Christopher McCandless

Why dying inside a bus instead of doing so in nature… Why didn’t he decide to die among nature?

Chris was in nature. While in nature, you still need shelter. The Magic Bus was his shelter and his grave, most literally.

I think this is a great question. Thought about it many times. Dying within the bus is not dying in nature any more than dying in a hospital is dying in nature. I believe he knew he was going to die well in advance of the when the moment came. If only he reached deep for one last ghasp of adventurous inspiration. First he would burn his clothes, belongings, books and journals. Then he would rid the bus and camp of any signs of a struggle. What a great final gesture it would have been for Chris to hobble off into the bush and find a place to die, in nature. Some remote thicket, where he could create a makeshift grave, lay down naked and wait for death to arrive. A place remote enough where only the bears, wolves and varments would find him, obtaining sustainance gnawing on his cold flesh, as he did theirs in the months he was healthy. If he had done so, it would've been unlikely he'd ever be found. His disappearance a mystery, his death the ultimate sacrifice of the personal vanity he eschewed in the final years of his life. Like the burning of his money and social security card and giving away his life savings. It would have taken great courage and conviction to do so.

In the end, however, Chris was an entirely defeated man. Throughout his final months, he came face to face with his extreme shortcomings as a bold adventurer. Every day a new face slapping reminder that he was inadequate to the task at hand, staying healthy and alive a mere 20 miles from civilization. I am reminded of a quote from another movie about death in the Alaskan bush, The Edge, with Anthony Hopkins:

"I once read an interesting book. It said that most people lost in the wilds, they die of shame. They die of shame. What did I do? How did I get into this? And so they sit there and they die because they didn't do the one thing which would've saved their lives....THINKING."

As Chris's shame set in, he abandoned his ideals and stayed in the bus hoping and praying for a miracle. Instead of digging deep for a final act of selflessness, offering his body to nature, he climbed in his sleeping bag, knowing he would be found by a passing hunter in the months to come. This would set in motion expensive recovery operations and investigations paid for by the Government he revolted against. Now he wanted their help. Thereafter his journals, belongings and body would be returned to his family who would embrace his memory, a reunion which became increasingly important as his impending death grew nearer. When things were good in his life, he selfishly and callously wanted no part of them. When the cold stare of mortality glanced his way, he turned tail quicker than a jack rabbit and ran to them with open arms. This is why he stayed in the bus.

Chris was in nature. While in nature, you still need shelter. The Magic Bus was his shelter and his grave, most literally.

That is very amazing that the Bus are made by him as his shelter. We can apply that also here on our place.

1098920 wrote: Why didn’t he decide to die among nature?

I don't think he "decided" to die at all. He probably knew that his chances of survival were becoming slimmer and at some point expected to die out there, but I can't imagine that he had really given up hope before he actually quit breathing. And staying in the bus simply increased his chances to survive a bit longer, maybe long enough for help to arrive (which unfortunately didn't work out that way).

I don't think he "decided" to die at all. He probably knew that his chances of survival were becoming slimmer and at some point expected to die out there, but I can't imagine that he had really given up hope before he actually quit breathing. And staying in the bus simply increased his chances to survive a bit longer, maybe long enough for help to arrive (which unfortunately didn't work out that way).

I think you cannot decide where you want to die if you want to survive. Only God knows when and where.

Here we go again, I just hope that it much better and not so boring this time.

what do you think why athene plays LoL and not DotA2 even though dota2 clearly takes much more skill?