No Father Should Out Live Their Son

"'How is it,' he wonders aloud as he gazes blankly across Chesapeake Bay, 'that a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain?'" (Krakauer 103-104).

Topic: The Dynamics of Family

In this quote we realize how little Chris McCandless' father truly understood him and what he was going through. All of what Chris was doing was to find himself and find true happiness that he has always wanted. For his father not being able to realize what Chris was doing and why shows that his father only had his selfish views and didn't see the reason behind Chris' death. Yes. He may have died way sooner than he should have. But who are we to say. It is indeed sad that a father lost his son. But if look at the serious of events and how the person who died felt just before death and realize that they are truly happy. Then who are we to judge. Chris' father is absolutely upset and filled with grief, but Chris was happy and accepted what was going to happen. And that is what is truly important.

Realizing the Truth Behind Life's Little Problems

"A trancelike state settles over efforts; the climb becomes a clear-eyed dream. Hours slide by like minutes. The accumulated clutter of day-to-day existence- the lapses of conscience, the unpaid bills, the bungled opportunities, the dust under the couch, the inescapable prison of your genes- all of it is temporarily forgotten, crowded from your thoughts by an overpowering clarity of purpose and by seriousness of the task at hand"(Krakauer 142-143).

Topic: Inspiration or Fool

Even though Chris McCandless did not say this directly, I believe he would agree with how Krakauer stated this. This quote is relatable, or at least to my belief, to everyone. Everyone has had at least one moment where they have realized their purpose or the purpose of living. Honestly this feeling for me comes and goes. But whenever I hear or read something like this it really gets me thinking. I found this quote to very inspirational to myself. And I would like to think that others would agree. The message that when you realize are you little worries don't need to be worried about in the first place is one of the best feelings a person could have. It takes away so much paranoia and so many worries we don't need and that's what it has done for me.

"McCandless had been infatuated with London since childhood. London's fervent condemnation of capitalist society, his glorification of the primordial world, his championing of the great unwashed- all of it mirrored McCandless's passions. Mesmerized by London's turgid portrayal of life in Alaska and the Yukon, McCandless read and reread The Call of the Wild, White Fang, "To Build a Fire," "An odyssey of the North," "The Wit of Porportuk." He was enthralled by these tales, however, that he seemed to forget they were works of fiction..."(Krakauer 44).

When questioning if McCandless is an inspiration or a fool, in this instance I would definitely have to lean towards him being a fool. The fact that a lot of inspirations and a lot of what McCandless bases his journey on is downright foolish. I understand him appealing to the ideals that London puts in his books. But to take the adventure and the journey in his stories is a little too much. He's going into one of these most dangerous places in the world. He's even doing it alone, with the minimal amount of equipment he can, and with no experience in an environment such as the Alaskan Bush. And if that isn’t bad enough, he also is trying to follow the journey of the fictional stories. So he’s going to of the most dangerous places in the world with some of the most dangerous animals in the world and basing all of it off of a fictional story. I hope everyone else can see what’s wrong with that.