Into the Wild
Into the Wild
August 1, 2015 The Last Trip by: Joe Smith
Death is something inevitable that will sooner or later reach every single one of us. By chasing his dream and achieving his goal, death came around the corner and took the young and adventurous Chris McCandless without a care in the world of who it would damage. Christopher J. McCandless was a well educated and able young man from a good family who chased after his dreams and ambitions into his beloved nature. At a very young age, Chris had a love for nature and the wilderness. As an adolescent, he did as he was told and went to college to satisfy his parents but when they finally Went to visit him to his supposed apartment, they found nothing inside. “Chris had instructed the post office to hold them until August 1, apparently so we wouldn’t know anything was up,” says Billie. “It made us very, very worried,” (22). It was all that was said by the Billie to Jon. Chris had dropped everything and everyone to finally achieve his dream to live off of nature. No one knew where he was and that’s what he loved the most. The adventurous Chris had changed his name to Alex Supertramp and had been living on the road for about two years before he finally went off to his ultimate odyssey to Alaska. It was his dream to live off of such a beautiful place like Fairbanks. After a long trip to his what he didn’t know was going to be his final destination, he found what he called, “Magic Bus Day,” (163) He takes advantage of bus 142 and lives there for about three months writing down everything he hunts and everything he feels. For example, “The diary entries following his return to the bus catalog a bounty of wild meat. May 28: ‘Gourmet Duck!’ June 1: ‘5 Squirrel.’ June 2: ‘Porcupine, Ptarmigan, 4 Squirrel, Grey Bird.’ June 3: Another Porcupine! 4 Squirrel, 2 Grey Bird, Ash Bird.’ June 4: ‘A THIRD PORCUPINE! Squirrel, Grey Bird.” (166). That was most of the content that was in his diary left behind. He loved it there in Fairbanks but in his last few weeks alive he had planned to finally go back to civilization and settle down somewhere. When he packed all his things up, he went straight to the river that he crossed and he knew that if he tried to cross with the water so high it would drag him away. It searched for any other ways to get out of Fairbanks, but didn’t find any since he had no map of any sort. Chris decided to stay there until the water went down. Some think he died of being poisoned by eating moldy seeds or by starvation. No one really knows since his body was so decayed that they couldn’t figure it out. In his final days he knew he was soon to go away to his own paradise, he left this world happy in the place he most loved. Some say he was a lunatic, others think he was brave. He lived his life doing what he loved the most, and died in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Although he left without saying goodbye to anyone, they all knew he left in peace. Chris McCandless, regardless of what people say, was a an extraordinary man who died doing what he loved. No one understands why he did it, but those who do are just like him. Ambitious, adventurous, and brave.
The Adventurous Chris by: Joe Smith
Like any other person Chris had a dream but not just any regular dream, he dreamed of truly experiencing the beauty of life by leaving society and civilization and living in the woods alone. He wanted to live off of the land and be free. Chris was always an adventurous person and although he had his education and was born in the city, it never satisfied him. He wanted more and that’s what he was after. He wanted to see true beauty at its finest, learn how it felt, and truly be happy for once. He chased his dreams and learned to appreciate the few items he carried with him all across the United States, Mexico waters, and his final trip Alaska. He didn’t want anyones help because of how independent he was. Although he Chris McCandless memorial at but 142 hitchhiked and looked like a bum, those who stopped and actually met him saw the true beauty that he had The Cruel Realization within him. Everyone that met Chris was astonished by by: Joe Smith the amazing guy he was. The intelligence he ha was extraordinary, those who spoke to him saw he wasn’t Parents are the first who love you when you are brought just any regular hitchhiker in search of freedom, he was into this world. They protect you, care for you, and no an educated guy in search of beauty. He searched all matter how many mistakes you make they will love you across the country and found beauty like no other. Beauty that is seen by many and appreciate by a few. more than life itself. Chris McCandless had two loving parents but because of a mistake his father did, he There are a few people that chase their dreams and Chris pushed them away and ran off without saying a word to McCandless was one of them. He was adventurous, them. brave, and intelligent. People might not understand why he did it but those who do understand it are the ones Chris was never really close to his parents because of with adventurous souls. how much they worked. He only had his sister to Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild . New York: Anchor Books, accompany him as a child. That was one a few reasons 1996. Print. he was so distanced from his parents. Chris was an adventurous guy and his father disapproved of many things he said, but the biggest thing that threw him off the rails was when at a later age he found out that when after he was born, his father was still with his ex wife juggling two families around. It infuriated him that his father had cheated on his mother even after he had been with her for sometime and had Chris as a newborn. He saw it as a type of betrayal and never really got over it and forgive him until his last moments of life. Chris McCandless beside bus 142 His parents didn’t really approve of his adventures, but they respected them and loved him unconditionally but he never truly saw that. He only saw the bad that they had done and left them without a word. That is one of the worst things you could ever do to parents, and then for them to find out that their lost child is dead is pain out of this world. He should have at least left a letter for them to know what he was doing. Everybody makes mistakes and should always be forgiven no matter what. Parents are the ones who love us the first time ever in our lives. We need to respect them, cherish them, and love them all the time we have left with them because sooner or later they won’t be there to protect us.
Walt and Billie McCandless in bus 142
Fairbanks bus 142, Chris’ death site
Into the Woods by: Joe Smith
Book by Jon Krakauer
