After initially writing the essay on your opinion of Christopher McCandless, has further reading in the book Into the Wild changed your opinion of McCandless or set or more so set it in stone?
After reading an additional three chapters of Into the Wild, my opinion on McCandless has not changed. Frankly, I don't think my opinion of him will ever change. Like Rachel, my reasons for believing that McCandless is an idiot may change, but my opinion will probably remain the same. My current reasoning for thinking that he is an idiot is that a lonely life is a wasted life. I understand that he wasn't close to his family all that much, but how can anyone leave behind their friends? Some times we, as humans, enjoy being alone and secluded outdoors, in our rooms, in a coffee shop, whatever. Nonetheless, I do not think I will ever be able to justify McCandless' reasons for isolating himself from society permanently. All of this is based off of what I've read so far, and who knows, maybe my opinion of him will change as the story progresses. As of right now, however, I can't imagine ever seeing McCandless under a different light.
16 years ago
I see where you're coming from there. I guess that to some people he is an idiot, and for some he is a pretty cool person. I agree with you that I don't think I'd be able to live without my FAMILY or FRIENDS. That's just a "wasted life". The only thing that gets me is that he did something HE wanted to do, and he didn't want to be around society.
ReplyDeleteYa, I know where exactly where you are coming from. I just can not understand how he could just leave his friends and family like ya. I know he did something he wanted to do and followed his heart, but I feel like he could of gone around doing so in a different way..
ReplyDeleteSome people are much more apt to be lonely than others. Of course, even that has a limit, but i think in Chris' case, all of the people he met during his travels filled that void in his life. To cure loneliness doesn't neccisarily mean that you have people around you, it is more the knowledge that people care about you, and that those people are going to be there when you need them. For most people, their family does fit that description, but for Chris that wasn't the case.
ReplyDeleteVery true, I completely understand what you're saying. I think what Chris did with his friends and family is horrible and doesn't make it okay in any way. I feel like he was trying to accomplish a challenging journey, but didn't have all the necessities to survive and that some of the things that he did weren't necessary and were just plain stupid.
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