By Yourself, and That's OK

By Yourself, and That's OK

"HAPPINESS IS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED." (Krakauer 189).

Inspiration or Fool?

     Chris McCandless was obviously a confused person overall. Foolish enough to try to live off of nature in the Alaskan wilderness, while at the same time poorly equipped for any adventure. But that is not the big problem here, it would be respectable if he were to do that and end up reaching his true happiness, whether or not he died. But not only did he die, but he died with no benefit in the end. In evidence from his journal whilst dying, he became aware the happiness is only real when shared. So for him to isolate himself to seek that happiness and end up unhappy, regretful, and dead is just unfortunate. If he knew his limits and did not push himself he would have spent time with others and would have appreciated their company and the experiences the could have lived. I know in my life, the majority of good memories I can remember are with family and friends.

Family Knows You Best

          Family Knows You Best

"'Chris had so much talent,' Aalt continues, 'but if you tried to coach him, to polish his skill, to bring out the final ten percent, a wall went up'" (Krakauer 111).

The Dynamics of Family

          Here, Walt (Chris' father) reminisces on Chris when he was a just a young lad. He describes that if someone told him to do something a certain way, Chris would automatically ignore their advice and do what he pleased. Walt speaks of how he would try to help Chris with sports, but since he would ignore it, he never got better. Walt tried to better his son because he cared, but Chris was just too stubborn to understand his dad's care. If Chris got used to listening to his family's advice when he was young, he might have gotten used to it and listened to Galliens advice before he went into the wild, or maybe not have even left home in the first place. I am sure Walt did what he could to change Chris' mindset, but he must have noticed there was no changing Chris, it really goes to show family does not only know you best, but they also know what is best for you.

Not A Normal Person, But A Fool Indeed

Not A Normal Person, But A Fool Indeed

"I thought he'd probably get hungry pretty quick and just walk out to the highway. That's what any normal person would do." (Krakauer 7).

Topic: Inspiration or Fool?

Here, Krakauer uses Gallien's line to foreshadow the unfortunate event that occurs to McCandless. The whole car ride Gallien tried to explain to "Alex" every reason why he should not live off the land, and how Alex was not even properly equipped for that journey. But Alex was so determined and  had his mind set, there was no going back. That proves how much Alex was definitely not a normal person, which is why he was not smart enough to just walk out to the highway for safety, instead he was a fool who did not know his limits. If Alex was a normal person he would have put his pride aside and left the wild and found help so he would have not passed away, hopefully he at least died happy and in solitude with his life and existence. I can not see the reasoning behind saying his actions were inspirational in any way, yet.