Into The Wild: The Chris McCandless Story

Filed under: Jessica Schneider, Life, Literature, Movies — jesschn on September 21, 2007 @ 2:06 am CEST

I am feeling a little agitated. Ok, so I found out that on September 21, 2007 the release of Into the Wild will be coming to theatres, and then opening nationwide in the U.S. on October 5^th. What is this all about, you ask? His name is Chris McCandless, and—well let me just quote myself from my own blog to give you a bit of background:

One of the few books I’ve read in the past year that have had an impact upon my writing has been Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. It’s the story of a young guy from the East Coast who, out of college decides to drop out of established society and essentially become a ‘tramp abroad’ for two or more years. He spends most of his time hitchhiking across the country, getting odd jobs for spare cash, living on meager needs, and all the while meeting people along the way, (but telling him his name is ‘Alex’ or rather ‘Alexander Supertramp) and keeping those he meets at just the right emotional distance (I’ve done this too) where he has no expectations to fulfill. But his life ended in 1992 where he went to Alaska unprepared and with only a bag full of books, a ten-pound bag of rice, and ‘lived’ in this bus till he eventually starved to death at the age of 24. Once word got out about his death, Krakauer did a story on him in Outside Magazine, followed by this book Into the Wild. Click here to read my full post.

So now there is going to be a film, directed by Sean Penn. Here is the trailer. The reason I am a bit peeved is because no one seems to mention the fact that this kid made poor choices. The film, although I’ve not seen it yet and so I probably shouldn’t bitch about it (but will anyway) from what I gather, the film seems to be stressing this idealistic attitude of “getting out of your comfort zone and taking risks.” Sure, great idea, you think. Why the hell not? But who is our example? A young guy who lived off the land for 2 years and ended up dead.

I think McCandless’ story certainly should be told, for I enjoyed the book very much and recommend it. I also don’t think he’s a bad guy, but probably was a very nice and genuine person (albeit juvenile and selfish). But I get annoyed with these folk who call this guy a hero. Most of us do not have the privilege of just dropping out of society and not owing up to our responsibilities because we don’t feel like it anymore. Also, McCandless is a rich, white kid who comes from a privileged family. He rebels against materialism, but I should also note that this is largely a thing rich people do. It’s like that line in Scorsese’s The Aviator when Howard Hughes tells Katherine Hepburn’s mother (after she’s told Howard that they as a family ‘don’t care about money’ and Howard’s response is, ‘because you have it’).

I’m all for taking risks in life and living it to the fullest and all that crap, (one of the reasons I’m a struggling artist and not an insurance salesperson) but I suppose now at the age of 31 and seeing how most can’t pay their mortgages and nor can most afford health insurance in the U.S. and how many Katrina victims are still living in formaldehyde-laced FEMA trailers and how in Iraq the citizens can’t even walk outside their homes without risking getting shot—it’s hard for me to celebrate these reckless ideals. For the same reason I despise New Age psychobabble for its shallow remedies (although I don’t despise Chris because I do want to see the film) I think that not acknowledging this guy’s foolishness is doing a disservice. Timothy Treadwell went to Alaska and got eaten by a bear and there was a film made about it. Dick Proenneke went to Alaska, built a cabin with his own hands, built the tools even, and survived because he was smart, intelligent, and most of all prepared—and he is talked about the least. Where is the film about Dick Proenneke?

I would love to go hiking across the country and see moose and elk and all those fury creatures and trees, but I need to get published first and…I’ve lost my point. Maybe I’m just wishing I were 20 again. Do I? Hell no. My 20s sucked. I am so happy to be over 30. Thank you 30!

Anyway, see the film…read the book…or not. Just think twice about calling Chris McCandless a hero. Although I do want to go to Alaska before I die, just not in the way he did.

Thoughts, anyone?

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1 Anthony

September 21, 2007 @ 4:08 am CEST

Good point about how ‘leaving it all behind’ was a privilege for that guy. Abandoning everything is not something most people have the luxury of doing. I can totally see how they would market this film by playing up the ‘romance’ associated with rejecting society & riding the rails.

