Mccandless Stereotypes

McCandless didn’t conform particularly well to the bush-casualty stereotype. Although he was rash, untutored in the ways of the backcountry, and incautious to the point of foolhardiness, he wasn’t, incompetent- he wouldn’t have lasted 113 days if he were. And he wasn’t a nutcase, he wasn’t a sociopath, he wasn’t an outcast. McCandless was something else- although precisely what is hard to say. A pilgrim, perhaps (85). Although Chris/Alex was a very bright and educated young man, he lacked any knowledge on how to survive properly in the wild. He had no formal training of any kind and studied little bits of survival along his way. His biggest mistake is throwing himself in the toughest environment to live in North America, and it cost him his …show more content…
If he wanted to go to Alaska, he would not have traveled down to Mexico in a kayak. Had he not traveled down to Mexico, he could have gotten to Alaska quicker or even stopped at several libraries to study up on survival techniques. His lack of preparation is the major cause of his struggle, gradual decline in health, and eventual death. His lack of proper gear and inadequate amount of food, water, and ammunition as well as lack of a large enough caliber for proper hunting contributed greatly to him barely being able to keep his health and weight up. His biggest and most fatal mistake was that he had failed to properly study edible plants which had caused him to eat a poisonous plant that would further accelerate his loss of health and ultimately lead to his death. While Chris did make it over 100 days in the wild, it came at the cost of his health deteriorating which was only further sped up by his lack of knowledge on edible plants. If he had the proper skills and experience, he could have easily survived much longer in the wild and would possibly even still be alive