Alfonso, Lu 1

Rae Alfonso, Wenling Lu

Mrs. Grossman
English 1 Honors
25 JAN 2012
Chris McCandless was a hitchhiker who left everything behind to
pursue his dream of living in solitude and being free from society
(Wikipedia.com). He adopted the name Alexander Supertramp on his journey
to hide his identity (Wikipedia.com). He left on his quest for freedom with
little food and equipment (Wikipedia.com). His remains were found four
months later, weighing only 67 pounds (Wikipedia.com). The authorities
concluded that McCandless died of starvation (Wikipedia.com). His quest for
ultimate freedom was inherently selfish for he showed no signs of altruism
towards others seeing that he were narcissistic, stubborn, and inconsiderate.
McCandless was a narcissistic man, meaning that he only cared about
his own thoughts and opinions (Enotes.com). He saw things in his own
perspective and didnt care for what others thought (Enotes.com). His own
ideas were all that mattered to him (Enotes.com). No matter how much
people tried to convince him to go home and give up his ridiculous plan of
living in the Alaskan Wilderness, he stuck by his decision (Krakauer, 1-207).
He was reckless and didnt care that his own actions could affect and
influence the people around him (Enotes.com). His superior sense of self is
what caused him to feel vulnerable to consequences, thus leading to his
ultimate demise (Yahoo.com).

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McCandless rebellious personality showed that he was stubborn. He
never took anyones orders but his own. Nor did he accept anyones help. He
thought that he could take on the whole world by himself. A stranger named
Jim Gallien offered to drive Chris all the way to Anchorage, buy him some
decent equipment, and then drive him to wherever he wanted to go. But
Chris refused and simply said, No thanks anyway, Im fine with what Ive
got, (Krakauer, 6). If he took Jims aid he would have probably survived in
the wilderness. His stubbornness caused his journey to be fatal in the end.
The inconsideration that McCandless exposed during his search for
ultimate freedom showed that he was only concerned with oneself.
Throughout his adventures, he walked in and out of peoples lives. For
example, Wayne Westerbug, McCandless accepted his aid, but he would
often walk out to get away from society (Krakauer, 1-207). Eventually he left
even though Wayne tried to convince him not to (Krakauer, 1-207). He
thought his plans were best kept secret, but he didnt consider what others
thought of his decision. He abandoned everything, including his family,
without even notifying them (Krakauer, 1-207). His inconsideration for other
peoples feelings showed that he didnt care for how his actions would affect
the people around him (Krakauer, 1-207). The discovery of Chris death left
his family and friends brokenhearted (Krakauer, 1-207).
Considering McCandless narcissistic, stubborn, and inconsiderate
personality, his quest for ultimate freedom showed no true concern toward
others. He was selfish, arrogant, and was inferior to realism (Yahoo.com).

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Although, his donation to charity and his little gifts to the people he met did
show he was generous, he was still selfish in a way that his inconsideration
lead to a tragedy for the people who cared about him (Krakauer, 1-207). His
desire for social isolation and his hatred for rules lead him to make an unwise
decision.

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Works Cited
"Christopher McCandless." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless>.
Krakauer, Jon. Into The Wild. New York: Anchor, 1996.
Mkcapen1. "What Are the Main Characteristics of Chris McCandless? - Into
the Wild - Questions & Answers." ENotes - Literature Study Guides,
Lesson Plans, and More. Web. 26 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.enotes.com/into-wild/q-and-a/lt-page-margin-2cm-pmargin-bottom-0-21cm-gt-127341>.
"Physical and Psychological Characteristics of Chris McCandless? - Yahoo!
Answers." Yahoo! Answers - Home. Web. 26 Jan. 2012.
<http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?
qid=20090929124732AAOo1iu>.