2 Craig Kennedy

September 21, 2007 @ 4:56 am CEST

Having seen the movie, I think that Penn definitely looks at McCandless as a kind of hero, but I also don’t think he made him out to be perfect. There are contradictions in his character and Penn shows them.

I was torn throughout the movie over whether I loved or hated McCandless. There is no denying he is both a fool and quite selfish. And yet I admire his idealism and I appreciate his desire to find more in life than simple materialism.

I didn’t read the book, but from what you’ve said I think Penn stays pretty true to it.

Anyway, nice blog and I hope you like the movie when you see it.

3 Josh

September 21, 2007 @ 6:21 am CEST

You pointed to the one thing in Krakauer’s book that disappointed me: it didn’t stress the recklessness of McCandless’ decisions enough. I read the book when I was in my teens, and was drawn to the idea of roaming off into the woods and isolating myself (I suspect most teens have similar notions at some point during the hell that is adolescence). Sometimes I still want to… But you’re absolutely right, there’s a difference between taking risks to enjoy life and acting irresponsibly.

Interesting too that you should mention Dick Proenneke… I hadn’t heard of him until just recently (within the last three months or so). I suppose he doesn’t have his own major movie because stories about people going off into the wilderness and getting eaten by grizzlies or dying of starvation are more….entertaining?

4 C Stanley

September 21, 2007 @ 11:46 am CEST

I hadn’t heard of Chris McCandless or the book or film before, but when I started reading I instantly thought of Timothy Treadwell too. I didn’t find that the documentary about him was that flattering though- seemed to me that the filmmaker showed his irresponsible and reckless behavior pretty well and was actually making the point that you wish this film had made about McCandless. Maybe that was just my take on it though.

5 Tom

September 21, 2007 @ 1:04 pm CEST

I can see the appeal of McCandless’s actions–I’ve had similar thoughts and similar objections to materialism. And that kind of life reminds me a bit of Jesus and his disciples.

But I also see the objections people have to this choice; unlike JC and company, McCandless didn’t seem to have any higher motivation.

6 Jessica Schneider

September 21, 2007 @ 2:53 pm CEST

This is one of the reasons I’ve told people they should watch the film “It’s a Wonderful Life”–once I see Into The Wild I’m going to do an essay tying the 2 together because “It’s a Wonderful Life” is about not always getting what you want, having to own up to your responsibility and sometimes having to put others (like your family) ahead of your ‘dreams’. In the film the Jimmy Stewart character (George Bailey) wants to travel around the world, build bridges and do all these things, but ultimately he cannot because he has to take over the Building and Loan after his father’s death and run it, remaining in his hometown. The character is frustrated and deals with a lot of hassles (much like real life) and ultimately is ready to commit suicide, but then stops after being shown how his life has been “Wonderful” and by wonderful, what that really means is having had impact. The George Baileys are never spoken about, and Dick Proenneke has not gotten enough attention because the culture rewards foolishness with attention (Paris Hilton, Britney, etc). It’s just human nature I suppose. The book is very good–but this guy ain’t a hero.

7 Dan Schneider

September 21, 2007 @ 10:49 pm CEST

Penn was an idiot when he stated how unique McCandless was. Having spent years int he arts world, you can find 2 or 3 Chrises at any cafe. Most of them grow up. Had this kid not been a reckless fool no one would know nor care about him

Treadwell, on the other hand, was a psychotic.

But, Dick Proenekke was an asskicker.

