Nature Reading

Read the italicized passage on page 168 that McCandless wrote and the italicized passage he highlighted from Tolstoy on page 169. Based on these writings and events in this chapter, what convinced McCandless that it was time to return to civilization? What did he learn from his time “in the wild”?

Chris learned what real living was like. He did not declare any regrets, and in some ways I feel and believe that he lost his sanity. He wrote in a poetic form and yet he described his ‘real’ life had begun, rebirth, that he has ‘real’ responsibilities. In the scariest way, what he wrote makes complete sense to me. It does make sense. Complete sense. I think that Chris learned what real living was like. When he ventured off he experienced so much, he covered more ground than most of us will in life, and he ran away from everything in his life, and yet he describes these ‘real’ responsibilities. It’s very weird.

Krakauer observes that it is not “unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders.” Explain whether McCandless would agree with Krakauer.

In 1990 Chris McCandless ran away from his parents and responsibilities, and did something “unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders”, but is that really that unusual? I think McCandless would agree with that statement.

It’s the reason why so many kids leave for the furthest away schools they got into, because they want to do something reckless before they get old and boring. But McCandless, and like a lot of young adults, wanted to do something even more reckless. But McCandless is a rare bread, in my opinion, for he actually did what so many kids threaten to do, he went ‘into the wild’. What is different about McCandless, or was different, is that he did it, but he had a reason. Lots of kids, in fact most of kids will attest to disliking their parents, McCandless did, but he also had a reason.

He hated his parents and always thought they were trying to buy him and his love, he hated money. He hated what money did to people, and his parents had lots of it. That was his reason. Reckless and stupid Chris left with not a lot.