Many people puzzled over the meaning of McCandless' life, and there is a website devoted to people like us who are Go to the Chris McCandless web page: http://www.christophermccandless.info/
Choose an article that you would like to read pertaining to McCandless. Then write a comment in which you identify the article you have read and explain your response to it. Be specific (use details and quotes from the materials you've read). Then, respond to a classmate's comment using specific details.
Remember all comments and responses need to be respectful and specific.
This assignment is worth 10 points and will be graded on its completeness, specificity, insightfulness and quality of writing.
I read " Christopher Mcandless- my view" and i thought it was pretty interesting. It was interesting to hear how much of an influence Chris was to some people. It seamed that Chris was a great inspiration to the author. The author praised him for his bravery and at the same time made him think of himself. He had always wanted to leave his job and he finaly did. He convinced him to follow his dreams and he ended up exploaring the world! People like Chris are important to remind the rest of us that it is okay to follow you'r dreams and do what makes you happy in life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jenna, I think that the story is something that could really influence others and make them think over their life as a whole. It's an interesting and overall different story that really makes people think.
DeleteThe ideas that Chris gave the world are inspirational. Showing people what they are capable of if they only put their mind to it. However, the life of Chris also lives on to show people the dangers that still exist. Sure its great to go off and do your own thing, but stay within a certain limit. If you go too far you may end up dead.
DeleteThough I wouldn't suggest hiking into the woods with no supplies and a bunch of philosophy books, there is definitely something to be said about the message Chris was portraying about taking charge in your life and follow your dreams (even if it is unconventional).
DeleteHe is a role model to us all. I wish I had his courage!
Jenna, the impact that Chris had on Krakauer was very interesting I agree. I find it cool that an 18 year old boy that he had never even met could have had that big of an impact on someone, I am sure he also played a role in the lives of all the people he met and spent time with on his way up to Alaska, which I also find super interesting.
DeleteI read the theory on Alex's death and I thought it had a lot of information that was interesting. It talked about a theory that he ate the same thing that Jewish prisoners ate. The prisoners thought that they were making bread that was perfectly fine but it was actually a cruel death sentence. It seems like Alex ate the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI read that article too, before deciding to read the article I responded too, and I agree with you. I do think it seems as though the prisoners and McCandless ate the same thing. It is a rather cruel method of torture for the guards to give to the prisoners, but it was an effective way to kill people, as it appears to have done to McCandless. The prisoners and McCandless were in the same state, incredibly malnourished and close to death already, and, ultimately, they died from the same cause.
DeleteThat article seems interesting. Many people ponder the causes of his death and why something so simple could be the end of such a big adventure. There seem to be many different theories, and people will always want to know why one of their favorite characters could not live out the dream he intended to.
DeleteI only read the first part of this article but It was very interesting to see the correlation between the concentration camps food source and the food Chris was eating. It is a major step in understanding how he died
DeleteI accidentally posted my response and comment on the Block 5 page.
ReplyDeleteI read the article "Christopher McCandless- My View", and I thought it was a very relatable response to Christopher McCandless. The author talked about how he wouldn't be able to do what Chris did, nor did he want to, which I agree with. I think Chris is inspirational, as he went out and did something he'd always wanted to do, but I wouldn't be able to go out and just do what Chris did. I also liked how the author included a song with the lyrics that made the author think of McCandless, and, after reading the lyrics, it did seem to relate very closely to McCandless, as it said "Put your hands into the fire", which is what I think McCandless did. He just went for it.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with everything Tia just stated because Chris took that risk and embraced the fact that he may not make it out alive, and that he maybe thought that if he didn't take the risk, he would completely regret it
DeleteI also agree with what you said, and I wrote about basically the same thing. I like when you said that he went out and did something he wanted to do, because personally, I believe that if we stopped doubting ourselves and just took chances, our dreams would be more likely to come true. Instead of waiting and thinking, we should be quicker to make decisions and ultimately just go for it, regardless of what the outcome might be.
DeleteI agree with Tia. I think it is especially important that she brought up the fact that the author talked about how he could never do ehat chris did and would never want to. I think that was the idea. Even if you couldn't do something huge, chris inspired people to do what made them happiest. Even if that was just travelling for a bit and getting away. He wanted people to really experience life.
DeleteI like that you made the distinction of "I respect what he did but wouldn't do it myself" I think its very Thoreau and I think that's exactly what Chris would've wanted people to take from his journey.
DeleteI agree with Rachel. The most difficulty is to actually do what you believe instead of just dreaming. Everyone has a dream, but not everyone can fulfill their dreams.
