The story of Chris McCandless sparks many different opinions about him. People often look up to this man as an inspiration and hero, but some think he was self-centered and overconfident. Regardless what view a person has on McCandless, it is evident in John Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, that this man knew what he wanted and was not afraid to chase after his dream. Although many people feel differently about him, I believe McCandless was a strong, courageous man who went against the norm to find himself.
McCandless was an inspiration to so many people because he followed his dream, something that people are often afraid to do. Up until the point of his starvation, he remained hopeful that he was going to escape the wild. Perhaps most importantly, he made an incredible impact on so many people throughout his journey. For a long time, McCandless wanted to go into the bush and live off of the land. After he was finished with college, he disappeared from his family and left to go follow his dream. McCandless once said, “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences.” (Krakauer, page 57). New experiences were exactly what McCandless was looking for. Many people are afraid to follow their dreams because they may not work out for the better. Those people are afraid to change something in their life, and they should look up to McCandless for being able to do that. McCandless knew what he wanted, and he was not afraid to strive to achieve it. The ability for him to stray from what we see as normal should inspire others believe in their dreams as well.
While McCandless lived in the wild, it was difficult for him to find food. He killed a moose and a couple of other animals that helped his hunger but never completely satisfied him. On August 19, 1992, he died of starvation. McCandless knew he was hungry and getting thinner, but he never gave up hope. In one of his journals, Chris wrote, “I read somewhere...how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong...but to feel strong”. (Page 91). Throughout his journey, McCandless may have not been physically strong, but mentally, he had the strength of a hurricane. The amount of hope that McCandless had was tremendous, and no matter what situation he was in, he always believed he was going to get out of it. McCandless’ mother, Billie said, “He must have been very brave and very strong, at the end, not to do himself in.” (page 202). She is saying that McCandless knew he was starving and was most likely going to die. He could have made it easy on himself by taking his own life, but he had the strength to try to fight through it. People, myself included, find his strength, hopefulness, and faith to be incredible. Every day, I struggle with simply getting up for school, and to be able to survive in the wild as long as he did, is unimaginable to me.
On the way to Alaska, McCandless stopped in many places, and met many people. According to the book, he left a positive impact on each person he met, such as Jim Gallien. Gallien dropped him off at the Stampede Trail and gave him a pair of hiking boots. Jan Burres, another person McCandless met along the way, picked McCandless up and drove him to a nearby town. They became very close and stayed in contact with each other until he went into the wild. Ronald Franz also picked McCandless up and grew very fond of him during the three days and 3,000 miles they were together. These three people requested that McCandless write them letters and keep in touch throughout his trip. In a letter to Franz, McCandless told him to follow his dreams by saying, “You are wrong if you think, joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in everything and anything we might experience. We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living. My point is that you do not need me or anyone else around to bring this new kind of light in your life. It is simply waiting out there for you to grasp it, and all you have to do is reach for it. The only person you are fighting is yourself and your stubbornness to engage in new circumstances.” (Page 57-58). This letter really explains the views McCandless had on life. All of the people he met on his trip loved McCandless, and throughout the book, readers feel like they are on the trip with McCandless getting to know him as well. 
While reading about this extremist, people sometimes become annoyed with McCandless because they find him to be unrealistic. They feel he is overconfident in his plan to take on the wilderness, and is selfish for abandoning his family. Many people wrote to the magazine The Outsider and said that he knew the Alaskan terrain was dangerous, and yet he traveled unprepared. Some people just said he was a complete nut and was crazy. Others say he did this to commit suicide or because he was just looking for attention. 
My opinion, like many others of McCandless is that he was a strong, self-reliant person who went against civilization to find himself and follow his dream. Some disagree with this after reading John Krakauer’s book, but it is easy to tell that he knew what he wanted and was not afraid to go and find it. Many people in the world are scared of chasing their dreams. McCandless showed us that anything is possible as long as you have the faith to do so.
Works Cited
Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor, 2007. Print.
