Into The Wild: Self Reliance Of Chris Mccandless

“A fool thinks himself to be wise,but a wise man knows himself to be a fool” (william shakespeare). Into the Wild is a nonfiction book by Jon Krakeur on the life events of Chris Mccandless from when he was growing up and when he adopted the name Alexander Supertramp when he left his old life behind to start his long awaited journey going into Alaska where he would come to live out his final days. Chris McCandless was foolish with the choices that he made on his journey across America by not being well equipped with the right equipment and for not accepting any help from anyone. Chris McCandless had made many foolish choices, but the first of those foolish choices was when he was getting ready to start his journey to Alaska he hitch hiked a ride by a man named Gallien and he states that “ His gear seemed exceedingly minimal for the harsh living conditions of the interior.

Alex's cheap leather hiking boots were neither waterproof nor well insulated. His rifle was only a. 22caliber, a bore to small to rely on if he expected to kill large animals like moose and caribou, which he would have to eat if he hoped to remain very long in the country.” (Krakauer pg5). This is very important because it shows how he wasn't ready to go off into the country because his shoes wouldn't protect his feet at all the cold weather conditions and since his shoes would get soaking wet and then that would lead to his feet getting frostbite and his rifle is way to small for him to hunt big game such as moose because if he tries to shoot at one the only thing he would do is just scare off the animal leading to him not eating and since McCandless rifle is too small he is going to have to rely on hunting small animals which wouldn't even help him out in this situation because sooner or later he's going to be lacking a certain amount of calories and since he's eating such small meals eventually he's going to end up and starving to death.

Another foolish choice that McCandless made was not packing enough food for his journey of going into the wild. McCandless had stated that “Alex admitted the only food in his pack was a ten-pound bag of rice” (Krakauer pg 5). This shows how he didn't do his research because everyone knows that a ten pound bag of rice isn't going to keep you full much longer and everyone knows when you go into the wild you should bring enough food to last you at least a week and first aid kit and many more items but McCandless didn't bring any of those things that everyone would think is key to surviving in the wild, it is almost like he wanted to die in the wild.

Another reason that shows that chris McCandless was foolish is before heading into McCandless left his map behind stated by Krakauer “Unlike McCandless, however i have in my backpack a 1:63,360-scale topographic map”(Krakauer pg 173). This showed that McCandless was very unprepared again because if he had a map of the area he would have seen that there was a cable that hydrologist had used to get from one side to the river to another using an aluminum basket that suspended from a cable that would allow to travel across the river safely and if christ had this map and knowledge he could've had left when he wanted at first but he couldn't because the ice had melted and caused a rampaging river that would sweep you down stream but again if McCandless was prepared he would've seen that and he would possibly still be alive to this day.

Most people would say that Chris McCandless was very stupid for going into the wild unprepard but he also didnt want any help from anyone. Krakauer stated that “Jim Gallien was the last person to see Chris before he took off on his journey into the wild...He offered to give him a ride anywhere”(Krakauer pg6).  This shows exactly how stubbron McCadnless was becuase everyone he encountered saw exactly how unprepared he was and tried to talk him out of the journey but Chris thought he was wise and smart when everyone around him saw how big of a task this was.Some people disagree and say that he wasnt stupid and that he knew what he was doing in the wild because he killed a moose but some alaskin locals say “ you must be dumb to mistaken a caribu for a moose” but it was later to be confirmed to be a moose which shows that he was able to tell the difference between the two specisis and being able to tell them apart is very difficult especially since the two animals resemble similar looks.

Chris McCandless has made many foolish choices throughout his long awaited journey by not accepting any help from anyone, not bringing the right equipment that is essential when going into the wild and by getting rid of everything that he owns and by abandoning his family who loved him so deeply when he did not love them back. This is why Chirs McCandless should not be held as a hero but a selfish person who only cared about himself and should be an example of what not to do. A Lot of people have problems as many cope with them differently and this is one way not to deal with a problem, running away from your problems will never help because in the end they will always catch up.