DeleteI read "Into the Wild" by Kelly Frazer-Modica. The author praised Chris McCandless for his adventures, and was touched very deeply by his story. She admired the fact that Chris was able to find himself and live in his own fulfilling way, without caring what others thought or what they would say about him. One interesting quote was, "Chris had the gift to be able to live life to the fullest with the ability to dive into the ocean when most of us would just wade into the pond." The author is definitely someone who agrees with his philosophies, and mourns the death of Chris.
ReplyDeleteI read the Theory on Chris McCandless death by Ronald Hamilton and I thought that, agreeing with what Lauren said, that what the prisoners ate was a death sentance to them, and I feel like the the toxins Alex ate were an unneccesary death sentance and he just needed to survive and he had the choice unlike many others.
ReplyDeleteI read a the letter written by one of Chris's sisters, Carine McCandless. She talks about how she feels about everything that has happened since her brothers death, and how she felt about it. She insults her parents and what they say in the Early Years page. She talks about how their early lives as children aren't as happy as portrayed by the parents. She talks about how Chris had taken a lot of the blame of his parents failing relationship onto himself and eventually that is what drove him away from home. I could see this being the case. Being in the spot light, any family would want to appear as normal and nice as possible. That just isn't the case. Something that does bother me however is the last chapter of the novel when Chris's parents are venturing out to the bus, while they were there it is not once recorded of either of them crying. That bothers me a lot. I mean if your son died here it should have some impact on you, but the most that happened was when his mother talked about how his pants still smelled like him.
ReplyDeleteI also read "Chris McCandless - My View". I really enjoyed this piece because it took what Chris did and made it relatable. He said McCandless was able to do something nobody would have the courage to do. He understood that he was unhappy with where he was and he wanted to do something to change it. He took the steps to make it happen as well. Most people have something they want to do, and as Adam Read puts it, they "didn't want to take the plunge and they were also afraid to start something new." I can connect to this well. There are plenty of things I want to do with my life, but I am afraid of the financial obligations or what some people might think if I did it. These are all things people take into consideration before a big change like this. This article showed me how respectable it actually was for Chris McCandless to stand up and do what he thought was best for his life. It is something that is hard for all of us, but Chris McCandless, despite the result, made himself happy and just went for it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI read Carine Mccandless The Wild Truth, where it describes Chris's relationship with his family. Carine says that Chris and her grew up in a troubled household where there were many secrets being hidden from them. She also explains why she thinks Chris went into the wild. This is different from what is said in the Early Years article about the normal fun McCandless family. Carine calls out her parents in the book for the troublesome times. I think it is good that the truth came out about Chris's family because it helps us better understand why he went into the wild.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Max that knowing the truth about McCandless's family helps us to better understand him. I think that it really gives us a great look into McCandless life growing up with his dad being a part of completely different family andhow that effected him growing up. I think that is a key component to the resentment that Chris had toward his dad as he got older and contributes very heavily to his decision to live the way he did.
DeleteI read the article "Christopher McCandless-my view" and I agree with the point of view of the author. I especially like the part where he talks about how we have so many "what ifs" in our lives. I think that a common problem among this generation is that we take too long to question each and every belief and question what could happen. The author addresses the fact that we aren't going to get anywhere by wondering what will happen, rather we should take chances and see what happens. Chris McCandless is the perfect example of this because by leaving everything he had, his family, his food, all supplies, and took off with next to nothing, it really shows how Chris McCandless didn't think about the "what ifs", he just went for it. I think we can all learn from that, and that we need to learn to take chances and not overthink the outcome, because if we do, we won't ever get far in life.
ReplyDeleteI also read this article, and I too found the section where the author talks about “what ifs” interesting. I feel as humans we hesitate far too often rather than making the decision we feel is right at that moment. It is not always the best idea to decide on something too quickly, but relating to what Rachel said about progressing in life, we can learn from of our mistakes and become better human beings. Although McCandless’ story had an unfortunate ending, it is important that we understand what he believed in and the reasoning behind his decisions.
DeleteI read The Wild Truth by Chris' sister, Carine. She briefly explained how they leaned on each other during their rough childhoods. She clearly hinted to there being violence between their parents and them. And how that contributed to why Chris felt the need to go out into the Alaskan Bush, Alone. She went on to tell how she believes she is now living for the both of them, and that he will always be with the people he met along the way.
ReplyDeleteThis was Brady Morgan ^^^^
DeleteI read, "Into the Wild," by Chandler Broadbent and I thought it was very insightful on understansing more about who McCandless was. The author said, "McCandless was a huge advocate for valuing the relationships he had with people," I completely agree with this because in the book, McCandless was always talking with people he had just met and was constantly making friends. McCandless was always writing to the people he met after he moved on to his next adventure.The article talks about how McCandless was inlove with nature and that we should all be more like that and should take the time to notice nature more than we do. This relates to the Transcendental belief that we shouldn't get distracted from nature by materials things.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the truth about his family will help us understand why Chris did what he did. Throughout the book it was hard to understand and think about why he went out into the wilderness by himself because Krakauer had limited information on the subject at the time. Maybe this new information could limit all of the possible theories that have been created into a single reason as to what made Chris McCandless venture out in the wilderness.
