In your opinion, after finishing the book, what is your conclusion about Chris? Was he a fool? Was he just unlucky? Also, do you care about him? What is your opinion of him as a person?
I believe that Chris McCandless wasn't a fool, and yes, he was very unlucky. After reading the end of the story, I think Chris didn't want to die and he was planning to return to his normal life. Unfortunately, his luck didn't help him survive, because he was prepared for most of the obstacles and for a little mistake he died. I care about McCandless because he as a person was very interesting and he was very nice with other people.
I personally believe Christopher McCandless is not a fool, but since he had decided to do an odyssey without having the necessary supplies, he had to assume the consequences of his decisions. I also believe Chris do shows us that he is a man with many different facets, what generates that the reader perceives a change on the protagonist's thoughts, personality or actions during the story. Even though the man is definitely unlucky because the events show nature was almost against him, he did his best to survive. The odyssey costed him his life, however, he was never suicidal. I think that Chris as a person is definitely rich in qualities, that had much to give but that, because of his familiar conflicts, never realized his potential. Matches didn´t arrange for McCandless to survive, but meeting him would have been a very interesting experience.
I believe that Chris was very unlucky, but not a fool. I think his lack of experience was a determining factor in the wrong choices he made. He was a very smart guy, and he read a lot of great books which I believe didn't make him a fool, but maybe a little naive. It was a very bad idea to go Into the wild without any resources or preparation, but the reasons Chris had to do it were, in my opinion, very strong. I care about the Chris I met in the book, I think he was intelligent, determined and very passionate about his ideals. In my opinion he wasn't suicidal, I'm not sure he wanted to return to his life, but I definitely think he wanted to live. Chris decided to do something very risky, and I think he was very aware that he could die any moment, but he could have also survived if he had been more lucky.
In my opinion Chris McCandless was an interesting, intellectual, full of amazing ideas and incredibly smart guy. He wasn´t an ordinary person, he had the ability to adapt to any conditions or obstacles that appeared in his way and he never quit. The fact he was so loyal to his ideals and thoughts is admirable and that´s why his odyssey to Alaska is fascinating and very interesting. Chris McCandless was a unique human being. Concerning his death, I think Chris was unlucky but conscious. I am sure he wanted to go back and that´s why he send those last letters to his friends; during more than 100 days he fought against the extremely cold weather, the loneliness, the lack of food and the uncertainty of what was going to happen next; but he was always conscious of the circumstances and what was at stake. He perfectly knew that his decision, although it wasn’t a deadly wish, could have killed him, and despite this he did it. His destiny was to die in a way that people would still remember him 20 years after his death. He wasn´t afraid of death, yet he wanted to fight for his survival because of the kind of person he was: he would never give up. Finally, I wouldn´t have cared about him. If I had had the opportunity of meeting him, though I would have been very worried at the begging, at the end I would have realized he left so he could achieve his dream. Besides, it would just be a painful and unnecessary. I would appreciate his friendship and that´s why I would have support him by giving him the freedom he wanted to have.
Chris definitely was a very interesting human being to be analyzed because he ran away from all that he´d and knew in the society to be alone into the wild with a limited number of provisions. Chris was intelligent, kind and his passion for following his dreams is to be admired. I´m my opinion he wasn’t a fool but he was irresponsible to himself, this kind of things happens when you don’t have the appropriate age to looking with maturity all the risk that you are taking. Obviously, he was unlucky but at the same time he was irresponsible with himself and took some decisions before went to Alaska that in my opinion cost him his life. On the other hand off course I´m care about him he was a human being like us, however I just know that he´s actually in a good place having a good time in a place that allows him to have the peace and the freedom that he deserves.
In my opinion, Chris McCandless isn't a fool at all, but instead, he was very unlucky. Chris had an objective or goal for his trip, which was leaving his old and numb life behind, so that he could be himself without his parent's rules, society's hypocrisy and materialism. In his trip to Alaska, he truly reached this objective, even if he was planning to come back to civilization for some company. What happened after that, was just bad luck because he was going to start a new life style with new people. I care about Chris because he's a very passionate person, he's intelligent and brave, and even if his ideals are different to society's rules, he took the same decision that i would take: leaving it all behind before hurting even more all the people from which his ideas differ the most or before hurting himself when trying to be someone else different from who he is that society is demanding.