8 Steve Bates

September 23, 2007 @ 12:12 am CEST

Rats, I wanted to get this book when I restocked my reading materials the other day but it was checked out at the school library. I’ll have to go with the less convenient public library. I’d been meaning to read this for a while even before the movie, partly because of all the hullabaloo about Treadwell last summer and partly because I took my own trip to Alaska a year ago, driving from the SF Bay Area up to Fairbanks. My fellow travellers were a pair of Texans, and one of them decided that Alaska was pretty much a paradise of libertarianism. Everyone up there seems to want the minimum amount of interference from the lower 48–we got to hear one gentleman’s stoned fantasies about seceding along with the Yukon and forming their own country–yet almost every person we met was a young transplant from down south; two in particular ended up there after a period of nondirected road tripping that sounds a bit like McCandless’s. So I think the ideal of Alaska as “The Last Frontier” attracts a certain kind of person that wants to get away from mainstream “American civilization” to one extent or another. I’d never heard about Proenekke before; good to know. Have you read John McPhee’s “Coming into the Country”? The third segment deals with a whole community living over a wide area up on the Yukon River, many of whom, again, came from the rest of the US to live at a level of self-sufficiency they couldn’t do anywhere else. Obviously some can manage it better than others.

9 Jessica Schneider

September 23, 2007 @ 12:17 am CEST

I haven’t read any McPhee, but will eventually get to him. You should check out Dick Proenneke’s “Alone in the Wilderness” if you can–it’s both a book and PBS doc. There’s also a great doc on Alaska called “The Crown of the Continent” from Idaho Public Television. That one is really great. It appears on PBS from time to time.

The reviews for the film, so far, seem to be good.

10 Glen

September 28, 2007 @ 7:45 pm CEST

I’m mostly impressed by the astute comments of you all! i have not seen the movie nor read the book. But when I saw the picture, article and tagline in the Philly inquirer, it spoke to me.

We all want to learn the true meaning of life. We search, we dream, we watch others, we look at our own lives.

Where are all the movies about the true heros of our society? The men and women who day in and day out live honorable monogamous lives of valor and raise their children to be kind, loving compassionate citizens of this planet, striving to make a difference in the world or at the very least, generate examples of goodwill to man. Ghandi said, ” Be the change you want in the world.” What did Chris McCandless do? Did he find the answers? I guess I may never know.

With the atrocities in our world such as rape rooms and bombs tied to one’s chests, can humanity somehow find the insatiable desire to love people and give to others selflessly? We may never achieve it in this life. But we can be singular in making a difference.

11 Glen

September 30, 2007 @ 2:22 pm CEST

Maybe he did teach us something after all… how not to respond to the harsh realities and injustices of this life. Oh, we’ve had our share of rebels in this world, although this young man seemingly had no final goal or quest, and left himself no safety net in the path he took. You can show the world your wild hair and still come home to a snuggly bed at night. But did Chris just plan poorly?
Did he lack ambition and/or a sense of something bigger than him in life?
Was the confusion and senseless status of our world today too much for this young man to comprehend? And, unwilling to settle into the confines of work-a-day life, did he settle for anything but? Did we kill him? Society? Maybe we did - as the whole of mankind. But maybe this is what allows each one of us to be - untethered if we wish - to meet what we will meet in life - good or bad - but being grounded to a plan, is critical.
Love at home gives us wings to persevere when we leave the nest. Strength, hope and confidence. I think he taught us much.

12 Gayle

October 3, 2007 @ 2:17 pm CEST

As a parent I have grieved for his family,when you have children you want the very best for them,little knowing that they will look at you some day and say WHY have you given me all of this?We all have some responsibility in life,I would have had more respect for this young man if he had chosen to spend his time and talents helping some of the people less fortunate then him,and searched for himself as a side job.
gayle

13 Jessica Schneider

October 3, 2007 @ 2:28 pm CEST

I agree. He was very self-serving.

14 Andrea

October 4, 2007 @ 12:51 pm CEST

My husband dated Chris McCandless’s sister, Shelley before he met me, so I’ve heard a lot about this already. . .read the book years ago. . haven’t yet seen the movie. . .no doubt, he isn’t a hero. But the media likes interesting. That’s the deal. Philip Seymour Hoffman wondered aloud recently in an interview (referencing ITW) “what makes people want to go to a place where they’re so unprotected?”. I spun this into a blog a couple months ago, because maybe I’m one of those people. My husband and I are about to embark on a trip through the Middle East and Africa. I guess our reasons are curiosity, proving that the media is full of crap and giving ourselves and hopefully our friends and family back home, a wider understanding of the world

But please note, that while money can make it easier to take such adventures, and you’re right, there ARE a lot of trustafarians out there, there are also a lot of true adventurers, whose recipe to leave calls for mainly courage, acceptance of change, patience and creativity, something money can’t buy. We had plenty of responsibilities in the US but we managed to leave.