ReplyDeleteTo Max's post
ReplyDeleteAfter reading “Chris McCandless – My view” I have been given an understanding about the viewpoint of an individual who has was inspired by Chris and his unforgettable story. The author gives high praise for McCandless and his goal to journey far into Alaska and survive off of the land. He also shares a story of his own, similar to the ideas of McCandless. The author, Adam Read, made the decision to leave his job and begin traveling across many countries with limited supplies. He comments on how it requires a certain level of courage to make the decision that McCandless did, however I respect the author for his decision to leave his job and explore the world, as he’d been longing to do.
ReplyDeleteI read "Into the Wild" by Ali Ingah. After read this post I realized that what McCandless chose to do wasn't necessarily a bad choice. After hearing about all the mistakes he made I thought that he was an idiot and I began to criricize him for his poor preparation and what not. What I learned from this article is that Chris McCandless represents what it means to be an individual when society does not allow you to show individuality. I respect what he chose to do, and I believe that hardly anyone else would do what he did. The author of this article talks about how McCandless's story has changed his perspective of life and what it means to be an individual. He calls McCandless a "symbol of what freedom really is."
ReplyDeleteI partially agree with you, in that the amount of freedom McCandless exercised is commendable and the amount of guts that one would need to upend their life so completely is immense. However I didn't feel that makes up for his lack of restraint in applying this level of freedom which resulted in his demise.
DeleteI read "'Into the Wild' Chris McCandless' Sister Says He Was Determined to Cut Ties with Parents", after reading this article that talked extensively about why Chris left, I have a greater sense of compassion and empathy for Chris. As someone who grew up in a home similar to Chris' at first I resented Chris for being "weak" or "selfish" in his handling of his own personal situation. The article gives insight into his family dynamic through his sisters telling it and the more I read I realized that everyone is entitled to dealing with hardship in their own way, and that just because i dealt with things in a way I saw as responsible, doesn't mean everyone will do like i did.
ReplyDeleteI read Theory on Chris McCandless's death by Wayne Sheldrake. In his essay, he mentions the omission of Chris's early experiences by Jon Krakauer which would pull Chris out of the heroic character that Krakauer manages to develop in his book Into the Wild: Chris had been jailed twice before he headed to the north, and had experienced several near death experiences thorough his hitchhiking, and was saved by others who happened to be near him. It is interesting to notice that the materials that Chris chose to acknowledge the wild life are mostly written by people who have not lived in the wild. The edible plants book was written by biologists; books from Thoreau are useless in surviving in the wild because Thoreau's little house was not very far away from town Concord. However, unaware of his mistakes, Chris persisted on his views and did not take advice from other well-prepared hitchhikers or local residents. It might be true that the cause of McCandless is due to poisoned plants, but I feel that the tragedy of his ending is largely because of his arrogance on not taking advice from others, overconfidence in himself and positivism on living in the wild and the fact that he was not prepared for the adventure.
ReplyDeleteI read the article on Bus 142, which primarily covered the hike to the bus from native Alaskan Erik Halfacre. The details of the hike itself are very intimidating due to the bears adn multiple river crossings. Thinking about McCandless' own journey along the stampede trail it surprises me that he didn't have any significant issue with bears, travelling alone and without specialized kit such as a bear bag. The trek is long and wet, although reasonably flat, making it out that far without provisions seems incredibly irresponsible, which I assume to be the point. The difficulty involved shows the incredible degree of artificial difficulty that McCandless placed before himself in his attempt to escape.
ReplyDeleteI read the article "Into the Wild" by Kelly Frazer-Modica, whom I felt connected to Christopher's story. She admired Chris for his perseverance and bravery. Chris saw life in a whole different way and to "live by his own moral code, his law and not the law of anyone else’s that would put shackles on his
ReplyDeleteI read the article "Into the Wild" by Kelly Frazer-Modica, whom I felt connected to Christopher's story. She admired Chris for his perseverance and bravery. Chris saw life in a whole different way and to "live by his own moral code, his law and not the law of anyone else’s that would put shackles on his psyche." Chris didn't think the way most people did, as stated by Kelly "Chris didn’t see things as most people do," I saw this as important because it's entirely true. Most people, such as critics, fail to understand the fact that Chris was not like the normal person. He though in his own box and believed life was better off being simplistic. He saw life as a better place with out money and materialistic things, hence the reason he burned his money and traveled with only necessities. Many critics believe Chris was conceited, naive, and ill-prepared because they lack the concept that Chris saw things differently and his trip was entirely for himself.
ReplyDelete