild with no backup plan or way to get out easily, should something go wrong, and that ultimately led to his death. When Gallien drops off Chris, he tries to give Gallien his watch: "I don't want to know what time it is, I Don't want to know what day it is or where I am. none of that matters (Krakauer 7). This statement is the first statement to fully explain that McCandless wants to wing it as much as he can and not care where he ends up. When McCandless comes across the river, he looks around and realizes he won't get across, as a result, he turned around and headed back to the bus. Had he gone further downstream, however: "Exquisitely detailed it indicates that half a mile downstream, in the throat of the canyon, is a gauging station (Krakauer 173)." He would have discovered that the gauging station also had a zip line to cross the river with, if he had been more cautious and spent more time by the river, he could have gotten across and not end up in the …show more content…
On of McCandless's accomplishments include killing a moose, or so he thought "There's a big difference between a moose and a caribou. A real big difference. You'd have to be pretty stupid not to tell them apart… Thereby confirming the opinion of countless readers that McCandless was ridiculously ill prepared (Krakauer 177)." In confusing the caribou for a moose, a difference so obvious, it was clear that McCandless had not had enough preparation for the trip. When McCandless set off on his trek after Gallien had picked him up, he had also not had the right supplies. Carrying very few rations and very little clothes and tools in his pack, he was not prepared. "Gallien reached behind the seat, pulled out an old pair of rubber work boots, and persuaded the boy to take them (Krakauer 7)." Gallien forced him into taking his boots which most likely proved

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