Chris McCandless...Man or Coward

[JFerrantelli]

Although some people may have differed opinions on the type of person Chris was we will never truly be able to know. He lived in complete solitude for the final months of his hegira and also his life in the wild of Alaska. SOme may state that Chris had a death wish and got what was coming to him. Others may advocate that Chris is a man that had no intention of suicide as he made his journey into the wild. Personally I believe that all of us run from our problems from time to time. Although Chris found the wild to be his "escape" others escape in ways that can draw some parallels. After reading the book all I can say is Chris had the deadly flaw oof infatuation. Once he had his mind put to something all of his energy would absorb into that one thing. Whether it was his father's previous marriage that Chris became infatuated in or surviving out into the wild I believe it's a safe inference to make stating that Chris was stubborn and got done what he wanted to get done.
With that being said I think that we should all sit back and understand that is not our place to judge Chris as a man or a coward. Rather, it is our correlate his story to the stuggles we face everyday. It is a lesson that exemplifies the strong castigations that can come with running form your problems at hand.

[Red2]

Hi there J,
I'm not sure he had any problems to run from. It seemed to be more to do with his beliefs and kicking against the society of 'measured achievements' and materialism we have in many of our societies, and certainly the one that Chris was born into.

His single mindedness to take his beliefs to the very extreme without taking the advice he recieved from many knowledgeable people lead to his downfall. Many people wrap the Christopher Mc Candless story up in one big ball and judge it as a single entity when I don't think you can do that.

I admire him for his beliefs and I believe a lot of people who strive for position and wealth can learn a lot from Chris's story.

We all have our weaknesses of course and Chris's was his single determination to spread the word to anyone that would listen, but not sit and listen to those who emphathised with his beliefs and wanted to impart him with the knowledge to fulfill those beliefs, as safely as was possible.

Having said that it is a weakness many of Us suffer when we are young, myself included. We're head strong in our teens and twenties and find it easy to express our beliefs but not as easy so sit, listen, absorb what's 'actually' being said and have our beliefs changed slightly. We learn this skill as we get older and unfortunately some people don't learn it until it's far to late and their lifes have been led.

I don't think we should judge Chris to harshly, my only criticism of him is he should have been more humane to his family, particularly his sister.

His story I have only just recently discovered but it has already had a profound effect on Me. I've always believed we're too controlled by society and materialism, and Chris's story just adds to my beliefs. Family, Friends and The World around Us before excess wealth.

I wish I'd have met Chris he sounded a lively, interesting person with a lot to say. A stubborn and frustrating character I'm sure at times but life changing I'm sure, but also an inspiring and life changing person also.

[hotelgirl]

i dont think its possible to say. i think he was young, and impulsive. he had read alot of 'dangerous' books. Those books, especially the Jack London can really have a powerful effect. I think theres a woolyness in it all, Chris had spend easy time in Nevada and the South and could well have been repelled by the 'tramps' that only take the easy road. I think he felt the challenge of a harder road less travelled. I dont think he fully understood the true severity and hardship of the environment. I think it was a natural miscalcualtion to make based on youthful recklessness.

Why does anyone do anything? it probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

my took a oneway ticket to Mongolia when i was 22 years old. i hitched to the artic cirlce, across europe and all across the UK. Theres a complusion. I remember reading Jack Karowacks On The Road, its a book and its like a drug. you cant really explain things like hyperthermia, starvation and unexpected devestations, young people truly believe they will live forever, and often have no fear of death, not because they are brave, but because they dont know fear. If he had done it at 40 years of age as he would be now, im 41, it would have been a braver thing to have done.

[Ranger]

Hi Guys,
I'm just going to post a few random thoughts on Chris, forgive me if I ramble on.
"A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."
And the sheeple will always bleat their insults.
Who among us hasn't yearned to live life on his own terms, instead of being just another mindless meatbag motivated mostly by fear? The sheeple, that's who.
As far as I'm concerned, Chris is one of the bravest young men I've ever heard of.
It took a dump truck load of guts to approach life the way he did. He wasn't motivated by what you, or I, or anybody else thought about him. Imagine the freedom you have when other people can no longer manipulate you.
Of course, disentangling yourself from human interaction to that degree puts you in a lonely place. But he wasn't afraid of that either. I don't think he would have remained so aloof his entire life. I think it was just another waypoint on his intellectual journey. Had he survived, I imagine he would have eventually re-integrated himself into society to some degree or other. And maybe even have settled down and raised his own family. We'll never know, and all we can do is project our own experiences onto his.
I wish Chris had used better judgement, but I fully understand his motivation. I wish he had survived. I wish I could have known him, or just talked to him for a little while. I've met darn few people in my 46 years who aren't cowards, and Chris definitely was not a coward.
I'll never go to the bus, I'm on my own journey. But to answer the question, he was a MAN.
Happy Trails,
Brian

[timetraveler]

Cmon, a coward? I am pretty sure everyone here doesn't think he's a coward. I can't beat up someone like Chris because, as we all know, we all have a little bit of Chris in us. I am very happy to have stumbled onto his lifeography. I have travelled most parts of our lower 48 and have put myself in various precarious situations. I am compelled to know the answer why he picked Supertramp as an icon to his nickname. I was an avid Tramp fan. Still am. I listened to the lyrics rabidly as a teenager. The words compelled me, and I always felt that I never changed my true self because of the teachings of Supertramp. I was wild and reckless, but my soul was peaceful and happy. And I am still the same person that I was when I was younger. I passed through parrallels of struggle, like all of us, and came through the other side unscathed. We can not break down Chris' experiences because they are unique only to himself. Pass judgement on a criminal, he was never tried for his struggles. We can only hope that we get to the other side safe, healthy and happy. Chris, you aren't dead. Your spirit remains in all of us and we will continue your quest. The quest of finding peace inside ourselves and sharing experiences as we travel through time. OOT.