Chris was reckless-agreed. But I guess I think just because some people in the world are unsafe, without food, away from family, etc. doesn’t mean that I should stay in my warm house every night, relish my dinner and bathe in my safety. As long as I appreciate all of that, we all have to live our lives as we choose. Don’t you agree?

15 Jessica Schneider

October 4, 2007 @ 2:06 pm CEST

I agree, that’s why I mentioned Dick Proenneke–he went out and accomplished what he wanted but he was smart about it.

I thought Chris’ sister’s first name was different–does he have more than one? I could have sworn it began with a “C”. I wonder if she changed it for the Oprah show?

This has to be interesting from your pov, given your connection and all.

16 Jessica Schneider

October 4, 2007 @ 2:10 pm CEST

Oh, I just noticed you were “Glory-Ho” Andrea. Wow, Small world.

17 DBLJAY

October 8, 2007 @ 5:11 am CEST

i have just finished the book and find mccandless’s story very interesting. i can’t wait to see the movie. in no way do i think he was a hero. my only problem with chris is that he should have stayed in contact with his family throughout his travels and also like most of his critics he should have went into the wild prepared and with a plan. i have been searching the net for actual photos of his journies. by the way; jessica, according to the book chris’ sisters name is carine.

18 Andrea

October 9, 2007 @ 3:45 pm CEST

Hey Jess–yes, Chris had several sisters and it’s actually quite a sad story. Chris’s father had a first family, which included Shelly. But then he left them and started another family on the opposite coast. Strangely enough, the two family’s kids (half-siblings) sometimes vacationed and holidayed together. Although I’m told that the first family was scraping by with little money and the second family (including Chris) was well-off. I believe Carine is his full sister.

19 Jessica Schneider

October 9, 2007 @ 3:57 pm CEST

Now I remember that fact from the book. “The other family” thing. I thought that maybe Carine switched her name for privacy purposes. But I do remember that sounding like a sad ordeal and I feel weird talking about it since it’s none of my business but yeah–the dad had something going on with both wives if I recall.

20 Monica Kennedy

October 11, 2007 @ 1:00 am CEST

I just saw the film with a couple of good friends. My opinion is this: Chris is not a tragic hero in the classic sense, he is pathetic, so we feel sorrow for him. But he is psychiatrically motivated, in my opinion, not that he didn’t feel the ideals and have sincere desire to live free, but the level of narcissism makes me wonder whether or not the narcissism was needed for him to defend a larger pathology, or was the narcissism the problem to begin with. Photos found were all those of himself that he got others to take or he took himself. He didn’t tell anyone who cared about him where he was especially his parents and sister(s) and he couldn’t connect to people more than superficially. I think it’s not a question about whether or not he made a ‘mistake’, the reality is that he didn’t plan because his thinking was so self-grandiose and severely distorted. I have known brilliant young men who can’t connect to the world because of an illness. He had no sense of personal responsibility at all, which may have been because of the limitations imposed on him from a mental illness, so in that way I respect/pity him. He’s no one’s hero. It’s a tragic story. Everyone watching wants to reach out and talk to him, draw him back into reality. I admire his rejection of the material, but him going into the wild to slaughter and poach game isn’t exactly a spiritual solution to me. Chris told people he met that he believed he would be able to handle every situation he encountered, went into the wild without a map, compass, knowledge or skills about living in the wild. There is a scene in the movie where he gives his last quarter to another homeless man who is having a stressful conversation with loved ones on the phone, and I wonder, if that scene did in fact happen, did Chris hear the stress and pain of connecting with others and choose to escape by throwing away his last quarter? I did some research about him and I suspect schizophrenia. The years that he transitioned from teen to young adult, the time when schizophrenia surfaces, his behavior became more reckless and seemingly paranoid. The summer before he went to college he went away, at first kept in touch with his parents, but then stopped contact for a long time. He arrived home thin and exhausted, and then insisted upon taking a machete and a rifle with him to college. This is not health. He was more sick than well. One question might be to investigate if the people at Emory knew of his weapons and if any abnormal behavior revealed itself during his college years. Anyway, I think it’s important that we do not romanticize this guy’s tragedy. It was just the combination of elements that spelled his doom, he was young and strong and smart, spoiled, and grandiose– and mentally ill. I believe he had a death wish. The film tempts us to believe that everything in the wild is pure and beautiful–but we are in mortal danger every second we are in the wild alone. The question of Chris starving to death also flabbergasts people in Alaska especially–Chris was 1/4 mile away from a manual tram that would have taken him over the river, that was next to a well stocked shelter full of provisions. When he saw the bus he just moved in and didn’t go far to explore. He didn’t build a signal fire. And the seeds the film (book) says he ate by mistake that were toxic weren’t really toxic, it turns out. People wonder why he starved, if his thinking was affected by hallucinogenic plants, or by hypothermia. The book’s author has changed his theory about Chris’ death to the seeds must have had mold on them, that’s why they were toxic. Some speculate he drank bad water. But it’s very mysterious. I just think we need to discourage any sharing of the same grandiose thinking regarding Chris, anyway, I talked a lot here. I do hear people I know who think otherwise, which honestly does surprise me.