In my opinion, McCandless was not a fool at all however he was very unlucky, he did a great job surviving all the way to Alaska I think he could have been more prepared maybe learning more about the Alaska environment or al least how to hunt or find another kind of food that was not plants. I honestly think his stubbornness led him to his dead. I really do not care about him, I mean he was a great person but he was not the kind of person I would like to be connected to or have a relationship with.
In my opinion, Chris was not a fool but a very smart person. This is because he prepared a lot of things for his journey and made decision by himself and spent long time alone. Some mistakes he made may give us the impression of his fool, however it is natural for us to make mistakes when we try to do something new. In addition, without any concern for the results, people who can make decision by themselves are smart. In the point that Chris had a very strong desire to go to Alaska and practiced it, many people may respect him and that is why this book is the national bestseller.
based on the book, we can conclude that Chris wasn't a fool at all, he only made one mistake, but that mistake costed him his life. Despite of the people saying that he was unprepared for the journey, I believe that Christopher knew all the risks that he would have to take in order to survive and it was amazing that he survived for that long in the wild without the necesary materials. In my opinion he was an excellent person, he was very intelligent and he saw the life as a gift that we should appreciate, he had very good moral values and incredibly complex thoughts, but he was also very closed-minded with the people that tried to come closer to him, he always tried not to be attached to someone and relationships are necessarry to construct someone's personality and life.
In my opinion, Chris was not fool at all and his odyssey was unlucky. At first I did not have a good feeling to him because he was stubborn and I did not know the reason why he suddenly ran away. I thought him as crazy and emotionless in that time. But now, when I finished the book, I realized he was a kind of ordinary person because he felt happy when he was doing what he wanted to do and he felt devastated when he faced something tough. Also I did not know at first that he had an intention to back to his home. He had a clear purpose in his odyssey, not aimlessly. I strongly believe that he wanted to reconsider himself and his surroundings. I felt like saying sorry for my narrow thoughts. In addition, his odyssey was unlucky itself because he could have backed to his home. Because of the flood of a river and lacking of a good map, he could not across the river and he had to stay in the wild, which caused his starvation and in the end, death. It was pity of him that he died without live in society with his gainings taken during the odyssey. Everything would be nothing when died. Thus, I changed my attitudes toward Chris McCandless and feel sorry for his fate from the bottom of my heart now.
According to the book, I believe that Chris McCandlless was not a fool although he was really unlucky. If he would have been a fool, he might just had died in a few days. The fact that he survived in the road and in the wild for that amount of time just proves that he was really clever. By the other side he was pretty unlucky. The fact that an "isolated" act cause his dead is a prove of his lack of good luck. I also think that although he had some good reasons for taking such risks I disagree with him because as I continued reading the book until the end I noticed that it was really ironic that Chris wanted to be accepted and that some random person trusted him when the reality was that he never trust anyone and when he felted comfortable with someone he just disappeared. That is my opinion about Chris McCandlless.
He definitely had a bad luck. He survive more than 100 days in the wilderness, that's mean more than the Alaskans average. Seems that more or less he knew how to survive in there. He wasn't foolish at all, probably he had some kind of youth innocence, but he also was smart, which allow him be alive a few months in the wilderness. In my opinion, McCandless was a great person, very intelligent, smart, well educated and very deeply sensitive. In some parts of the book, I was upset with him because he seems to me a little pretentious, specially for create a big distance with his parents. But at the end, I admire him because he follow his dreams until the end. Like Martin Luther King he was a dreamer who 'had a dream...' He had a powerful arguments of the American way of living, the culture based on money, the ignorance of some important issues. And he believe in this until his death. About this one, as a father, I just couldn't imagine how painful should be the loss of a son. I felt pain and compassion for his parents.
