Into the wild essay
Imagine yourself out in the wild, all alone. How would you react, how would you manage to survive? In the book, Into the Wild, the author Jon Krakauer writes the story of a man named Chris McCandless who died while on a journey into Alaska. Krakauer tells how Chris managed to survive 2 years after dropping everything he ever earned and started anew. Remember, most of these two years he was alone trying to get to different destinations. Chris went by a plethora of nicknames. He was referred to as different names like McCandless, Chris, Alex Supertramp and so on. Chris McCandless was a survivalist because he worked through struggles, used his intelligence, and is a quick thinker
Chris McCandless was a survivalist because he worked through all of his struggles and didn’t give up. “The oar breaks. Alex has one spare oar. He calms himself. If he loses the second oar is dead. Finally through extreme effort and much cursing, he manages to beach canoe on jetty and collapses exhausted on sand at sundown.” (Krakauer 36) A skill of a survivalist is being able to not go crazy when in bad situations and to calm themselves. Some people if their oar broke, (in a storm not mentioned in the excerpt I took from the book) they would panic or give up and get washed away. McCandless on the other hand relaxed himself and rowed into shore to safety. “He could simply abandon the Datsun and resume his odyssey on foot. And that’s what he decided to do. Instead of feeling distraught over this turn of events, moreover, McCandless was exhilarated.” (Krakauer 28-29) Chris decided to take advantage of this “problem” instead of mourning over it and bringing his own death. If Chris would have given up at this moment like many others would have, he would not be a true survivalist. But instead, he made the best of a problem at first and worked through the struggle to create a success! Chris was a tenacious man and he worked through all the struggles that came his way without giving up!
Chris McCandless intelligence made him a survivalist and it is one of the reasons he lived for so long. “He peppered Gallien with thoughtful questions about the kind of small game that live in the country, the kinds of berries he could eat -”that kind of thing”” (Krakauer 5) When others may be nervous to begin their adventure resulting in antisocial behavior, McCandless asked questions trying to familiarize himself with the area from a real local. This information could have possibly helped McCandless get a little more food than he would have before because he knew what kind of berries he could pick that would be safe for him. “In the campus book store, tucked away on the bottom shelf of the Alaska section he came across a scholarly, exhaustively researched field guide to the regions edible plants,”(Krakauer 160) Chris not only got the advice from Gallien, he also researched the correct plants he could eat from a book. This way, McCandless further learned more about the environment he was going to spend a long time in. It is always smart to get multiple opinions on topic, just like McCandless did with Gallien and the college bookstore plant book.Chris’ intelligence made him a survivalist because it helped him prepare for the situations he was about to encounter and also helped him when he was actually experiencing them.
Chris McCandless was able to quickly think to get through tight situations “The latter pair also sports a belt fashioned from a strip of blanket. McCandless, it occurs to me, must have been forced to make the belt after growing so thin that his pants wouldn’t stay up without it.” (Krakauer 179) Even though making a belt is a little thing, it shows McCandless’ ability to be resourceful and quickly think to adapt to his changing lifestyle. Think about it though, wearing pants right doesn’t really seem like a big deal if they are alone in the wild, but if he didn’t have pants to wear in the cold Alaska climate, McCandless could have died a lot earlier. “He was back at the United States border on January 18. Caught by immigration authorities trying to slip into the country without an ID, he spent the night in custody before concocting a story that sprang him from the slammer,” (Krakauer 36) If Krakauer wasn’t able to quickly think about that story to get him out of jail, his journey may have ended right there. But using his skills, he persuaded the guards to let him out. Some people would have had to have a long time to think out a believable story, but fortunately for McCandless, he had no problem thinking of what to say on the spot. Without the ability to quickly think, McCandless would have never been able to reach his goal of getting to his destination of Alaska and attempt to survive.
