Was Chris a hero or a fool?

Here you can discuss anything related to Christopher McCandless.
dupko
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:19 am

Re: Was Chris a hero or a fool?

Postby dupko » Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:20 am

Trooly HERO :evil:

hmcdonald
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2012 4:32 am

Re: Was Chris a hero or a fool?

Postby hmcdonald » Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:25 am

I personally believe that Chris was a fool rather than a hero.
1.He neglects his family who have tried to give him a good life. It may have been a bit greedy but at least they made an effort to give him an good upbringing.
2. He sets off on a life changing experience with very little necessary equipment.
3. He doesn't take a map of the area, if he had he would have seen that there was a Ranger Cabin nearby.
There could be a large debate on whether he is in fact a hero, but with the above it make him look pretty foolish.

Simon and Matt F

hmcdonald
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Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2012 4:32 am

Re: Was Chris a hero or a fool?

Postby hmcdonald » Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:07 am

It is my belief that Chris McCandless/Alex Supertramp was more or less both a hera and a fool. I think that he did what he did for the right reasons; to seek escape from the normality and boredom of modern living, as well as detaching himself from the "corrupt" soceital systems. I think he was seeking to find out what he really wanted in life, and that he didn't enjoy his life of ease. How he did it was to very literally walk out on all of it; despite having access to a large amount of money and material wealth, he ditched it and walked onto the road to live life as a hitchiker. What I believe was foolish of him was to do so without any REAL training or knowledge about living off the land, this becoming more vital in the time he spent in Alaska. He did what he did for noble reasons, and reasons that meant a lot to his heart. What he didn't do was do these things safely, but one can argue that was beside the point, and that he knew that when he walked the Stampede Trail, that he might not walk out.

TIM H-D & LACHLAN L

hmcdonald
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Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2012 4:32 am

Re: Was Chris a hero or a fool?

Postby hmcdonald » Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:12 am

We believe Chris/Alex was a bit of both. Alex made all his decisions, some more foolsih than the others. Alex is a fool for not having necessary experience or gear, and going into the wild and in his own account. He is a hero for repelling everyday life and modern soceity. He stuck with his beliefs and rejected his family and government. Alex's battle with the wild made him a hero, but it was his heroic act that he was made foolish, and has now passed away. This makes Alex/Chris both a hero and a fool, for doing what he truly believed in, but perhaps not in the best way possible.

TOM G & SAM L-G

hmcdonald
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Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2012 4:32 am

Re: Was Chris a hero or a fool?

Postby hmcdonald » Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:14 am

I think Chris was a smart man, but was foolish to believe he could pull off his Alaskan odessy. He was idealistic but not realistic. He didn't bring enough supplies and he should have taken a bigger gun. -James

hmcdonald
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Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2012 4:32 am

Re: Was Chris a hero or a fool?

Postby hmcdonald » Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:39 pm

I think Chris McCandless/Alex Supertramp was a fool because of the following reasons.
1. He went into the Alaskan wilderness extremely unprepared and undersupplied.
2. He had little or no prior knowledge of what he would come up against in Alaska.
3. He felt it was not necessary to inform his parents and family due to his pig headed distaste for his parents.

He went into the Alaskan wilderness with only 20 pounds of rice for food and a small bore rifle to hunt with. He took no map which could have saved him if he had had one because there was a rangers cabin only 3 miles away.
He had little or no prior knowledge of the surrounds because he did not know how to correctly preserve the moose that he caught. That knowledge could have save him as there was a lot of meat on the moose.

Chris/Alex should not be a hero to anyone. If he had a death wish, he should have campaigned for legalised euthanasia.

Hugo/Willis

hmcdonald
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Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2012 4:32 am

Re: Was Chris a hero or a fool?

Postby hmcdonald » Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:39 pm

We believe Chris McCandless was a fool. He went into the Alaskan wilderness extreamely unprerared and not thinking about his actions and the reprecussions his deciscion would have. We believe if Chris thought about the massive undertaking he took and took adaquit supplies he would have survived. Take Richard Proneke for example, he knew the risks of living in the Alaskan wilderness and had the forthought to have supplies sent to him every once and a while.If Chris had done this he would have had a much greater chance of surviving. This is why we think Chris is a fool and irresponsible.

Charles and Chris

hmcdonald
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Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2012 4:32 am

Re: Was Chris a hero or a fool?

Postby hmcdonald » Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:40 pm

yes chris was ultimately a fool. he was an extremely ambitious and narrow minded person who thought he could conquer anything. however this 'cockyness' attitude saw him go completely unprepared for the challenge that he set himself. if you compare him to Richard Proneke, he actually built himself a house and prepared himself for the wild.

ragnor
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Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:42 pm

Re: Was Chris a hero or a fool?

Postby ragnor » Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:58 pm

Neither a hero nor a fool for me.

I think he is misunderstanded in both ways.
I think Chris was looking for totally freedom. Free from money and material goods, but also duties and responsabilities (as a son).
But I think it's not fair to judge him. We don't have an intrinsic responsability to our parents, for example.

Some people says that he is a fool. Why?
For living the way he wants? Everyone dies at last, fool or not. The important thing is how we live, and fooler are people who doesn't live life as they want. Maybe a longer life, but emptier.

I think Chris lives a lot more in those two years than a lot of people who dies at 90 years old.

The important thing is to live as you want -- whatever it is.
And no one has the right to judge what other people want.

But, as I said, I don't think that he is a hero. He lived in a selfish way, only for himself. I think this is contrary to heroism.
But he is a model.

So, live as you want.

I only wanted to express my opinion.
Above all, be happy.

stratoca
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2012 3:01 am

Re: Was Chris a hero or a fool?

Postby stratoca » Fri Sep 21, 2012 3:16 am

I'm not going to judge Chris either way, as I only recently heard of him and just read the book this past week. I can only say that it was a tragedy, and my heart goes out to his parents and family, as well as to the others he met and befriended while on the road. Very, very sad--I have a 25 year old son, and I can't imagine what his family went through. :>(


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