I have to say, Lorenzo, that's what gets me every time...just thinking about the pain his parents went through. CHildren who do not yet have children, can not know how much we love them.
I can say it now that he was not a fool at all. If you just heard, "This young man decided to leave everything behind and go to Alaska with not enough load," you could easily mistake him as such a foolish boy. However, he had a lot of knowledge and also, he completely knew himself. The reason why his package was little was not because he had a wish of death, but because he knew what he need. When he reached to the University of Alaska, he bought a book about plants. As we can see from that, he was keep thinking what was important to him and adding them into his package during his journey. He was a smart enough and had enough potential to survive in the wild, but unfortunately, his bad luck didn't allow him to get back home alive. If it was not his bad luck that led him to be dead, he must had died a long time ago. It is very sad that he couldn't come back home and see his parents even though he wanted to do so. He just needed his time to look back his life without any interruption. It is easy to say that he was young and wanted to run away from all of his problem, but making decision to live on his own in the wild and think about the meaning of his life is much harder and more meaningful than just living in such a secure society without enough thinking. I admire him because he was strong. In this modern society, a lot of youngsters and even adults have strong desire to understand the meaning of their life, but no one actually try to run away from their life looking for freedom. I also sometimes feel that desire, but I don't take actions because it is too scary to lead a life without security now I have. I think Chris' strength to take real actions might be one of the reason why he is loved by a lot of people including readers of Into the Wild.
I believe that Chris McCandless wasn't a fool, and yes, he was very unlucky. After reading the end of the story, I think Chris didn't want to die and he was planning to return to his normal life. Unfortunately, his luck didn't help him survive, because he was prepared for most of the obstacles and for a little mistake he died. I care about McCandless because he as a person was very interesting and he was very nice with other people.
ReplyDeleteSometimes a little bad luck is as bad as a lot of bad luck.
DeleteI personally believe Christopher McCandless is not a fool, but since he had decided to do an odyssey without having the necessary supplies, he had to assume the consequences of his decisions. I also believe Chris do shows us that he is a man with many different facets, what generates that the reader perceives a change on the protagonist's thoughts, personality or actions during the story. Even though the man is definitely unlucky because the events show nature was almost against him, he did his best to survive. The odyssey costed him his life, however, he was never suicidal. I think that Chris as a person is definitely rich in qualities, that had much to give but that, because of his familiar conflicts, never realized his potential. Matches didn´t arrange for McCandless to survive, but meeting him would have been a very interesting experience.
ReplyDeleteHis many facets made him somewhat mysterious and hard to understand or interpret. We can say he was an enigma.
DeleteI believe that Chris was very unlucky, but not a fool. I think his lack of experience was a determining factor in the wrong choices he made. He was a very smart guy, and he read a lot of great books which I believe didn't make him a fool, but maybe a little naive. It was a very bad idea to go Into the wild without any resources or preparation, but the reasons Chris had to do it were, in my opinion, very strong. I care about the Chris I met in the book, I think he was intelligent, determined and very passionate about his ideals. In my opinion he wasn't suicidal, I'm not sure he wanted to return to his life, but I definitely think he wanted to live. Chris decided to do something very risky, and I think he was very aware that he could die any moment, but he could have also survived if he had been more lucky.
ReplyDeleteWell said. I agree with your point that even though he may not have wanted to go home, he wanted to live.
DeleteIn my opinion Chris McCandless was an interesting, intellectual, full of amazing ideas and incredibly smart guy. He wasn´t an ordinary person, he had the ability to adapt to any conditions or obstacles that appeared in his way and he never quit. The fact he was so loyal to his ideals and thoughts is admirable and that´s why his odyssey to Alaska is fascinating and very interesting. Chris McCandless was a unique human being.
