Blog #5

Out of the list we compiled last week, I believe these to be Chris’s three most positive and negative traits.

Positive:

-          Outgoing

-          Determined

-          Respectful

Negative:

-          Arrogant

-          Undependable

-          Stubborn

As far as positive traits go, those aren’t too bad a set of them. When a person is outgoing, it’s easier for them to make friends and get along in the world because they are not shy and constantly hiding behind something or someone. For Chris, he was very outgoing much of the time, especially as he became more comfortable in a situation. He could get to talking and the people around him would learn that he was a very intelligent person with a very interesting yet rough backstory. He was easy to like most of the time, and it was in this way that he was able to hitchhike so easily around the country the way he did. For instance, he would not have made it that last 1000 miles to Fairbanks, Alaska, had he not been very friendly and outgoing and made friends with someone who was going that way and became willing to drive him. It was his outgoing and (bringing in another trait here) respectful personality that made many people wonder what on earth he was doing hitchhiking around the country. Many hitchhikers are not respectful or clean or anything of that sort, but Chris was different. He kept himself clean, or as clean as being on the road all the time allowed. It was because of this that many people who would normally have not taken a hitchhiker anywhere picked up Chris and actually grew to like him during the journey. Chris was also respectful of his surroundings in general. He did not move across the country and vandalize personal property or anything, and he wouldn’t abuse anything he was given. Odds are, it returned to the owner in better condition than it was given to him. He was also very respectful of nature and the wildlife that lived there. He hunted animals while he was in the Alaskan wilds only because he knew there was no other way to survive. The one time he killed a large game animal, a moose, and he wasted it simply because he was unprepared and did not know what to do with it, he beat himself up for weeks about it. Being respectful of ones surroundings can make a person more likable.

        I also said his determination was a positive trait because that’s partly what allowed him to survive as long as he did. If he had not been determined, he would never have been able to do half the things he managed to pull off, such as surviving during his Mexican excursion. He was determined to get to Alaska, therefore, he made it to Alaska. He was determined to get away from his parents oppressive nature, therefore, he disappeared off the face of the planet as far his parents view was concerned. Being determined could have also helped with being more outgoing. If he was determined to get somewhere that determination could have helped fuel himself to talk to someone he normally would not have. So, all those positive traits combined to make it easier for him to get where he was going when he wanted to be there (most of the time).

 

        As for the negative traits, these are never as good or helpful as the positive ones. Being arrogant, undependable, and stubborn all at the same time can never be good. And Chris was rather arrogant. He thought himself better than many other people simply because he had left civilization and was not living comfortable like he could have been. He thought that because he had the willpower to do that, he was above everyone else. He was also very stubborn in his beliefs. When he believed in something, it was going to happen. If he believed he could survive in the wild, odds are, that was going to happen. And it did, several times. It was just that stubborn belief that he could combined with the arrogant belief that since he was better than everyone else, he would survive where others couldn’t that eventually led him to his demise. And then there’s the undependable nature. It doesn’t really tie into the other two so much, but it is something of a negative trait. If people learn they can’t depend on someone, they don’t want to have anything to do with that person. They won’t trust them. Now, granted, it wasn’t exactly Chris’s fault that he could not send everyone a postcard or a letter after his Alaskan odyssey, as he was dead. But he could have been more dependable. People became attached to him quite quickly, and some people even were relying on him to do something, like Westerberg made a deal with him that he would come to work at a certain time. Granted, he was dead at one point, but the other time he as just late. Undependable probably didn’t contribute to his death as much as the other two negative traits I’ve discussed, but it’s still not good.

        I think the trait that many people see above all others today would probably have to be that streak of arrogance. They think he died because he thought he was better than everyone else. He was unprepared, and we already knew he was a daredevil and a risk taker, and since nothing had happened to him yet, he was in the belief that nothing could since he was simply better than everyone else. And since I’ve already gone on about how arrogance could have contributed to his death, I shall not repeat it here and I’ll just move on.

