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 story didn’t just create fame for Alaska, but elsewhere as well. In 2013, Johnathan Croom had been fascinated by the movie and went to follow in McCandless’s footsteps. His expedition had also ended in death (Kemp). People in the past and even still today try to break away from society it order to chase after some whimsical fad, so what motivated McCandless? From Thoreau’s spiritual revelations to the fame McCandless’s death had created many have dropped everything in order to find themselves. Many have seen McCandless as having been too fascinated by the ideology in the books he read, while others say that he was trying to work out personal issues. In any case whatever sent him off, would eventually lead to his death in August 1992. McCandless’s journey could be described as a way for him to gain control from his domineering parents and how he turned to “inward and away” in order to find himself. The aspirations McCandless’s parents had for their son drove him to find meaning elsewhere, as he attempted to gain control of his life. His parents’ hypocrisy and loose morals made him distrustful of authority making him embark on his quest. (Krakauer--) The rigorous standards that youth entering the adult world are faced with can at time seem constrictive, and with no power over their own lives, many reject the values so vehemently preached. Such was the case with McCandless, the main motivation behind McCandless’s journey was to find a way to live without the confines of what his parents’ wanted. In an effort to find himself McCandless turned away from the expected societal norms, and instead searched for truth in nature and books that he had read. The goals that McCandless’s was pursue were meaningful and despite how it ended he succeeded in finding meaning in place of the wounded morality through his parents’ hypocrisy, his pursuit of truth beyond the mangled deceptions, and to discover himself as an individual. As much as McCandless’s expedition has been dismissed for its wanton, childish nature; there is more meaning than what was on the surface. Carine McCandless in an interview with Outside Magazine about her book, The Wild Truth, she explains how their parents were harsh and Chris eventually decided to break ties with his parents. Whenever Chris became aware how cruel and hypocritical his parents were, to him it must have been …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