Into the Wild: Life, According to Christoper McCandless

Is McCandless’s story so sensational/controversial because it doesn’t match the stereotype we usually see for college students?

Christopher McCandless’s story is one similar to Henry David Thoreau, Jack London, and a personal favorite of Candless’s, Leo Tolstoy. All were great American wanders. They were men who had great educations, stemmed from decent families but longed to All who found themselves by separating from society and assimilating into nature. However the major difference between Christopher McCandless and his nomadic predecessors is that they had not died in their prime. Thoreau, London and Tolstoy had passed away when they were older, while Christopher McCandless had many more years left in his gifted soul. Christopher McCandless was a candid young man, who was full of questions and had a sprightly urge to answer all of the earthly enigmas that consumed him.

Christopher McCandless was born in Washington D.C. and graduated from Emory University in Atlanta in 1990. Christopher McCandless was a intelligent and determined individual. According to his family and friends, he frequently pushed himself and the people with whom he was close to extreme physical and mental limits. After completing college and finishing his studies, Christopher McCandless seemed to simply disappear, and started wandering across the United States of America with no clear idea of where he was going. It was clear to his friends and family that life on the edge has always appealed to Christopher. He prided himself for frequently surviving on little more than his intellect. McCandless rarely maintained consistent contact with his family. The more they worried about him, the less he called. He did not think they had any reason to worry. When he was on the road and working trivial jobs he kept books written by Jack London and Leo Tolstoy. He met many people who admired him for his courage and strength. However, in 1992, at the age of twenty four hitched into the Alaskan wilderness with a meager amount of supplies, a surfeit of knowledge and the intent to die.

The story of Christopher McCandless is one that is filled with valor, courage, aptitude, stride, mystery and eventually sorrow. Christopher McCandless’s story is so fascinating because he was a recent college graduate. However, Christopher McCandless’s story was not one of keg parties or wild road trips, typical of twenty somethings. His life short and seemingly fulfilling without the typical college stereotypes. Christopher McCandless was able to conquer what other his age or even older wish they could have accomplished.

Christopher McCandless, according to modern ideology, is not a typical college student, which is why his story is so sensational. He had a different mindset, compared to the typical college student. The world was amazed by Christopher McCandless because he was not like the rowdy, rebellious and often times lazy college students depicted on television and movies. College is seen as a place where teenagers live out there last four years as adolescence. It is the place where they can be free to live wildly before they have to start making serious career choices.