 

        Similarities between Krakauer and Chris:

-          Rocky relationship with father – pg 146-148 (the info was all in there)

-          Determined nature – in ch 15, pgs 145-156, he tries the thumb again even after he’d failed drastically the first time. He would not give up.

-          Fathers pushed sons to be the best they could be – 147-148

-          Both felt an extreme loneliness after being in the wild a long time – pg 152, and pg 170

-          Intelligent, but never wanted to complete school the way their fathers intended – pg 148, pgs 20-21

 

Differences between the two:

-          Chris’s father was healthy. Krakauer’s was not. – 148-151

-          Krakauer bought supplies and went prepared for his climbing expeditins. Chris went unprepared – pgs 146-147 (lists a lot of the equipment he had with him). It says time and time again throughout the book how unprepared Chris was.

-          Krakauer was really into climbing, whereas Chris just wanted to get out and explore – pg 134 ”climbing mattered”

-          Krakauer was a a year younger than Chris when he decided to go on his solo expedition – pg 135

-          Krakauer was looking at the fame he would achieve if he did succeed in pulling it off. Chris just wanted to disappear – pg 135

When Chris got a job at McDonalds, I don't think I was particulary surprised. Come to think of it, I don't think I had any reaction whatsoever. It was just yet another thing Chris did that I had no idea why he would do it. Granted, getting a job seemed a bit more normal than what he had been doing, but I don't think I sat there and thought about the why for any length of time. But if i had to think about it, maybe he was giving "something new" a try. He was always preaching to others about how they should not live their lives stuck in a rut; maybe be was taking a bit of his own advice. As to why he chose McDonalds, of all places...maybe it was because he got free food while working.

His colleagues descibed him as seeming rather distant, always off in his own little world. They would say something to him and he wouldn't really acknowledge them, he's just carry on with what he was doing. For instance, his work pace: his fellow workers said that no matter how busy they were, he always worked at the same pace; never speeding up or slowing down, just continuing on at a steady pace. Chris didn't really seem to care about his colleagues. He was also very defensive about himself, as if he felt they were prying. For example, the instance with the cleanliness issue. He did not exactly live in a modern house, so he really had no way of bathing himself. But his fellow workers did not, could not, know this. So Chris was very defensive about that. And when he felt that people were prying, offering to buy him soap and all, he probably panicked and quit because of that.

Well, for starters, Jan Burres was sort of a fellow tramp like Chris. She roamed around, selling knick-knacks and such, and could sort of understand why Chris was roaming. She also had a son about the same age as Alex was, and she was missing him, I suppose, as she hadn't seen him for a few years. She felt a somewhat motherly connection with Alex, and told Bob, who was her boyfriend at the time, that he needed to school him about some things. What ever those things may have been, he probably did it during the week Alex camped with them in Orick Beach. They got along well together, I think, because they were all tramps of a sort, and they understood each other, and they also made Ales feel comfortable. They didn't pry or pressure him to do anything, they were just there. They offered some temporary companionship, which Alex did need, regardless of what he thought.

AS for Ronald Franz, it could have been many things. But I believe it was mainly that paternal insinct. In some caes, the longer that instinct lies dormant and waiting, the stronger and more powerful it will come back when it resurfaces. And that's exactly what happened with Franz. Alex just made an impression on him. He found the kid very intelligent, and very friendly. Then there is also the fact that Alex did not just ignore him, he made an effort to spend time with him, and to get to know him. They both tried to help each other improve, and change. Franz had no luck changing Alex's beliefs or dreams, but Alex did make a big impression on Franz. Franz even later took his advice and moved out to live in the desert. Though unfortunatly, all he did there was sit and wait for Alex to return, which of course he never did, with him being dead and all.

