Chris Mccandless Argumentative Essay
Despite the conflicting public opinion, Chris McCandless succeeded in his goal to survive in the wilderness and taught the world valuable lessons in the process. Chris McCandless “probably died on August 18th, 112 days after he had walked into the wild.” (119, Krakauer) He survived with very little gear and food, even though he was essentially cut off from the world. To have lived for a little over three months totally self-sufficient is impressive. Chris’s goal was to be independent and live off the land for a while. In his mindset, he achieved in his goal. Wayne Westerberg had employed Chris for two short amounts of time, but said “He was the type of person who insisted on living out his beliefs.” (Krakauer, 67) This was why Chris was determined to go to Alaska, instead of listening to the protests of others.
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He was an adept hunter, and while he “made some mistakes on the Stampede Trail, but confusing a caribou with a moose wasn’t among them.” (Krakauer, 178) something the Alaskan hunters who found him, mixed up. Those who knew Chris understood that while he might be idealistic, he was not a fool. Many letters were written to Outsider, after the Chris article, stating that Chris was ignorant and underprepared. “His ignorance, which could have been cured by...is what killed him.” (Krakauer, 72) While Chris was arrogant, he was not stupid. Chris just did not see things the way others did, seeing his Alaska excursion as “The great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent.” (Krakauer, 37) A phenomenon of human nature is that we do not see things in the same way, and Chris definitely saw things in a different
He was an adept hunter, and while he “made some mistakes on the Stampede Trail, but confusing a caribou with a moose wasn’t among them.” (Krakauer, 178) something the Alaskan hunters who found him, mixed up. Those who knew Chris understood that while he might be idealistic, he was not a fool. Many letters were written to Outsider, after the Chris article, stating that Chris was ignorant and underprepared. “His ignorance, which could have been cured by...is what killed him.” (Krakauer, 72) While Chris was arrogant, he was not stupid. Chris just did not see things the way others did, seeing his Alaska excursion as “The great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent.” (Krakauer, 37) A phenomenon of human nature is that we do not see things in the same way, and Chris definitely saw things in a different