If you were going to categorize Christopher McCandless and his life choices as one of two opposing extremes, which would you choose? Was he a brave soul who embraced the notion of non-conformity to the fullest and lived according to his own determination of what mattered most in life? Or was he selfish, cruelly disregarding the feelings of those who cared for him most as he foolishly followed an overly-idealistic worldview and perished due to his naivety?
I definitely think Chris had good intentions in his choices, and I definitely can relate to his situation. In my best guess, I feel it’s your frame of mind. Some like to live in the city, some in the country. Some people strive for normalcy and a family in the suburbs of a town, some want to live the wild life, but I believe that Chris’s frame of mind is my own frame of mind.
I worry about being consumed in a world of phonies and normalcy. I believe he could have achieved these things in a different way, but maybe that’s what felt right to him. He had to leave, he wanted to see the world. But coming from someone who can’t stand to be alone I have a hard time relating to the fact that he wanted to leave for quite so long a time. Maybe this was his fatal flaw, his want to be alone. However, maybe this is what helped him actually live and enjoy his life.
He has inspired me in this way. I want to live other than just existing, and maybe in the future I will do something to this crazy extent. That is go somewhere I’ve never been and experience it alone. But maybe not for a whole 4 months…
Amy's Blog 
In Alaska Christopher was considered, by most, to be foolish in his last decisions. When I arrived in Alaska and started my solitary life living in the wilderness I read ‘Coming into the country’ by John McPhee and found the chapter coming into the country to be like a great meal that I savored for the 14 years I lived in the woods. If you want a true taste of people who escaped civilization and found a home in the wilderness I suggest a read of this chapter in McPhee’s book.
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Wow! What a great insight! This sounds like such an amazing experience. I found that that one of Chris’s faults was he didn’t bring a map. One of the things that led to his demise. Would you agree? Did you, yourself, bring a map?
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