21 Stephanie

October 12, 2007 @ 6:38 pm CEST

I agree with much of your analysis of the McCandess misadventure, but I think it must be stressed that at NO time did this tragic boob ACTUALLY live off the land. For the better part of two years, he lived like a depression-era hobo. Odd jobs and cheap food were his way of life, but since he could ALWAYS go back to his priviledged lifestyle, he wasn’t ever really alone and desperate. Until, that is, he wandered off into the Alaskan bush, with nothing but his STUNNING immaturity and an amazing amount of arrogance. What kind of fool refuses the advice of knowledgeable people? What kind of idiot refuses to take a map? What kind of moron STARVES to DEATH a mere 30 km from a highway… in the MIDDLE OF SUMMER?!?!?

McCandless was no Supertramp. He was a Supertwit. His story, and his death, should not be treated with this burgeoning beatification I see in the media. Rather, it should be treated as a simple tragedy; one of ignorance, selfish immaturity, terminal naivity and abject stupidity.

Why can’t Hollywood tell the story that needs to be told? It is infinitely more compelling than the saccharine bullshit they’ve turned it into.

Give the movie, and the book for that matter, a pass.

22 JeffJ

October 12, 2007 @ 7:01 pm CEST

I knew Chris, it was tragic. Chris’s dad had serious issues and pushed the kid way too hard to succeed.
I was his next door neighbor for many years and knew most of the “first family” daughters and youngest son also.
I have read the book, don’t know if I want to see the movie as I knew the real people it might just irritate me. I am sure they won’t be as tough on Chris’s dad as they should be.

23 Jessica Schneider

October 12, 2007 @ 8:15 pm CEST

“Supertwit” I like that. Yeah I knew he starved to death only like 6 miles (I don’t know the exact distance) from a highway/help station. I mean, if a bus ended up there, it’s not too far from a road. This whole film/story is a Romantic love story. But instead of the husky long-haired Fabio-looking guy on a horse it’s a young male’s version of it: this idea of just winging it and being ‘free’ and being ‘in love’ with nature that doesn’t really care at all about any of us. Romance is great for being left as Romance but we’ve seen what can happen when taken too far.

24 Irene

October 15, 2007 @ 8:14 pm CEST

It seems to me Hollywood did tell the story that needed to be told. For example, did anyone shudder as they watched McCandless fail miserably in his efforts to skin and preserve the moose meat?

Many times McCandless came across as the suburban, spoiled, boob-out-of-place in the wilderness that he was.

The film explained that, indeed, McCandless was having some kind of breakdown at least partly attributable to his father having hidden the fact he was previoulsy married and had not dissolved the marriage. The movie emphasizes its thanks to the assistance from the McCandless family, so it seems to me that Penn was pretty honest about what was behind McCandless running away. This was far more a “running away” story than it was a purposeful, “launching into an adventure” story.

