Into the Wild

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mount McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. . . .

That paragraph is printed on the front cover of the book, "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer. Well, with a lead-up like that, who wouldn’t be intrigued? This, of course, is a non-fiction book based on the true story of Chris McCandless. The basic synopsis provided on the front cover sums up the story well. It was a fascinating story, but the interpretation of the story must change dramatically depending on who is reading it.

For example, the author seems to alternate between revering McCandless for his bravery and gumption and ridiculing him for his stupidity and careless decisions (walking into the Alaskan wilderness with only a few books and a ten pound bag of rice). I suppose this is on par for the basic feelings about McCandless. I admire him somewhat for the nomadic, no-strings-attached life he led for two years after graduating from college. He seemed to just want to live life, with no possessions, no connections, no responsibilities, no duties, no home, no security, and essentially alone. I think everyone has had moments when they want to leave it all behind, particularly when obligation and responsibility gets to be too much. But few of us actually do it.

Two-thirds through the book, the author reveals that he also made a similar voyage and trek into the Alaskan wilderness. Obviously, he didn’t die and seems to almost resent McCandless’s conviction to stick it out. Perhaps a conviction that the author didn’t possess. The most compelling part of the book was this paragraph:

It would be easy to stereotype Christopher McCandless as another boy who felt too much, a loopy young man who read too many books and lacked even a modicum of common sense. But the stereotype isn’t a good fit. McCandless wasn’t some feckless slacker, adrift and confused, racked by existential despair. To the contrary: His life hummed with meaning and purpose. But the meaning he wrested from existence lay beyond the comfortable path: McCandless distrusted the value of things that came easily. He demanded much of himself - more, in the end, than he could deliver.

Personally, I think the author read too much into McCandless’s journey and sparse writings. I think he was crazy and not just crazy in a "that guy’s a real nutjob" way, but truly mentally ill. He had been showing signs since his early teens that he was walking down the path to mentally ill - a loner, few friends, odd hobbies and interests. After he went away to college, far away from his parents, these characteristics intensified. He was the oddball on campus, again with few friends, and often lived in an unfurnished room with no telephone. His closest relationship was with his car, which he later abandoned. From the information provided by the book, no one close to him did anything to help him. It seemed as if he was simply ignored by his parents and the college. It is sad to think this downward spiral could have been prevented.

It has been a few weeks since I finished the book and my thinking has changed. I still think he was crazy, but I also think he was an asshole. His parents and a family friend paid for his four years at a very expensive private college. McCandless wasted that education. He took off on his "adventure" right after graduation but never told his family were he was going and never gave them a way to contact him. It would kill my parents if I had done something like that. McCandless was so thoughtless, so unaware that other people existed and had feelings, that he thought contacting the people who loved him was a waste of his time. He was gone for two years and dead for months before his family knew anything.

I am all for soul-searching and a certain amount of naval-gazing. However, when it is done at the expense of other people, it is not OK with me. In my opinion, McCandless was in fact, a "feckless slacker."