Monday, April 6, 2009
He INTENDED to die?? Come on People :/
I've had several discussions with classmates in which thay state McCandless was stupid for going out into the Alaskan wilderness to die. They also believe that his "Adventure" in general was pointless. While I respect their opinion of McCandless, I strongly disagree with it. For one thing, at what point does the book say that he began his travels with the intention of dying somewhere along the way? The intricate detail given to certain aspects of the trip and his planning ahead serves as testament (i.e. the Alaska Odyssey and returning to Carthage). Also, in the opening pages of the book, we see that McCandless is extremely excited to begin trekking out in the wilderness of the Stampede Trail. Excited to die? Really, how many people would be excited for that??? Some may argue that Chris was crazy and this would explain all of his erratic and eccentric behavior. However, I won't settle for this. We ALL know what it's like when we get that first taste of freedom - we embrace it. Chris had to wait until he was TWENTY-TWO to get that independence; and what he did with it was just different from what most would do. Also, coming from a somewhat similar type of home and family situation as McCandless, I can understand his wanting to break free. Don't get me wrong, at no point would you be receiving a "Greetings From Alaska!" postcard from me; but I still GET why he felt the need to break free from his roots.
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6 comments:
I totally agree with you. I think that Chris had no intention of dying, I don't think that people are seeing the deeper meaning of his decision to travel to the Alaska wilderness. He took advantage of his freedom & probably felt that by surviving this "Alaska Odyssey" that he would somehow assert his independence.
yeah i guess your right but in some cases why would he go do that is he crazy... well duh? i guess yeah we all need alittle independence if you don't get enough freedom at home which i don't so i kind of agree with what he did but i wouldn't go to that extreme.
As I read your post I couldn't help but agree with what you were saying. It's true Alex wanted an adventure...not a crazy, unimaginable, way to die.
However, I did not agree with what you said in your last sentence. You said that you "GET why he felt the need to break free from his roots". I really don't think it's his "roots" that he was trying to get away from. I think that family rules and the lifestyle they are forcing him into and roots are two very different things.
I am mexican...from mexico...born in Mexico...and thats all that's in me. I went through a phase where I was embarrased to say that I was Mexican and that I was somehow mad about it and upset that I was living in a country in which I am not a citizen. I realized that that is just who I am. It's just that simple. Those are my roots and I can't get away from them. Instead I realized that I should cherish that because that is what makes me different and not everyone is like me. It's just simply who I am.
I took this on a more personal note, obviously. But I believe that what you said in your post, that Alex wants to break free from his roots, is simply imposible. He can break free from his parents, from their rules, their ideas, and even from society...but never his roots.
in response to Jordan, i tihnk it's a delicate balance between having fun with your freedom and losing your life. For example, you buy a brand new Porsche. The speed limit on an empty road is 40..but would you let loose and see "how fast your baby can go", risking something darting out in the middle of the road at any point in time?
hi kellie :]
i completely agree with you. i don't think that chris knew that he was going to die while on his adventure. my table was having a discussion about this not too long ago & we have come to an agreement that chris wanted to go out and actually come back with a story to tell. i don't really know how to explain it, but we said that chris went searching for self glorification. like for instance he would have came back from his journey and be able to tell people where he's been and what he was doing. i don't believe that he wanted to brag, but i do believe that he intended part of this trip to say "this is what i've done." if that makes any sense?!?! so i agree when you say that he didn't intend on dying. okay that's all :] hahaha have a nice day.
i completely agree with kellie. he PURPOSELY went out into the wilderness with no map or compass barely anything. if he had done that, it would have defeated the whole purpose of his journey.
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