Preview

Jack London

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
457 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Jack London
Both Chris McCandless and Jack London left to go into the wilderness to find their true selves. They both also had serious family issues, with McCandless’ father having a secret other family, and London’s mother attempting to shoot themselves. It is a possibility that through this they learned that humans are unpredictable, and unreliable, and as a result, they preferred to be in solitude for long periods of time, so that they would no longer be subjected to the random whims of other people.

The death of both McCandless and London were debated as suicides, as they both took actions that undoubtedly contributed to their own deaths. Since both of these men had overcome such great adversity in the past, they both assumed that they could survive the adversity of Alaska, or Uremia poisoning, respectively. However, on this last challenge, they both underestimated the challenge, and overestimated themselves, and as a result, both of their stories end tragically.

Chris looked up to Jack London, due to the fact that they had such similar values and beliefs.

Both Chris and Jack traveled often, and neither of them had smooth sailing while they were traveling. Chris had many experiences where he was completely lost, and lacking food and money, while Jack developed scurvy when he was heading towards the Klondike during the gold rush.

Both Jack London and Chris McCandless had unorthodox idols, with examples for Jack London being Alexander the Great and Napoleon, while McCandless looked up to people like Thoreau and London. This shows that both of these men

These facts give a large deal of insight into the minds of Chris McCandless and Jack London. They both had an incredible will, and unrivaled determination. This is shown by the fact that they both jumped head first into challenges, knowing that they were not going to be easy, but they chose to attempt them anyway, due to their relentless vigor. They both also had large family issues, which most likely has a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    John Colter and Tom Murphy are similar in many way's, which you'll learn in this essay. From the clothes they brought to the materials they had and also the weather. there where some way's they where also different. as you'll also learn.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Chris and Jon 's life have many parallels and contrasts at the same time. Both gave up most of their possessions to go after a dream they had. Ones dream was to live off the land in the remote regions of Alaska, the other too climb the Devils Thumb, a mountain peak that had never been scaled by man. Each man was aware of the risks, but were they equally prepared when each began their own adventure? I feel that Chris McCandless was at a disadvantage when he first started off. Raised by a wealthy family and just graduating from Emory University I feel he wasn 't as prepared as he could have been. Fortunately his father had taken him on hiking trips so he was at least somewhat familiar with the wilderness but in no way was he prepared…

    • 1367 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    He wanted to be like other noble authors like Tolstoy , Jack London, etc. To live up to their expectations. Such as leaving everything behind. He donated all his money to a charity. Then McCandless died being brave and different than other for believing what he thinks is right. McCandless could have lived on and tell his story if he survived none of his favorite authors died doing what McCandless did. Since Chris died attempting to do that he failed others see it as he died doing what he thought was right. He burned his money he had left in pocket why not give it to someone like how he donated the money or was it a fast way to get rid of a plethora of money. In my opinion McCandless is a narcissistic bastard not telling his loved ones that he will be off alone in Alaska.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chris McCandless is a man who chose to run away from society because he was tired of it’s corruption, turpitude and people’s dishonesty. He always had a dream to go into the wild and live off of the land. Chris was upset about the direction his life was going in. He knew he had everything any other person would want in life, he graduated college, didn’t have to deal with the struggle of paying for anything because his parents were wealthy. He didn’t want to be like his father, a man who had many affairs, got drunk, beat his wife and puts his reputation before his family.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his romantic silliness. He made a lot of mistakes based on arrogance. I dont admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy. Shaun Callarman Explain Callarmans argument and discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with his analysis. 4. Beyond simply not getting along with his father, do you relate to Chris Do you feel that you understand him and what he did Do you admire him for his goals Have you had any experiences that you think help you better understand him 5. Krakauer says in the Authors Note that there were many differing opinions about Chris, and that his own convictions should be apparent soon enough. But that he will leave it to the reader to form his or her own opinion of Chris…