Into the Wild Blog #3

Twenty Things I have learned so far about Chris (from the standpoint of being twelve chapters into the book):
1. He is very independent
2. He was unforgiving of most people
3. He could harbor a grudge for a very long time.
4. He purchased a yellow Datsun during his senior year of high school.
5. He did not like to take orders or instruction from people.
6. He was very good at distance running.
7. He never had the patience to perfect his skill at any sport.
8. He loved the wilderness, loved to explore.
9. He did not rely on people much.
10. He scorned the Democratic Party.
11. He spent some of his time living in hobo and vagabond camps in the desert.
12. He made his way down the Colorado river into Mexico in a canoe.
13. He was very determined. Once he set his mind on something, no one could deter him from that path.
14. After abandoning his Datsun, he took to hitch hiking like a fish to water.
15. He went hobo for a while, "riding the rails", jumping trains to get up and down the coast.
16. When people tried to give him help, he more often than not turned it away.
17. He did not seem to believe he had any effect on anyone he came across. He did his best to brush them away when he felt the need to move on, and he thought that they didn't care; that they just forgot about him the moment he walked out of their lives. But he was wrong about that.
18. He had a sister named Carine, with whom he was very close.
19. Once he found out about his father's infidelity, he lost what little respect he had left for his father.
20. Although smoldering with rage on the inside, he never confronted his parents about the fact that they hid the details of his father's earlier divorce from him.

His last letter to his parents seems very brief, almost forced. He includes no detail about himself, though his parents must have been very worried. He dances around topics, and doesn't go into any detail. He doesn't even say he maybe cares about his parents or family; he just writes "say hi to everyone for me" and leaves it at that. Therefore, I can infer that he obviously does not have a very good relationship with his family, or at the very least, his parents, as this letter was supposed to be to his parents. Who knows if he sent anything else to his sister. His intentions, with the letter, were to, I think, try to deter the worry that his parents must be feeling at that point. Chris obviously did not want anyone following him or trying to convince him to come home, so he was being as brief as possible while still "checking in", in the hopes that they wouldn't worry as much, and would just leave him alone.

Now, those actions Chris took were very radical, for even the most extremists. And, unfortunately, there is no way of knowing for sure what on earth could have possibly motivated him to take such desperate actions. Changing ones name can be looked at many different ways. He could have been having an identity crisis, which I highly doubt. He could have been simply trying to make a statement, something like "Hey, I'm a free spirit and no one can quell that out of me!" Changing ones name is also a good method of disappearing, as they will all be looking for you as what you were called before, and if you're going around doing everything under a different name, they're going to have some issues.
The giving of the money away, that could have a number of issues behind it as well. He seemed like the sort who would not want to waste anything, as we can tell by the way he tries to live as simply as possible. Therefore, by giving the money to charity, he was getting rid of it, but he wasn't wasting it.

I would like to point out here that he did not abandon his car and what remained of his possessions until he had traversed a large chunk of the country in it. At that point, he decided to just completely abandon everything he had remaining with him. That action could have been motivated by many things: exasperation, exhaustion, annoyance, and so on and so forth. Who knows what he was feeling when he was stuck in the desert after a flash flood and his car wouldn't start. He probably just grew sick of it all and decided then and there to leave it. A radical motion that could not be later reversed. The note he left in the car also suggests a spur of the moment decision, made in anger: "This piece of &!*# has been abandoned. Whoever can get it out of here can have it." This suggests he was just tired of the car at this point and wanted nothing more to do with it at that point.

So, any of the decisions he made could have been made in the heat of extreme emotion, an irreversible spur of the moment decision. But I suppose none of us will ever really know. Speculation can only go so far.

Into the Wild Blog #2

 
1. I believe Chris thought at first that he was plenty prepared to get by on the bare minimum, especially after his adventure in Mexico, where he survived for weeks on a few pounds of rice and whatever he could pull out of the ocean. I think Chris may have finally realized he was unprepared when he was nearing the end, starving because he was running out of food and couldn't catch or gather any easily, injured and with no means of contacting any help. I am willing to bet he was perfectly confident and in the state of mind that he was "plenty prepared, and ready to tackle anything the wilderness could throw at him" until he got injured. We don't know yet how he injured himself, but I bet that he was not expecting to become injured. He may have been expecting trouble, but he was probably not expecting to actually become injured by anything, as it has indicated that he is fearless, and thinks he's completely immune to any sort of injury or bodily harm.
So, I don't think he trekked into the wilderness expecting to die. I think the possibility may have been floating around in his mind, but he was not expecting it. I think he just wanted to live out in nature, and survive it, like Jack London, or Jules Vern, two authors he admired.