How deep and thoughtful could McCandless have been when he deigned to punctuate his thoughts using “f—in’”? From whence the impetus to /communicate/ with words comes is not something he pondered? And then what words? Words from artificial-dom. The education he received seemed more that of a focused high school sophomore. As usual, most of his education came from his parents at the dinner table. Emory did not seem to serve him very well, if his limited ready selections were any clue.

This is a great story of a certain sub-culture of U.S. society. I think Penn and his staff did get across that this culture is far from enviable.

I agree with Dan S. is that these upper middle class-raised so-called ‘artists’ and ‘philosophers’ are a dime a dozen.

Special kudos to the composer, performer, Penn and staff for the music.

I would like to know which parts of the film were fictional. E.g. the interlude with the young girl at “Slab City.” McCandless declines to sleep with her, citing her age, for one thing. Fact or fiction? Had McCandless really been led to believe he could get into Harvard Law school?

25 Jessica Schneider

October 15, 2007 @ 8:55 pm CEST

Apparently, in the book he did meet a young girl who liked him but was also too young for him and so he could not take her seriously. It’s been a few years since I read it, and I’m not sure how much it matches up with the film since I’ve not seen the film yet, but he declined her because of her age as I understand it.

26 Superfarmer

October 16, 2007 @ 2:04 am CEST

He met a young girl while he was working at a McD’s in Bullhead City Arizona.

I suspect as this movie garners more and more attention, we’ll see more factual evidence that will greatly reduce the “mythological” McCandless’ appeal.

For example there is a documentary out that demonstrates that he did die of starvation and not some weird poisoning. Additionally, 8 pieces of ID and $300 were recovered from his belongings yet we’re led to believe he destroyed all of his ID in the book and movie.

Either way, I agree with the majority of the sentiments expressed here. I see dozens of Chris McCandless’ every day on the downtown streets where I work. Priviledged kids who’ve ducked out of the back door of their comfortable suburban homes to go live on the street for a spell. It’s a counter culture rebellion that most will outgrow. Supertramp would have outgrown it to, if he lived.

27 Leon Filmer

October 19, 2007 @ 5:45 am CEST

Mc Candless has to be admired, no matter what his detractors say. The fact that he died in Alaska is irrellevent, you people are missing the point of what “Supertramp” was trying to achieve. Had Chris drowned surfing Hawaii, would we have heard so much about him ? Or would we have aforded him the respect he deserves for living life large and having the courage of his convictions. If you have no respect for what Chris was trying to achieve…then change the chanel instead of complaining. I believe Chris to have been an early pioneer of a new extreme sport…lets call it “minimal surviving” Yeah ! A sport you can enjoy in any remote exotic location in the world..One hundred days will be the targeted goal. Just you and the land. God bless Alex Supertramp for his vision, and his courage.

28 Joe T.

October 20, 2007 @ 10:19 am CEST

I respect McCandless for not only for his actions but for his ideas and visions. How many of you would have the balls just to “throw it all away” and do something you really felt you had to do? Some on here say that he could always go back to his “privledged lifestyle”, but if you read the book you would see that he never really considered that an option. His parents offered to buy him a car for graduating college but he totally denied it, along with any other gifts or materialistic means (including his parents paying for him to go to law school). I don’t think you all understand the real meaning behind McCandless, it wasn’t his actions but his ideas that were and still are important. It’s about shedding that outer shell, about taking a chance and living outside your “comfort zone”. That’s the real meaning of adventure, whether its doing what McCandless did, joining the armed forces to go to war or anything that gives a person their own feeling of worthiness. It’s putting it all on the line no matter what the consequences, for good or ill, and I doubt few on this board would have to guts to do what he did, ever.

29 Jessica Schneider

October 20, 2007 @ 3:07 pm CEST

“It’s putting it all on the line no matter what the consequences, for good or ill, and I doubt few on this board would have to guts to do what he did, ever.”

