Chris Mccandless Character Analysis in Into the Wild

“Into the Wild”, written by Jon Krakauer reveals the life of a young man named Chris McCandless, who indulged in many reckless and impulsive activities. In the novel, Jon Krakauer approaches Chris McCandless's journey to find peace and happiness through the beauty of nature, by sharing and connecting his own events that happened to him. Chris McCandless embodies a stronger representation of a transcendentalist compared to Jon Krakauer seeing how he devotes himself to his passion for nature, he escapes the corrupt, materialistic lifestyle he has been living, and he fully embraces his individuality.

Through Jon Krakauer’s admiration toward Chris McCandless, we can take away from his writing that McCandless went through many obstacles to achieve full solidarity.Jon Krakauer tells us about Chris McCandless’s bold and valiant advances toward his steps to solidarity by first explaining, “To symbolize the complete severance from his previous life, he even adopted a new name. No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Super-tramp, master of his own destiny” (Krakauer 18). With this change, Chris McCandless moves toward a new undetermined path of freedom and independence. This modification in McCandless’s life was a way to venture out to find new possibilities and a new self. He was so unhappy with himself and how he was living, that changing his name helped him set forth to a new being. Although trying to be someone else you are naturally not is against the transcendentalist “rules”, McCandless was trying to depart from his old being into someone greater to achieve true happiness and tranquility. Furthermore Walt McCandless gives us insight about Chris’s childhood and personality when he discloses,“ ‘Chris had so much natural talent,’ Walt continues ‘but if you tried to coach him, to polish his skill, to bring out that final ten percent, a wall went up. He resisted instruction of any kind’ ”(Krakauer 77). Through Walt McCandless’s words we receive a greater understanding of Chris McCandless, which can elucidate more of why he makes such rash decisions. Along with all the talent and potential Chris McCandless has, he also is very hard-headed and tough to get through. The idea of complete independence was alluring to McCandless, but in some instances we can see him being a bit over his head. The baffling incidents he puts himself in shows how significant his ego and pride is. This tactic that Chris McCandless uses is his own way of trying to escape from reality, but eventually we can see how it completely takes over him. 

Chris McCandless would sacrifice anything to be at peace and harmony with nature, although he purely did it to find himself and live the simplest version of life there is. Chris McCandless wanted to desperately escape reality and live the most minimalistic life just like the transcendentalist he looked up to, Henry Thoreau. Thoreau found his happiness by living effortlessly, he tells us, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail” (Thoreau).

Thoreau believed that if one pays too much attention to the little things and gets too overwhelmed over them they will overlook what is most important in life. Just like Thoreau at Walden Pond, McCandless lived as simply as possible with his trip to Alaska. They find wealth in nature with the most basic, but essential necessities they need. In this way of living purely, McCandless focuses on what is most essential and valuable in life, which also pushes him to authenticate his identity.Just like Thoreau, Chris McCandless lives recklessly with no regrets. They lived like warriors, with the least amount of necessities and Thoreau explains this by saying, “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life…” (Thoreau).

Thoreau includes this metaphor to show that one can make the most of the situation and one can find genuinity in life if they just live life how it is supposed to be lived. Most people would look at Thoreau and McCandless and consider them vagrants. Despite what people think of them, it did not concern McCandless and other transcendentalists at all because in their eyes, the way they were living was the true version of life. 

By living the simplest life, Chris McCandless rejected the ideas of society and started a completely new life going by his own rules and learned beliefs, he thought that this was the only way he could strive in life.Although he changed his identity, Chris McCandless accepted who he was through isolating himself from the rest of the world. Thoreau believed that being yourself and trusting yourself is the only way you will strive in life when he expresses, “Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood” (“Self Reliance”). 

Through this quote Emerson is trying to help us understand that one should not be discouraged if society does not accept them because it only matters what you think of yourself. Emerson and McCandless both went by this because they believed it would lead them to greatness. The criticisms that society will throw at you during your life should not influence you to change yourself in any way. Society can be very cruel and that is why McCandless wanted to escape because through all the judgements, he could not see his real self.Society can be so harsh and judgemental, everyone needs to escape from it at one point to find who they truly are. Chris McCandless and Emerson both realized that nothing can bring you peace in life unless you find it first with yourself and we see that when Emerson claims, “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles” (“Self Reliance”). 

Accepting your flaws and problems are a part of life and helps us mature and grow. We evolve because we slowly understand ourselves more and more as we understand the world and develop. To be at peace with yourself you need to overcome the obstacles in life to achieve what will bring you happiness and what will make you feel genuine.

In conclusion, Chris McCandless exemplifies what a transcendentalist is much more than Jon Krakauer because he was able to overcome the barrier keeping him away from solitude and happiness, he made many sacrifices to achieve the simplest version of life, and he disregarded the criticisms of society to strive in life. Chris McCandless definitely went to much more extreme lengths to achieve transcendentalism and individualism. Transcendentalists believed that personal growth and happiness was achieved through experience, whether they are good or bad experiences. Chris McCandless was able to make the most of his unpredictable deranged life.