2. I think it was a good decision, to give away the ending at the very beginning. Most people who pick up a book just to maybe flip through the first few pages do not want to read a whole book that's just outlining the life of a person up until the time they died. If the book just starts out with facts, such as "Person A was born on xx-xx-xx, and he did such and such in his life because of this reason". No one wants to sit there and read that. But the way Jon Krakauer approached it was a much more gripping method. By starting out the book saying that a young man trekked out into the wilderness to do such and such, but within four lines goes to say that they found his decomposed body, people will immediately want to know why, and how, and when, and where, and all that sort of thing. But as most people know, you cannot just flip to the end of a story and instantly know everything about the story. In order to actually understand the motive behind any actions, you have to read a text in order to gather all the information. Which is what most people will do when they learn that the main character dies in the end. Of course, then there are those people who will just think "He dies? Well, I know how it ends", and toss the book away without giving it a second thought. But that's not most people, especially with a book like this, that foreshadows so much from the very get-go.
I believe the author’s purpose in doing this was to grab readers, and pull them in, so they would find the book more interesting. And it does give the readers insight on what may happen during the course of the novel than if it had started many other ways.

3. My initial reaction was "He finally came to his senses and realized he needs help!" It also makes me really begin to wonder: what could have happened to him that, after all the brushing off he's done to people, he's finally asking, pleading, almost, for help. From anyone. But then, a few sentences in, after saying he's injured and too weak to hike out of there, he starts going on about how he's out collecting berries and will return. And I'm just like "wait...what?" He needs to stop contradicting himself. he hates people, then he wants help. He's injured and weak, no, wait, I'm out collecting berries! I mean, really, he could be a little less fickle. A note like that does make me feel somewhat sympathetic for him, though I still think it was a rather stupid move in the first place.

Into the Wild Blog #1

Well, I have actually read a little more than three chapters at this point. I'm no good at reading slowly. I'm about 80 or so pages in.
Anyway, from what I have read so far, I would surmise that he is not exactly crazy, he is just more ambitious and free thinking; independent, you could say, than most people you may meet on the street. Christopher McCandless was not clinically insane. He was not mental. He did not have some mental disease that impaired his thinking. As a matter of fact, he was probably much brighter than the average person. He obtained a college degree and probably could have gone far in the world. Instead, he does the complete opposite. He gives away all his savings, gave up most of his mortal possessions, and began trekking west, while telling no one where he was going, for how long, or why he was doing it. After a while he even ended up abandoning his car, and seemed perfectly content to do so. He was happy hitchhiking. And yet, with all the distance he covered, all the people he interacted with and impacted their lives, no one actually know why he was doing any of it. Many people hypothesized, but no one actually knows for certain.
I think he had some sort of hidden motive, somewhere. I believe he just wanted to get away from it all, experience things before he died. Motives? Well, there was the fact that he was a very independent young man, and his father was very oppressive. He despised his parents and couldn't wait to get away from them, which he did as soon as he finished college. From there, he just traveled the country, living lightly and freely, and happily.
So, I do not think he's crazy. Not in the strictest sense, anyway. I do think he may have had a few screws loose, for somehow rationalizing that final fatal trek into the wilderness of Alaska, but he was not crazy. He wasn't noble either, though. He wasn't doing this for any higher cause, he was just doing it for himself, to try to get away, live free.
I suppose he does deserve some amount of respect for having the guts to try it in the first place. He does not deserve admiration, exactly, but some small shred of respect. I would never be caught dead doing something as foolish as this, but if he felt that he was strong enough of mind and body to pull the stunt off, then he had all the freedom in the world to do so. After all, Alaska is part of America, even if he has to traipse through Canada to get there.