Don’t idealize this kid who got himself killed. And yes, the privileged lifestyle was always there, even if he so called “didn’t want it”–it was there the way an ex is there, where you can always go back if things don’t work out with the new flame. Remember he used his real name when he was dying. He wanted to be found, and I’m sure would have been glad to recover in his old bedroom.

“it wasn’t his actions but his ideas that were and still are important.”

You can’t disregard his foolish actions. Sort of like when a writer writes a poem with good intention behind it, but the result is poorly written doggerel. Well meaning as it may be, that doesn’t change the poor quality of the poem, or disregard Chris’ poor choices.

Everything you’re saying I could have thought too once, but I’m not in my 20s anymore, and as you age, you grow out of these things. In 10 years you will feel differently.

30 Leon Filmer

October 21, 2007 @ 1:33 am CEST

Jessica why does Mc Candless scare you so much ? This country and many like it were founded by the same spirit that eminated from Chris Mc Candless. It was Chris’s life to live the way he wanted to, its people like you he was running from, people who wanted him to be pidgeon holed into one of society’s so called lifestyles. Dont criticise what you dont understand. Living life the way you want to is a god given right in this country that many fought and died for. You want to stand on your soap box and jeer those with the courage to do so ? shame on you jessica.

31 Jessica Schneider

October 21, 2007 @ 2:19 am CEST

When have I said he “scared me?”

“People like me he was running from?” How do you presume to know what I’m like?

“Living life the way you want to is a god given right in this country that many fought and died for.”

Yeah? So what. What does that have to do with not bringing a map?

And last time I checked so was it my right to have an opinion and express it. Courage is running into a burning building, not starving to death in a bus.

Funny, I actually thought I went pretty easy on the guy. And did you even read what I wrote about Dick Proenneke? My point is live the way you want, just be smarter about it.

32 Leon Filmer

October 21, 2007 @ 3:11 am CEST

“how do I presume to know what I’m like ?”
because I have read your rantings Jessica

33 Joe T.

October 21, 2007 @ 10:28 am CEST

I find your responses amusing. I don’t find myself needing to be explained anything by your poor anecdotes (concerning “ex-flames and misconstrued poetry”). One of the main reasons he went on the road for over two years without contact with his parents was to get away from them and if you read the book you would see that it was very unlikely that he would ever return under his parents’ roof. As for wanting to be found, I’m sure he did, he was dying for Pete’s sake. As much as many on here believe that he was some kind of schitzo with a death wish, I honestly don’t believe that to be the case. If anything, I find it the exact opposite, I think he wanted nothing more but to LIVE.

As for his “foolish actions”, yeah some may have been made but people make much more costly mistakes everyday. “If only the soldiers had more body armor” to “he would have lived if he would have been wearing his seat belt”; these are both easily-solved cases that could have be prevented but happen everyday. He may have went into the woods unprepared but that was the point, to push his own boundaries and to live on as little as possible. His choices are for none of us to judge, only God can do that.

I’m 28, only three years younger than you but I feel like I’m much older in my way of “adventurous” thinking (maybe that comes from my “hippie” parents) and I doubt that, like you say, I’ll have a different way of thought a decade from now. I find myself a lot like McCandless in that adventure trumps everything, including money, security, relationships. Everything. It’s truly a free-thinking way to live and I’m sure there are many out there that could never understand, yourself included and I hope that even when I reach “my wonderful 30’s” that it won’t warp my youthful train of thought because there is nothing more tragic than getting “old”.

34 Jessica Schneider

October 21, 2007 @ 3:25 pm CEST

Joe–

I think you are misunderstanding me. Here’s why:

All I’m saying is that you can’t analyze this guy’s life and dismiss his foolish actions. You have to look as the bad as well as the good. All you are seeing is his “intent”. While he may have had fine intentions and been a nice guy, that does not change the fact that he lied to his family, hurt his sister, and got himself in a situation he could not get himself out of. If you really think that living responsibly is like getting “old” then you should really think about that. (And responsibly does not mean no adventure–I’m not saying that. Just bring a map!)