    • 684 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chris McCandless went into the wild to escape corrupt society. He also did it because he fell in love with nature through his readings of books by authors such as Charles Dickens and Jack London. “He didn’t appear to be very old eighteen, maybe nineteen at most.” (Krakauer p.3) Jim Gallien had said this when he first saw Chris. McCandless was still a young kid. Chris is crazy because at nineteen he wanted to do this when his parents…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With a wealthy and successful family, would you ditch virtually everything for a new life? Christopher McCandless made that decision and many others on his two year journey to Alaska. He made these decisions with certain traits that he possesses, whether they were strengths that helped him or weaknesses that lead to his unfortunate death by starvation. Of these traits that he has, three are independence, over-confidence, and maturity. These traits have majorly affected how he acted in each situation.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Krakaur describes Chris McCandless as an intense young man who possessed a streak of stubborn idealism that did not mesh readily with modern existence. He strived for greatness and there was nothing stopping him. He believed it was possible to live without the luxuries given to us without complications. He wanted to live a great adventure, and he knew there was more to life than technology and education. He set out to find something greater than life itself but instead got lost into the wild.…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chris Mccandless

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages

    McCandless early year of his life was abusive and unsettling because his father abused him in many ways that only siblings and he can explain. His father also had another family and impacted McCandless. McCandless could express it. Growing up, his family wanted the best for him. His parents believed that they could buy his respect. McCandless thought other. Overall, Chris McCandless’s childhood wasn’t the best. His journey was the highlight of his life until it came to the end. He was poisoned and suffered for many days with an illness of starvation and was barely able to stand up. During his last days, Chris McCandless writes, “‘I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!’” (Krakauer 199). Chris McCandless finally opened eyes to see what he had in front of him because he realized that his family did care for him and that the people he met along the way gave him happiness, but was too much of a fool to realize. Another most obvious reason for Chris McCandless being a fool for him leaving his life. He left his family, money and career behind to go chase his goal to Alaska. It was awfully nice of him to donate his money to charity, but he lost everything he…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chris McCandless, fool or hero? I say fool. What was he thinking? What could drive a man to abandon everything, his family, friends and even possession to pursue an Idealism that eventually led to his own death? What can I make of this tremendous tragedy? His confused mind pushed him into sad solitude. To travel from here to there with the most extreme case of stubbornness. Even when he had no good knowledge of how to fend for himself he still wandered "Into The Wild". The wild that he so longed to be at eventually was his undoing.…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chris Mccandless

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Chris also discovered that he could make friendships with people that would be significant enough for them to consider him family. We saw this in the film with Ron who wanted to adopt Chris. This was also summed up by the last words Chris wrote which were “Happiness is only real when shared.” He had realised that although he enjoyed the solitude of the wild, sharing his joy with someone else was most important.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    into the wild

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages

    One characteristic which show Chris’ nobility is his intellect. Chris was a very bright individual, he went to school and graduated, had a 3.73 GPA. In his adventure he showed that he was definitely not dumb nor a wacko. In meeting Ronald Franz, he saw he was not living life to the fullest, so in his departure he leaves Franz with some words of advice. “The very base core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. Don’t settle down and sit in one place…Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon…it would be a shame if you did not take the opportunity to revolutionize your life and move into an entirely new realm of experience”(57). Chris knew of the joys of life and that may be why he set out on his journey in the first place. After his death they find the words “HAPPINESS IS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED” (189). Chris may not have always known this but he figured it out in the end. This goes to show that he found what he was looking for, he found that meaningfulness. Someone who is a…

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    McCandless, to most people who live in Alaska and have heard little about his journey, believed it was his arrogance and questioned state of mind are the reasons why he failed this trip and ended up dying. I believe it was his passion and loneliness. McCandless had the drive to live the way life was described in the eyes of his heros like Tolstoy and Thoreau, determined to do it even if it killed him. Krakauer writes, "McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well—relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it. He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family. He’d successfully kept Jan Burres and Wayne Westerberg at arm’s length, flitting out of their lives before anything was expected of him. And now he’d slipped painlessly out of Ron Franz’s life as well,” (Krakauer 55). This passage tells you about McCandless’s deep problems with intimacy, which is connected to and ultimately the reason why his two-year journey for meaning and peace ended fatally. During these two years, McCandless meets lots of other’s but he always managed to maintain a certain distance because if he were to be influenced or care…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people don’t chase or accomplish their dreams like Chris did. “No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild” (McCandless 163). McCandless is an adult, and he has the right to travel just as everyone else has. Chris believed there was so much more to life than getting a career and following the same conformed path as everyone else. “It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which the meaning is found” ( McCandless 37). Chris McCandless lived a life of truth and sincerity.…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    decisions to leave his old life behind and start over. Chris’ decision to leave was…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays