Chris
McCandless: A dynamic hero
In Webster’s dictionary the definition of Hero is “A man
admired for his achievements and noble qualities. One who shows great courage.”
Chris McCandless’s story has been causing controversy for years. There are
supporters of McCandless and then there are critics. After reading and thinking
about what he did people create their own unique opinions of him. My own opinion of McCandless is that he was a
hero with flaws. Mental strength, physical strength and intelligence are the
three reasons that he should be called a hero.
The first reason I think Chris is a hero is the mental
strength he had. Mental strength is can effect a person’s look on life. He had
the strength to follow a dream of his, even when others thought it was crazy.
The courage he had to go beyond society and look for the deeper meaning of life
is incredible. “If he started a job, he’d finish it. It was almost like a moral
thing for him. He was what you call extremely ethical. He set pretty high
standards for himself.” (Krakauer, 18) That quote was said from Wayne
Westerberg about Chris. Another quote from Chris’s father, Walt McCandless, “Chris
was good at almost everything he ever tried,” (118) basically says that Chris
was super confident in himself which is a form of mental strength. His flaws
when it came to mental strength were the fact that he was over confident in his
ability to go to Alaska. He just thought that he could just walk into Alaska
and keep his sanity. Chris died of starvation. Starvation is known to play with
your mind; you slowly lose your sanity.
Another one of Chris’s flaws was that he believed he could be out there
and happy by himself. He soon found out that was not that case. He wrote in his
journal, “Happiness is only real, when shared.” That phrase was one of the last
things he wrote and to me, is an important lesson he learned from his life.
The second reason I think he is a hero is his physical
strength. He hitchhiked great distances and trained every morning while he was
at “the slabs”. “He did calisthenics each morning to get in shape for the
rigors of the bush and discussed backcountry survival strategies at length with
Bob, self-styled survivalist.”(45) The fact that he put time and effort into
working out was very smart of him, even though he wasn’t the biggest guy. “Five
feet seven or eight with a wiry build,” is what Jim Gallien, the last person to
see him alive, described him as. The flaws that Chris made when it came to his
physical strength were that his body weakened from the lack of nutrition going
into his body. He lost a drastic amount of weight toward the end of his life.
He also did not pack that well. Chris needed better clothing and food. “He
wasn’t carrying anywhere near as much food and gear as you’d expect a guy to be
carrying for that kind of trip”. (4)
The last reason I think he is a hero is his intelligence.
Chris was not a high school dropout. He went to Emory University a
well-established school in Atlanta, Georgia. Chris had the intelligence that
impressed many of the people he met on his travels. He wrote in his journal and
took advice from survivalists. While in the bus, he read books to keep his mind
sharp. “You could tell right away that
Alex was intelligent.” (18) Wayne Westerberg said that quote about Alex
Supertramp (aka Chris). “In May 1990, Chris graduated from Emory University in
Atlanta, where he’d been a columnist for; and editor of, the student newspaper,
The Emory Wheel, and had
distinguished himself as a history and anthropology major with a 3.72
grade-point average.” (20) The flaws that he had when it came to intelligence
are he didn’t have the common sense to realize he needed to prepare himself for
this trip. He did try but he should have read more and bought more supplies.
Critics of McCandless
believe he was a complete fool that should not be having this much publicity. Nick
Jans, a writer and teacher, wrote into Krakauer in respond to his original
article. “McCandless was hardly unique; there’s quite a few of these guys
hanging around the state, so much alike that they’re almost a collective
cliché. The only difference is that McCandless ended up dead, with the story of
his dumbassedness splashed across the media…” (71). I think that these critics
are very wrong. My biggest opinion on the critics of McCandless is that they
judge someone’s life they didn’t even know. Yes, the people who praise
McCandless, didn’t know him either. Chris chose to live his life the way he
did.
In conclusion, I believe
Chris McCandless was a hero with flaws. I do look up to him in different ways.
How can you not? He had the courage to be different and chaise his dreams. His
mental strength, physical strength and intelligence are what make him a hero
with flaws. What human doesn’t have flaws? But to say he was stupid and foolish
for pushing his confort zone and inspiring almost all the people he met is
idiotic. I want you, the reader to take what you have learned and think about
your life. Do you have a dream that you want to become a reality? Do you want
to be pushed out of your comfort zone? Do you want to see the beauty that is
life? Take what you have learned and apply it to your life. See the beauty and
make a change because you only have one life.
Work
Cited
"HeroAbout Our Definitions: All Forms of a Word
(noun, Verb, Etc.) Are Now Displayed on One Page." Merriam-Webster.
Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
