In this section, Chris McCandless encounters a travelling couple, Jan Burres and her boyfriend Bob. They kindly take him in temporarily and, noting his ravenous appearance, decide to feed him. McCandless himself is grateful and even after their separation he continues “staying in touch” (31) by writing them “a postcard every month or two” (31). Krakauer also describes how the young man’s parents, worried about the sudden disappearance of and lack of communication from their son, hire a private investigator to locate him - to no avail. Chris McCandless maintains his journal and regularly writes and jots down his thoughts. Despite losing “over 25 pounds” (37), he nevertheless describes himself and his spirit as “soaring” (37). This section …show more content…
That being said, I firmly believe that living off the land involves a lot more than mere nomadic life and lack of what is considered the modern-day essentials (ie. money, a sedentary home, a stable means of communication, etc.). To me, it would appear that what Chris McCandless is doing is merely living out a fantasy. He thinks he can live off the land, and I will give him credit for striving to do so. Yet thus far, he has done nothing to either prepare or help himself. He carries himself into the Alaskan wilderness with minimal gear. He does not possess a stable food supply or intimate knowledge of the Alaskan frontier. Rather than trek, he hitchhikes. Rather than go into the woods and live the way he wants to, he finds refuge with passerbys and good Samaritans who pity …show more content…
McCandless ends up maintaining contact with them, which effectively undermines his whole intent of coming out to Alaska. He came out there to distance himself from the modern world; by keeping contacting with those he encounters and befriends, he is essentially setting himself up to become a hermit, rather than a true wild man. In my mind, this sort of behavior does not help him settle into the land. If he wants to be successful in independently living off the land, then he needs to detach himself from all that is social, but he does not. This means that there remains a tiny part of him that is still social, still connected to the modern world. Knowing how this story all culminates in his death, I would say that McCandless’ untimely death stems from this lack of critical preparation and