Title: Travel Forward

"Two years he walks the Earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom"(Krakauer 163).

Topic: Inspiration or fool

    


In this quotation, I believe Chris is demonstrating his foolishness for his actions because he believes that by relinquishing the trappings of the world he lives in he will achieve a freedom not polluted by society. He thinks that he can obtain ,this ultimate freedom living in the wild, but what he does not recognize is that he is leaving one type of trap for another.By leaving society behind to live in the wilderness, he feels that he is escaping all of the things that are holding him back not realizing the difficulties that come along with living in the wild. His perception of ultimate freedom was to have no worries, no responsibilities, and being independent or on his own. By not contacting anyone on his journey and letting them know where he was, he would feel like he was breaking that freedom, and by not "breaking" that freedom of communication, he paid the overall price. Also, this "freedom " comes with no control, Chris was entering a new domain where he would have no control over the events that took place.


            

          

Title: Always be open to communicate with others

“Seven weeks after the body of his son turned up in Alaska wrapped in a blue sleeping bag that Billie had sewn for Chris from a kit, Walt studies a sailboat scudding beneath the window of his waterfront townhouse. ‘How is it,’ he wonders aloud as he gazes blankly across Chesapeake Bay, ‘that a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain?”(Krakauer 103-104)

Topic: Dynamics of Family

This quote speaks deeply to McCandless’s core problem, he seems to be a very compassionate person throughout the story and while on his journey but full of anger. This anger toward his parents fueled Chris's journey, but by keeping the sleeping bag the Billie made showed that the love for his parents was still there. Although, selfishness and greediness were present while taking this trip, he caused pain to the people that loved him the most just because he wanted to get his parents out of his life. He didn’t let his parents or anyone know where he was at or where he was going which shows the risky behavior that he displays. This behavior closed the doors of communication to all the people he met and allowed for no one, especially his family to help him. I think the question Walt demonstrates in this quote is something that we the reader and the author try to answer throughout the book. 

Title: Into The Wild With Carolyn

"McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well—relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it. He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family. He’d successfully kept Jan Burres and Wayne Westerberg at arm’s length, flitting out of their lives before anything was expected of him. And now he’d slipped painlessly out of Ron Franz’s life as well"(Krakauer 55). 


Topic: The Dynamics of Family

In the above quote, it was made clear that Chris McCandless had intimacy issues, and was determined to escape from being close to anyone.. For him, to go on this long journey was a way to distance himself from any emotional ties and responsibilities associated with family and friends. His family never gave him the unconditional love and attention which every child needs and as a result, by not having that strong family dynamic, he distanced himself from any type of closeness.  . For Chris, he felt at peace in the wilderness.  This was his home.  He never contacted his family or sister, and all the people that he came in contact never divulging what he was doing, where he was going, if he was happy or sad.  By not letting them in, he felt as if he was protecting himself from ever feeling the physical and emotional pain again or as earlier in the book it mentions that he is “undeserving of love”. As he leaves and slips out of these people’s lives, he doesn’t understand the harm and distress that he puts them through. Although he builds this barrier around himself, he still left a mark on every single person he met, changing their lives and their outlook on the world.