Into the Wild: A Test of Mental Strength

 

 

I read somewhere how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong.

-Alexander Supertramp

Chris McCandless graduates Emory University with a degree in anthropology and history. Everything seems to be going as planned until McCandless gives up his law school fund and donates a sum of $25,000 to charity. Soon after, he sets foot in Denali National Park in Alaska, leaving behind his home and traveling under the name Alexander Supertramp.

Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild” tells the true story of this young man and his journey. Krakauer’s depiction of the man who leaves in pursuance of nothingness, takes on a very positive tone. McCandless can be seen as a hero who had the courage to follow the path he wanted to take in life, but also can be seen as the wimp who could not handle the harsh reality society has to offer. In Krakauer’s case, McCandless was permitted to take on the role of the hero, but for many he was simply not allowed to do so.

“I get it. It was his own way of expressing himself, but honestly, his method of self-expression was not what I consider to be heroic. He couldn’t handle society, so he left the problem where it was and ran away. He made a $25,000 donation to Oxfam International that was meant to be used for his college education. I respect him for doing so, but I have to ask whether he ever stopped to consider what his parents thought about that,” says Anjana Srinivas, a freshman at Scripps Ranch High School.

An Nguyen, a freshman at Scripps Ranch High School, agreed with Srinivas.

“Most everybody in the right state of mind struggles with understanding why society has to be so superficial and what not, but we don’t all run away. We learn to deal with it. It takes more courage to face and endure difficulty than it does to simply run away from it,” said Nguyen.

McCandless’ controversial journey ended on August 18, 1992. A month later, he was found in an abandoned bus in Alaska at sixty seven pounds.

It is still unknown as to why Chris McCandless decided to take the journey that cost him his life. Perhaps it was his way of feeling strong in a world where one’s physical strength was more important than the strength in the feelings of an individual.