Chris can be considered a survivalist because he worked through struggles, used his intelligence, and is a quick thinker. Chris used his intelligence, quick thinking skills, and his tenacious behaviour to for a long time succeed in the wild. Without these skills, McCandless even making it to Alaska would have been improbable. A survivalist can be described many different ways. The most common definition of a survivalist is someone who has their own personal survival as their #1 goal. Chris definitely follows this definition. Some also describe a survivalist as someone who has the skills necessary to survive. Even though he isn’t a survivor, Chris had the necessary skills to survive in many situations, but he just got unlucky this time.
Chris McCandless was a survivalist because he worked through all of his struggles and didn’t give up. “The oar breaks. Alex has one spare oar. He calms himself. If he loses the second oar is dead. Finally through extreme effort and much cursing, he manages to beach canoe on jetty and collapses exhausted on sand at sundown.” (Krakauer 36) A skill of a survivalist is being able to not go crazy when in bad situations and to calm themselves. Some people if their oar broke, (in a storm not mentioned in the excerpt I took from the book) they would panic or give up and get washed away. McCandless on the other hand relaxed himself and rowed into shore to safety. “He could simply abandon the Datsun and resume his odyssey on foot. And that’s what he decided to do. Instead of feeling distraught over this turn of events, moreover, McCandless was exhilarated.” (Krakauer 28-29) Chris decided to take advantage of this “problem” instead of mourning over it and bringing his own death. If Chris would have given up at this moment like many others would have, he would not be a true survivalist. But instead, he made the best of a problem at first and worked through the struggle to create a success! Chris was a tenacious man and he worked through all the struggles that came his way without giving up!
Chris McCandless intelligence made him a survivalist and it is one of the reasons he lived for so long. “He peppered Gallien with thoughtful questions about the kind of small game that live in the country, the kinds of berries he could eat -”that kind of thing”” (Krakauer 5) When others may be nervous to begin their adventure resulting in antisocial behavior, McCandless asked questions trying to familiarize himself with the area from a real local. This information could have possibly helped McCandless get a little more food than he would have before because he knew what kind of berries he could pick that would be safe for him. “In the campus book store, tucked away on the bottom shelf of the Alaska section he came across a scholarly, exhaustively researched field guide to the regions edible plants,”(Krakauer 160) Chris not only got the advice from Gallien, he also researched the correct plants he could eat from a book. This way, McCandless further learned more about the environment he was going to spend a long time in. It is always smart to get multiple opinions on topic, just like McCandless did with Gallien and the college bookstore plant book.Chris’ intelligence made him a survivalist because it helped him prepare for the situations he was about to encounter and also helped him when he was actually experiencing them.
Chris McCandless was able to quickly think to get through tight situations “The latter pair also sports a belt fashioned from a strip of blanket. McCandless, it occurs to me, must have been forced to make the belt after growing so thin that his pants wouldn’t stay up without it.” (Krakauer 179) Even though making a belt is a little thing, it shows McCandless’ ability to be resourceful and quickly think to adapt to his changing lifestyle. Think about it though, wearing pants right doesn’t really seem like a big deal if they are alone in the wild, but if he didn’t have pants to wear in the cold Alaska climate, McCandless could have died a lot earlier. “He was back at the United States border on January 18. Caught by immigration authorities trying to slip into the country without an ID, he spent the night in custody before concocting a story that sprang him from the slammer,” (Krakauer 36) If Krakauer wasn’t able to quickly think about that story to get him out of jail, his journey may have ended right there. But using his skills, he persuaded the guards to let him out. Some people would have had to have a long time to think out a believable story, but fortunately for McCandless, he had no problem thinking of what to say on the spot. Without the ability to quickly think, McCandless would have never been able to reach his goal of getting to his destination of Alaska and attempt to survive.
Chris can be considered a survivalist because he worked through struggles, used his intelligence, and is a quick thinker. Chris used his intelligence, quick thinking skills, and his tenacious behaviour to for a long time succeed in the wild. Without these skills, McCandless even making it to Alaska would have been improbable. A survivalist can be described many different ways. The most common definition of a survivalist is someone who has their own personal survival as their #1 goal. Chris definitely follows this definition. Some also describe a survivalist as someone who has the skills necessary to survive. Even though he isn’t a survivor, Chris had the necessary skills to survive in many situations, but he just got unlucky this time.