ReplyDeleteConcerning his death, I think Chris was unlucky but conscious. I am sure he wanted to go back and that´s why he send those last letters to his friends; during more than 100 days he fought against the extremely cold weather, the loneliness, the lack of food and the uncertainty of what was going to happen next; but he was always conscious of the circumstances and what was at stake. He perfectly knew that his decision, although it wasn’t a deadly wish, could have killed him, and despite this he did it. His destiny was to die in a way that people would still remember him 20 years after his death. He wasn´t afraid of death, yet he wanted to fight for his survival because of the kind of person he was: he would never give up.
Finally, I wouldn´t have cared about him. If I had had the opportunity of meeting him, though I would have been very worried at the begging, at the end I would have realized he left so he could achieve his dream. Besides, it would just be a painful and unnecessary. I would appreciate his friendship and that´s why I would have support him by giving him the freedom he wanted to have.
I'm thinking you mean you wouldn't have worried about him. It sounds as though you would have grown fond of him.
DeleteChris definitely was a very interesting human being to be analyzed because he ran away from all that he´d and knew in the society to be alone into the wild with a limited number of provisions. Chris was intelligent, kind and his passion for following his dreams is to be admired. I´m my opinion he wasn’t a fool but he was irresponsible to himself, this kind of things happens when you don’t have the appropriate age to looking with maturity all the risk that you are taking. Obviously, he was unlucky but at the same time he was irresponsible with himself and took some decisions before went to Alaska that in my opinion cost him his life. On the other hand off course I´m care about him he was a human being like us, however I just know that he´s actually in a good place having a good time in a place that allows him to have the peace and the freedom that he deserves.
ReplyDeleteYou put an emphasis on responsibility which I think comes from being a parent and adult.
DeleteIn my opinion, Chris McCandless isn't a fool at all, but instead, he was very unlucky. Chris had an objective or goal for his trip, which was leaving his old and numb life behind, so that he could be himself without his parent's rules, society's hypocrisy and materialism. In his trip to Alaska, he truly reached this objective, even if he was planning to come back to civilization for some company. What happened after that, was just bad luck because he was going to start a new life style with new people.
ReplyDeleteI care about Chris because he's a very passionate person, he's intelligent and brave, and even if his ideals are different to society's rules, he took the same decision that i would take: leaving it all behind before hurting even more all the people from which his ideas differ the most or before hurting himself when trying to be someone else different from who he is that society is demanding.
I really like your idea that he left before he hurt anyone, himself included, with his ideas.
DeleteIn my opinion, McCandless was not a fool at all however he was very unlucky, he did a great job surviving all the way to Alaska I think he could have been more prepared maybe learning more about the Alaska environment or al least how to hunt or find another kind of food that was not plants. I honestly think his stubbornness led him to his dead.
ReplyDeleteI really do not care about him, I mean he was a great person but he was not the kind of person I would like to be connected to or have a relationship with.
I'm curiius as to why you would not be friends with Chris.
DeleteIn my opinion, Chris was not a fool but a very smart person. This is because he prepared a lot of things for his journey and made decision by himself and spent long time alone. Some mistakes he made may give us the impression of his fool, however it is natural for us to make mistakes when we try to do something new. In addition, without any concern for the results, people who can make decision by themselves are smart. In the point that Chris had a very strong desire to go to Alaska and practiced it, many people may respect him and that is why this book is the national bestseller.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to admire his strong sense of individuality. Would you have been his friend?
Deletebased on the book, we can conclude that Chris wasn't a fool at all, he only made one mistake, but that mistake costed him his life. Despite of the people saying that he was unprepared for the journey, I believe that Christopher knew all the risks that he would have to take in order to survive and it was amazing that he survived for that long in the wild without the necesary materials. In my opinion he was an excellent person, he was very intelligent and he saw the life as a gift that we should appreciate, he had very good moral values and incredibly complex thoughts, but he was also very closed-minded with the people that tried to come closer to him, he always tried not to be attached to someone and relationships are necessarry to construct someone's personality and life.
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest mystery about Chris is the fact that he seemed to be so lovd and yet resisted intimacy.
