Wisdom and Foolishness in Into The Wild Essay

Question 2. Is Chris McCandless wise or foolish? Why

Into the Wild, a novel written by Jon Krakauer, reveals the journey of Christopher McCandless (self proclaimed as Alex Supertramp) across the United States in search of a life that was different from what he had previously known. He set out on a journey in order to discover a way of life that was free of the material possessions his family held so dear. Chris graduated from Emory University and was described as a good student who achieved high grades, attained several academic awards and earned many accomplishments. His family seemed to have thought he would pursue graduate work and eventually had aspirations for him to become a lawyer. Throughout the novel, Chris is often described by those who knew him as a very bright and intelligent individual. He read often and used a robust vocabulary, frequently citing a wide variety of authors. Although many of the individuals he encountered on his journey were not exactly the most academically esteemed people, he was constantly characterized as being quite intellectually savvy. Although Chris was described as a bright young man, he often made decisions which severely contradicted his intelligence. There are several instances throughout his journey in which Chris makes foolish decisions that critically hurt his ability to survive in the wilderness. This paper examines these foolish decisions made by Chris in order to explain the reasons behind his inability to survive in the wild.

Chris grew up in an upper middle class family. His father was financially successful and the family generally well off. Chris excelled early in school and was enrolled in advanced placement courses before college. Classes came easy to Chris; he excelled in a variety of courses and earned several academic accomplishments. Chris brought home good gradesHe didnt get into trouble, he was a high achiever, he did what he was suppose to (Krakauer pg. 20). He made Deans List and maintained nearly perfect grades throughout college. Chris became a writer for his college newspaper, The Emory Wheel and also cofounded the College Republican Club. Academically, Chris seemed to be to a very bright individual. He was also portrayed by those he met on his journey as a well mannered bright kid. He was a dandy kid. Real Courteous, and he didnt cuss or use a lot of that there slang. You could tell he came from a nice family (Krakauer pg. 20). From many accounts it seemed as though Chris was a fairly normal, bright young college student. Throughout his college career Chris developed a rebellious edge. This is apparent in his attitude towards formally recognized academic accomplishments later, towards his graduation. He was offered membership to Phi Beta Kappa but declined, insisting that titles and honors are irrelevant (Krakauer pg. 20). This marks the first irrational decision made by Chris. He makes a decision that titles and honors are irrelevant and gives no thought to the potential future benefit of possessing such honors. Accepting the honor would not have negatively affected him, however he makes an illogical decision as to the importance of the award in the moment. This irrational decision by Chris symbolizes the beginning of a chain of bad choices.

Upon graduation, Chris decided to donate the remainder of his savings to a charitable organization. He donated twenty five thousand dollars to OXFAM, an organization dedicated to helping feed the hungry. This decision is significant because it indicates a serious motivation to detach from society. The contribution is enormously generous, especially for a recent college graduate. This decision is certainly a gracious act; however, it is not exactly the wisest decision because it leaves him with no emergency money. Even if he wanted to completely detach himself from the material world, it would still be logical to acquire good equipment and save some for future restocking. He could have made a donation of several thousand dollars and still have been able to keep some on reserve. This is another example of an irrational decision made by Chris. Shortly after graduating from Emory Chris began a journey across the country in which he made a series of foolish decisions which inevitably contributed to his demise.

After Chris graduated from Emory University, his father offered to buy him a new car. Most individuals would have eagerly accepted this gesture, however Chris declines. Instead of accepting the new car from his father, Chris declined the offer and decided to drive his Dotson across the country. It is understandable that Chris may have had some level of animosity built up towards his father; however his decision to decline a new car is foolish. A new car could only help you in a cross country trip. Even if Chris were to desert the car and travel on foot it would still be beneficial to have a car stored somewhere in case you needed it. Chris could have traded his Dotson for a much more rugged vehicle, one that would have handled much better in the mountainous regions out west. Again, this is another example of an instance in which Chris makes a decision based solely on the moment. He fails once again to give any consideration to the possible future benefit.

During his journey out west, Chris makes a critically foolish mistake, one which leads to the loss of his car. Chris parked his Dotson and set up camp in a flood plain, only several feet higher than the river. McCandless was camped at the edge of a wash, a couple feet higher than the main channel, so when the bore of brown water came rushing down from high country he had just enough time to gather his tent and belongings and save them from being swept away (Krakauer pg. 28). Chris was not aware of his surroundings and failed to recognize the danger of camping in a flood plain during a drought. The land was extremely dry and Chris did not realize the potential flooding hazard. As a result of this poor decision Chris lost his car to a flash flood. Chris was forced to dessert the car, probably representing the single largest piece of litter ever left in that area. Again, his decision did not take into consideration the future repercussions of his actions. If Chris would have had a four wheel drive vehicle he may have been able to avoid trashing his car when he was surprised by a flash flood. A larger vehicle may not have flooded as fast and provided him with extra time to escape.

After his car is trashed, Chris makes another foolish decision which continues to demonstrate his inability to foresee future benefits in the moment. Chris decided to burn the remainder of his money as a symbolic gesture signifying his separation from the material world. He arranged all his paper currency in a pile on the sand a pathetic little stack of ones and fives and twenties and put a match to it. One Hundred twenty three dollars in legal tender was promptly reduced to ash and smoke (Krakauer pg. 20). The burning of money is certainly symbolic, however, it is unnecessary. More than anything it is an idealistic act which provides no real benefit and demonstrates a lack of emotional control and irrational exuberance.

Chris makes several mistakes during his journey but the one that stands out to most of us is the ingesting of the pods. In his state of hunger, McCandless simply made the mistake of ingesting its seed pods. A person with a better grasp of botanical principles would probably not have eaten them but it was an incorrect error. It was however sufficient to do him in.(Kraukauer pg 194). If he was prepared to with his Geological survey topographical map he would have seen the cabins were only about six miles away and he may have been able to reach this destination where emergency food and shelter would have been available.

Although Chris was described as a bright young man who graduated from Emory, he often made decisions which severely contradicted his intelligence. There are several instances throughout his journey in which Chris makes foolish decisions that critically hurt his ability to survive in the wilderness. Unfortunately this was not a happy ending for Chris and his family. I do believe Chris did accomplish part of what he set out to do and that was exploring parts of the world without society chiming in telling him what to do. I dont think his intentions were to die in the wild but we can only hope people will learn from his lessons and not allow this to happen to themselves the way Chriss life was taken and such a young age.