[Sick Eddie]

Isn't it up to whoever your talking to at one certain moment who gets to decide whether he was extremely brave or a huge coward? I mean if you ask a person who spends a lot of time outdoors and is very confident being alone in nature they will probably say that you don't have to be too brave to go camping or hiking, yes even if it is or was in Alaska or anywhere else.
Ask the dorm rat who hasn't ever swam in a lake or dove off a bridge or camped out on their own and I'm sure sleeping in a bus for 100 days seems like he's Jeremiah Johonson.
That to me is a piece of cake. The guts move is to leave everyone that has ever cared for you without one word of why, where or for how long. Terribly selfish, easy, cop-out but gutsy noentheless because you obviously do it knowing a lot of people are going to remember you as being an inconsiderate, selfish, piece of crap. Any eagle scout in america could go out and do what he did and most if not all would come back alive. Cool guy for the most part but personally I don't see him as being super brave or much of a coward either. I'd say selectively heartless. I wouldn't want to go into a battle with him on my side since it's obvious that his code of ethics doesn't apply. He might've just woke up one day, crawled out of the foxhole during his watch and left. ???? Who knows? Nobody. You don't and I don't.

[SteveSalmon]

~SS

[ellisd]

Isn't it up to whoever your talking to at one certain moment who gets to decide whether he was extremely brave or a huge coward? I mean if you ask a person who spends a lot of time outdoors and is very confident being alone in nature they will probably say that you don't have to be too brave to go camping or hiking, yes even if it is or was in Alaska or anywhere else.
Ask the dorm rat who hasn't ever swam in a lake or dove off a bridge or camped out on their own and I'm sure sleeping in a bus for 100 days seems like he's Jeremiah Johonson.
That to me is a piece of cake. The guts move is to leave everyone that has ever cared for you without one word of why, where or for how long. Terribly selfish, easy, cop-out but gutsy noentheless because you obviously do it knowing a lot of people are going to remember you as being an inconsiderate, selfish, piece of crap. Any eagle scout in america could go out and do what he did and most if not all would come back alive. Cool guy for the most part but personally I don't see him as being super brave or much of a coward either. I'd say selectively heartless. I wouldn't want to go into a battle with him on my side since it's obvious that his code of ethics doesn't apply. He might've just woke up one day, crawled out of the foxhole during his watch and left. ???? Who knows? Nobody. You don't and I don't.

-You belong in the bucket with the rest of the idiots who like to type before they think-SS

we're going to start calling you the hammer steve, with you hitting the nail on the head so much lately..lol

[Sick Eddie]

-You must think something highly of him if you joined this forum. Or was it just to brag about yourself? Any eagle scout in America (by the way America is capitalized, there genius) could go out and do what he did? Really? Why an eagle scout?
This particular topic was put in place to get opinions of Chris and not an open mic for people like you to brag about what they can do and how they can do it better. Who gives a shit whether you would go into battle with him on your side. Who's to say he would agree to stand by you in the first place?
You belong in the bucket with the rest of the idiots who like to type before they think and I'll tell you the same thing; He didn't abandon anyone, he graduated from college and left to do what he wanted to do. He didn't owe anyone, including his parents, a goodbye or anything else. He was an adult and free to make his own decisions. He made impacts on the people he met, sure he's not the only one but is among the few. People like that aren't as simple as you seem to think they are. But, hey I know, you dont get it.
-SSSteveSalmon

Posts: 74
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2010 4:42 am

Salmonella, captain of the grammar police. (pot, meet kettle) What an oxygen wasting moral amoeba you are. You obviously give way more of a "shit" than most people. You just don't get it. Congratulations! You are a lot like SuperNotHere. It doesn't have to be an Eagle Scout. SuperStarved died because he was a shallow-minded, inconsiderate, selfish child, running away. "He didn't abandon anyone"???? REALLY? That's what 99.85% of the population calls it. "He didn't owe anyone"???? REALLY? Most people that live past 25 will disagree with your simplemindedness so you immediately go into the bucket with the rest of the dumbasses that don't realize that it's ONLY because of those people who whole-heartedly disagree with you that you even have a place to lay your empty skull or have a computer to type your worthless gaggle on. People like SuperNotContributing usually don't live long enough to see the light go on and then go... "Oh, I see now." He had it ALL figured out. If this man-crush thing you have on McCandless is that heavy then you're future isn't too bright, Salmy. Poor bastard.

You can pretend to make up the rules as you go like you don't answer to anyone or anything but you'll answer.

[SteveSalmon]

~SS