DeleteIn my opinion, Chris was not fool at all and his odyssey was unlucky. At first I did not have a good feeling to him because he was stubborn and I did not know the reason why he suddenly ran away. I thought him as crazy and emotionless in that time. But now, when I finished the book, I realized he was a kind of ordinary person because he felt happy when he was doing what he wanted to do and he felt devastated when he faced something tough. Also I did not know at first that he had an intention to back to his home. He had a clear purpose in his odyssey, not aimlessly. I strongly believe that he wanted to reconsider himself and his surroundings. I felt like saying sorry for my narrow thoughts.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, his odyssey was unlucky itself because he could have backed to his home. Because of the flood of a river and lacking of a good map, he could not across the river and he had to stay in the wild, which caused his starvation and in the end, death. It was pity of him that he died without live in society with his gainings taken during the odyssey. Everything would be nothing when died.
Thus, I changed my attitudes toward Chris McCandless and feel sorry for his fate from the bottom of my heart now.
This a lovely and heartfelt tribute to Chris. Your apology for previiously "narrow thoughts" is quite moving.
DeleteObviously you have given this a great deal of thought. I agree that his death was a great loss to those who might have learned from and loved him.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the book, I believe that Chris McCandlless was not a fool although he was really unlucky.
ReplyDeleteIf he would have been a fool, he might just had died in a few days. The fact that he survived in the road and in the wild for that amount of time just proves that he was really clever. By the other side he was pretty unlucky. The fact that an "isolated" act cause his dead is a prove of his lack of good luck. I also think that although he had some good reasons for taking such risks I disagree with him because as I continued reading the book until the end I noticed that it was really ironic that Chris wanted to be accepted and that some random person trusted him when the reality was that he never trust anyone and when he felted comfortable with someone he just disappeared. That is my opinion about Chris McCandlless.
You make a very good point..he was trusted and wanted by people he couldn't give his heart to completely.
DeleteHe definitely had a bad luck. He survive more than 100 days in the wilderness, that's mean more than the Alaskans average. Seems that more or less he knew how to survive in there. He wasn't foolish at all, probably he had some kind of youth innocence, but he also was smart, which allow him be alive a few months in the wilderness.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, McCandless was a great person, very intelligent, smart, well educated and very deeply sensitive. In some parts of the book, I was upset with him because he seems to me a little pretentious, specially for create a big distance with his parents. But at the end, I admire him because he follow his dreams until the end. Like Martin Luther King he was a dreamer who 'had a dream...' He had a powerful arguments of the American way of living, the culture based on money, the ignorance of some important issues. And he believe in this until his death.
About this one, as a father, I just couldn't imagine how painful should be the loss of a son. I felt pain and compassion for his parents.
I have to say, Lorenzo, that's what gets me every time...just thinking about the pain his parents went through. CHildren who do not yet have children, can not know how much we love them.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI can say it now that he was not a fool at all. If you just heard, "This young man decided to leave everything behind and go to Alaska with not enough load," you could easily mistake him as such a foolish boy. However, he had a lot of knowledge and also, he completely knew himself. The reason why his package was little was not because he had a wish of death, but because he knew what he need. When he reached to the University of Alaska, he bought a book about plants. As we can see from that, he was keep thinking what was important to him and adding them into his package during his journey. He was a smart enough and had enough potential to survive in the wild, but unfortunately, his bad luck didn't allow him to get back home alive. If it was not his bad luck that led him to be dead, he must had died a long time ago. It is very sad that he couldn't come back home and see his parents even though he wanted to do so. He just needed his time to look back his life without any interruption.
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to say that he was young and wanted to run away from all of his problem, but making decision to live on his own in the wild and think about the meaning of his life is much harder and more meaningful than just living in such a secure society without enough thinking. I admire him because he was strong. In this modern society, a lot of youngsters and even adults have strong desire to understand the meaning of their life, but no one actually try to run away from their life looking for freedom. I also sometimes feel that desire, but I don't take actions because it is too scary to lead a life without security now I have. I think Chris' strength to take real actions might be one of the reason why he is loved by a lot of people including readers of Into the Wild.