chapters 6-7 & 10-11

The more I read the more I agree with the statement "Chris McCandless was a reckless idiot and wacko narcissist undeserving of all the media attention". So far there is a sort of feelings that I have well reading the book that indicate that Chris isn't completely sane. We learned in these chapters that Chris had recently discovered that his father, Walt McCandless, had a somewhat secret life that he was keeping from the rest of the family. Chris took time to travel and see relatives that had more information on his father's double life. It seems as though Chris is trying to run away from family problems by not communicating whatsoever with them. The letters that he wrote to his sister indicated that he did not like his parents. I do understand why he would be upset, although he should have considered his parents feelings before he went on his journey. Another thing that I have found odd about Chris is that he seems to contradict his own opinions often. For example, Chris gets annoyed with society, he burns all his money, but then he is found working - and getting paid for it. The fact that Chris doesn’t want money and he burns it, but then he is working so he can get money is a little odd. His contribution to OXFAM doesn’t seem as generous as it did before because the money that he burned and wasted could have been put to much better use. So far, Chris had an impact on a lot of peoples lives that he had met so far on his journey to the north. For example, Ronald Franz, an elderly man that Chris had encouraged him to travel and get out more, and live on the road like Chris. One thing Chris should have realized is what emotions these people were having when they receive letters such as the letter which he sent to Jan Burres and Bob; Hi guys! This is the last communication you shall receive form me. I now walk out amongst the wild. Take care it was great knowing you. So far in the book we have noticed the strong relationship between Chris, Jan and Bob. Jan and Bob cared deeply about Chris, and Chris had really grown on him. Receiving a letter like this would make Jan and Bob scared and upset. After figuring out that Chris was found dead months later, they probably felt very guilty for not trying to stop him or telling anyone about where he was.

Chapters 1 - 5

The first five chapters of Into the Wild I found interesting. So far, Chris McCandless's dead body was found in a sleeping bag in a bus he was living in. He died of starvation while taking a journey by choice into the wild. I find it odd how he wasn't kicked out of his house or some type of homeless man. Even though he a nice place to stay he decided to live out on his own on the road and in the freezing cold climate of Alaska. I think it was very generous for him to donate all his money to OXFAM. Although at the time he decided to donate the money he probably wasn't thinking about what he was going to do with the rest of his life. He had his whole life ahead of him, was he planning to spend the rest of his life living on the road and in the wild? Hitchhiking is probably alot more dangerous now then it was over fifteen years ago. Now it would be very hard to try to hitchhike around the country because not that many people trust hitchhikers anymore. I understand that Chris wouldn't want to tell his parents what he was doing and where he was going exactly, in fear that they would stop him and try to find him. Although, it was a little uneccesary for him to leave his family with the horrible feeling of wondering where he was and if he was alright. So far, I do not believe that Chris's actions were courageous. Except for donating the money, by doing that Chris put his future at risk by not being able to finish his education. Although his wealthy parents probably would have paid for him to finish school if he wasn't able to afford it.