“The fact that I survived my Alaska adventure and McCandless did not survive his was largely a matter of chance; had I not returned...people would have been quick to say of me as they now say of him--that I had a death wish. Eighteen years after the event, I now recognize that I suffered from hubris, perhaps, and an appalling innocence, certainly; but I wasn't suicidal." (Krakauer 155)
People were quick to judge Chris for being unprepared and reckless—which they have every right to do. I wouldn’t exactly disagree with them but I do not believe he was necessarily suicidal. He was a complicated man who made a lot of dangerous decisions but he understood the risk and was still willing to along with it to live out his values. I can't blame him for that.

"Satisfied, apparently, with what he had learned during his two months of solitary life in the wild, McCandless decided to return to civilization: It was time to bring his "final and greatest adventure" to a close...Maybe he was prepared to forgive their imperfections; maybe he was even prepared to forgive some of his own. McCandless seemed ready, perhaps, to go home. Or maybe not; we can do no more than speculate about what he intended to do after he walked out of the bush. There is no question, however, that he intended to walk out." (Krakauer 168)

This was a very unfortunate part to read because it seems to indicate that Chris seemed to want to return—at least for a little bit of time. Maybe the two months was all he needed to experience to be done or maybe he would have come right back again. Either way, it could have led to a different outcome for him if he was able to make it back.

“But unlike Waterman, McCandless wasn't mentally ill. And unlike McCunn, he didn't go into the bush assuming someone would automatically appear to save his bacon before he came to grief...Although he was rash, untutored in the ways of the backcountry, and incautious to the point of foolhardiness, he wasn't incompetent--he wouldn't have lasted 113 days if he were." (Krakauer)

Chris obviously shouldn't be looked up to as an inspiration by any means—he didn't have adequate preparation in the slightest for what he was attempting to do. That being said, it doesn't mean that people have to look at him in the other extreme and portray him as some sort of villain at the chance that his story might encourage others to do what he did. I’m very confident that Chris did not do any of this to inspire anyone. He did this for himself and probably could never imagine the impact that his situation would cause. I suppose it was inevitable due to the amount of attention that this book received.

Him managing to do what he did and survive for that amount of time is impressive—and he did it on his own. He wasn't dragging anyone else with him to their unfortunate deaths. He wasn't going in expecting to be magically rescued if he would ever wound up in trouble. It’s unfortunate but his attempt resulted in fatal consequences for himself.

My perception of Chris changed a lot from when I first started reading it. Reading about him completely dropping of the face of the Earth for years without even as much as a goodbye to his parents is rough. What exactly drove him to do what he did is something I’ll never be able to know. I will say that hearing Carine’s thoughts that came years after the book led me to give Chris the benefit of the doubt.

8.9/10