Epilogue

I still think Chris was a smart, rational guy that jst slightly overestimated himself. My view hasn't changed.

I would probably have reacted like Chris's father did. It would be very hard for me. I admire Bille for seeing the best in things, and it was nice to read that she helped Walt think that way too. They seemed to know their son better than the beginning of the book let on. It's amazing that they let Jon go with them on that journey.

Answering Questions

Was McCandless crazy? I don't think so. He was a rational thinker and, though over confident, had planned out what he needed to bring and do. He was smart, but not quite smart enough.

Was he just ignorant? Maybe. He should have taken at least a few weeks to study the geography and flora/fauna. Maybe he intended to go in blind.

Did he have a death wish? No, he just wanted to prove that he could do it. Just like Krakauer had said about himself in the previous chapters; he didn't want to die, he just wanted to get close enough to the edge to fell what it's like to live every day like it's your last.

The wild sweet peas McCandless may have eaten were poisonous. They look almost identical to their edible cousins, but they cause the body to be unable to absorb nutrients. He also may have accidentally eaten some mold or he could have just not had enough basic nutrients that humans need to survive.

Side Note

In Chapter 16, Stuckey says "I thought, 'Oh why didn't I get his parents' phone number and call them myself?'" and it almost hurts to think that if he had just 10 little numbers, Chris would be alive. Unhappy, probably, but alive. His parents would definitely try to mend the relationship and Eventually all would be well, but no phone call was made. Makes you think about how very small things have the potential to make a huge impact.

Krakauer's Climbing Experience

The first thing I thought was "Hey Boulder! That's where I live! I know the Devil's Thumb! I see it every day!" Must be a different Devil's Thumb because why would he go to Alaska? His climb is fascinating me. He writes in so much detail about his own personal experiences. His relationship with his father seems to be a lot like the relationship between Walt and Chris. The fathers want success and a clear path for their son, but the son's believe that the father is a hypocrite and choose to do what they love. Krakauer explains that the father-son relationship is paralleled in their lives, along with a handful of traits, but it was only chance that Jon made it out alive and Chris didn't.

One of Jon's favorite authors thinks that climbing is psycho-neurotic and I somewhat agree. Jon, as John Menlove Edwards (that must've been a hard name to have growing up) did, felt a release from the world when climbing, but climbing was not the only thing Jon found comfort in. He did it to get away, but he didn't need it to function. For J.E.M that may have been the case, but it is not always a psycho-neurotic tendency. J.E.M did strike a resemblance to Chris to me though. Chris did find that being free on his own was the only way he could live. For Chris, being a traveller was a psycho-neurotic tendency. That's his fatal flaw; he can't live any way but they way he needs to live.

Chapters 14 & 15; Interjections

Krakauer has spent a very long time researching Chris McCandless. He has put so much effort, time a heart into finding out who he really was, and he is relating himself to that. Jon feels a connection to Chris even though the two never met and he is expressing that in his novel. I like these interjections because you can really tell that Jon is reading you the story rather than just writing one. He is trying to connect with his audience as well as Chris and he succeeds.

How I Have Changed

Since I was a kid, I've always been a planner. How long will each of the day's activities take? How much money will I be making in 10 years? If I want to get to point B by 2 o'clock, when do I need to leave point A? I always think ahead even if it's only a few hours ahead. Ever since I was a little kid, I would think about how I wanted to decorate my room, going over it in detail and drawing a to-scale map of my room on graph paper. I've always been like that and I love it. I love thinking about how to get to the next level.

Chris McCandless in All Ages

Personal Past: Chris was an adventurous person. He was deep, thoughtful and wild all at the dame time. He was personable and very smart. He resisted any instructions, rules and control. If he wanted to do something and someone came along and told him to do it, he would drop it like a hot pan. He was driven to be his own person and be independent from anyone else. He was a charming little kid who could sell anything from vegetables to copies. As a teen, he was a talented boy in school and on the track. He ran his heart out like nobodies business. As an adult he was carefree and finally on his own. He loved life and everything it had to offer.

Family Past: Walt and Billy had a rocky relationship in the beginning which came to light to Chris over one summer while he was in college. Chris was furious to find out that a portion of his childhood was a lie and that his parents were very different people than he thought they were. This made Chris very mad at his parents and was probably the spark that sent him over he edge of near hatred for them.

Grief: This chapter goes over the moment when Carine hears of Chris's death and how mainly she deals with it. It's a fairly hard one to read for me.