In “Into the Wild,” Christopher McCandless serves as the main character. He is the
subject of his fact-finding reporting in the book. In the entire work, McCandless appears an
athletic, compact, and serious individual with a high IQ while at the same time reads avidly.
When young, Chris follows the advice of his father to become successful in the different
activities that he undertakes seriously. He emerges successful in diverse initiative, which range
from running cross-country to music. Chris establishes a passion for camping and the outdoor
environment from the various family trips he undergoes. McCandless portrays a convincing
approach, which his propensity to lecture older adults together with his parents concerning their
lives evidences. Chris also portrays nervousness when in the company of other individuals,
particularly authorities regularly (McAlpin 5) . The opinion pertaining to the character of Chris
McCandless depicts him as puzzling in nature, serves as a person who devotes his life to serious
reading, and interacts differently to people in his life based their relationships to him.
From “Into the Wild,” the major opinion regarding the character of Chris McCandless
together revolves around his drives for living his individual life on the road as well as in Alaska.
It raises the question as to whether Chris was suicidal, on a spiritual endeavor, or an insane
individual. The character of McCandless also puzzles, particularly owing to his choice
disregarding his decisions for other individuals, as opposed to just for his individual needs,
indicating he is a self-centered person by nature. As McCandless meandered initially from
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Atlanta to California, and afterwards to Mexico before heading to Alaska, he left behind several
composed materials, particularly graffiti, photographs, and post cards, which indicates his
adventurous life. For his communications, they are at times be terse, and sometimes wordy,
revealing his inconsistency in interacting with others. His communications at times comprise of
detailed, domineering instructions, which recommended that other persons abandon their
materialistic lives, and follow his approach towards life. Furthermore, McCandless composed his
diary using the third person voice, signifying that he had sufficient understanding of himself as a
character in a story that featured continuous adventure (Medred 4) . Chris also gives himself a
nickname, serves to safeguard him from the attempts by his parents in tracing him while at the
same time extenuating his role in acting past the dominant societal norms.
McCandless seems a dedicated and accurate reader in the entire work. Some of his books,
such as his edible plants guide, are practical. They portray his devotion to attaining knowledge.
Others, such as Michael Crichton’s novel, focus on entertaining. The philosophical and
intellectual interests, which most of his serious books assist in describing the motivations by
Chris together with his thought structure. The book that McCandless annotates, including the
ones that he gives to friends and the ones he leaves behind in the bus depict that he directs
significant value to self-reliance and independence. Additionally, some of the books that Chris
reads indicate that he directs major focus toward thinking of the human society as a form of
poison. When it comes to the works of novelists, such as Pasternak and Tolstoy, McCandless
underlines passages concerning the dangers attributed to falsehood and sex. In Thoreau’s work,
Chris highlights as well as stars passages concerning the vital role that self-reliance plays in life
as well as the importance of consuming a vegetarian diet. From the intense reading by
McCandless directs his life towards, it becomes possible to regard him as a person meant to read
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(McAlpin 7) . Chris also records a form of religious frenzy earnestly, which plays an essential
role in depicting him outright to a spiritual figure or a monk.
McCandless portrays differing relationships owing to the individuals with whom he
interacts with on a daily basis. For instance, the way in which he relates with the people he
encounters during his expeditions differs from how he interacts with friends and family members
whom he encountered since his childhood. By observing how Chris relates with the people he
encounters on his journeys, he appears reserved while at the same time exercises openness. He
rarely reveals his actual name to these strangers, while preferring to use the name Alexander or
Alex, which depicts his reserved nature. McCandless also employs hard work to play the piano,
which depicts his music talent, while often impressing the outsiders he encounters while utilizing
his storytelling capabilities. When it comes to some of his companions, such as Ronald Franz
and Wayne Westerberg, he portrays the frustrations that he has with his family members, which
usually come off as reserved or daydreaming. In the case of his family, nonetheless, Chris seems
impulsive, selfish, and impassable with increased frequency (Medred 9) . Regarding these
ambiguities that McCandless portrays in his character, they contribute to the understanding of the
audience regarding his relating nature while relating to different people in his life.
In summary, on the opinion regarding the character of Chris McCandless, it is puzzling
mostly due to ways in which he disregards his decisions regarding other persons while
emphasizing on his individual needs, which depict his self-centered nature. Additionally,
McCandless devotes a significant part of his life to reading diverse books, which plays a crucial
role in shaping his distinct perceptions towards life. In addition, the manner in which Chris
relates to people differs considerably based on their closeness to him, such as his friends and
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family since childhood and the ones that he encounters in his journeys. Overall, the character
traits that McCandless portrays differ significantly from other people in the society.
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Works Cited
McAlpin, Heller. Behind The Famous Story, A Difficult 'Wild Truth'. National Public Radio. 11
Nov. 2014. Accessed 13 Dec. 2019. www.npr.org/2014/11/11/363120048/behind-the-
famous-story-a-difficult-truth.
Medred, Craig. The Fiction that is Jon Krakauer's 'Into The Wild'. Anchorage Daily News. 28
Sep. 2016. Accessed 13 Dec. 2019. www.adn.com/books/article/fiction-jon-krakauers-