My analysis in regards to the writing and an old flame was spot on–many bad writers like to defend a bad piece of writing simply because they agree with the sentiment or politics behind it. While the sentiment might be nice, that does not excuse the writing from suffering from cliches, poor line breaks, etc. And that’s what McCandless was, a walking bad poem full of good intention but lots of cliches.

And I doubt you’re more an “adventurous ” thinker than I am. For you to presume that is very dismissive. You are forgetting the importance of imagination, and I don’t have to go live in a bus to have a full life. And you don’t have a clue as to what “adventures” I’ve had. How do you know I haven’t done something similar?

If “adventure” is what makes you happier than relationships, money, security, then by all means have your fun if that makes you happy. But you’ve lived to be 28 so at least as of now, you must be doing something right.

And I have read far extensively on the subject, and plenty of people have lived “adventurous” lives and been smart about it: Joe Simpson, Walter Bonatti, Dick Proenneke, etc. There is a great line, however, between risk takers like them and McCandless or Treadwell.

You are presuming things about me when you don’t know a thing about me. I’m not someone who is part of “the system” I tell people all the time not to trust in academia and don’t just believe something because others have said it. And it swings both ways–don’t just readily idealize a guy who made poor choices. OK, if you can admit the poor choices and still want to idealize him, I disagree with you, but at least you have given it some thought. The thing about reaching my 30s was I achieved more of a peace of mind–I was very anxious and frustrated in my 20s. And I’m only 31.

And here is something I wrote that reflects my old, “unadventurous” mind. I think you’ll appreciate it. And BTW–I lived on a boat for a while in my youth, my dad, while not a hippie, was into that ’sailing around the world’ type thing. I just finished a long novel about it.

I’m just saying that you would be surprised by how much you’re misinterpreting me. My opinions of McCandless are not a reflection on you or people who choose to live “adventurously” because adventurously is not an antonym to responsibly.

http://jaschneider.blogspot.com/2007/01/marvel-mont-blanc.html

35 Lisa N.

October 22, 2007 @ 1:45 am CEST

Dear Jessica, Just as you do not want to be judged, maybe you should not judge Chris and others for the their choices or motives in their personal lives. Please do not tell me that you haven’t judged him or his choices because you have. You have the right to your opinion but honestly your opinion sounds more judgemental than anything I’ve heard. In my opinion you need to look at yourself and think at how you react to things. Also in my opinion everyone has a right to live their life as they see fit reguardless of their foolishness. Please be open minded to other people’s creativeness.

36 Jessica Schneider

October 22, 2007 @ 1:55 am CEST

Lisa–

Fair enough. I’ve said all I need to say on the subject.

37 Lisa N.

October 22, 2007 @ 2:12 am CEST

Thank you Jessica for ackowledging my response. Please in the future just think of how you would feel to be criticized for your actions alive or dead. Take care

38 Joe T.

October 22, 2007 @ 9:14 am CEST

I apologize if it seems I offended or judged you, it was not my intent at all. It’s difficult to explain but it just appears that America is eroding from the inside out and I never really realized it until I dug as deep as I could into McCandless’s story. I’m not so much concerned about his unpreparedness for his journey as I am for his ideals, which was all I was really trying to convey.

Personally, I’m on the life-long journey of finding “The American Dream” (Hunter S. Thompson is my favorite author, I can see you rolling your eyes…) and the more I look, the more I find that my version is almost the exact opposite of almost everyone I’ve encountered. Be born, go to school, go to college, get a job, get married, have kids, work until you’re 65, retire and collect SSI until you croak probably before you’re 75. Again, money, security, relationships. Is that really what life is about? Most people I know would be perfectly content with that and it frustrates me. I want to live, NOW, not when I’m too old to enjoy it. I want to see everything and do everything, to actually LIVE not just exist. That’s the connection I have with the McCandless story, he not only believed that, he lived it and ultimately died for it. Believe it or not, I am allowed to admire him for that.

Again, if I offended you, I apologize, I sometimes have a hard time putting my opinion across without seeming rash.
P.S. The reason he went into the woods without a map was because he wanted to map the area himself, which may or may not have been a good idea.