Into The Wild Chris Mccandless Comparison

Into the Wild is the captivating story of Christopher McCandless, a brilliant college graduate who, out of nowhere, leaves his family, friends, and all the common luxuries of civilization in search of a greater form of life close to nature and separated from society. Shortly after his college graduation, he gives away his inheritance to charity and hoping to forget his past life, changes his name to “Alexander Supertramp”. One of McCandless's favorite essays was Civil Disobedience by Henry Thoreau inspired by when Thoreau spent a night in jail after refusing to pay a small fine. Henry Thoreau was very similar to McCandless in many ways. Thoreau was a graduate of Harvard, and ……….Throughout this book, many of Thoreau’s views influenced McCandless through his decisions including his choice to leave his wealthy life behind to venture into the depths of the Alaskan wildness, giving up all of his personal possessions, and the way that he views American society. …show more content…
Thoreau went to the woods, as he explains, “because I wanted to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (Walden). This is one of multiple parallels to McCandless’s many decisions. This influenced him to leave behind and forget his past life of wealth by changing his name. Thoreau’s experience at Walden Pond also influenced McCandless to venture into the wilderness to find out who he really is. He wanted to be on his own without authority telling him what to do. As for Thoreau, he wanted to be one with nature try to survive by himself. Thoreau’s Walden also influenced McCandless to give up all of his