The Power Within

"You are wrong if you think joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in everything and anything we might experience" (krakauer 57). 

Topic: Inspiration or Fool?

             Here, Chris McCandless said that genuine happiness can't be obtained solely from relationships or other people, but from how an individual chooses to live their life. McCandless is encouraging Franz to seek joy in everyday life and not in the hands of others. Many people are dependent on others for their emotional well being and they base their quality of life upon human relationships. In McCandless' own experience, he was not happy with his life and didn't find much success in the relationships he had with his family. In the novel McCandless sets off on a solo journey "into the wild" and meets many people along the way but avoids building close relationships with them. Although he gains many fruitful experiences and memories, he still goes through with an almost suicidal journey into the Alaskan wilderness. The question begs was McCandless truly happy with the new lifestyle he had chosen, did he really have it all figured out? Although his advice to Franz, to live a nomadic lifestyle had worked for him it might not work for everyone. Everyone is different, everyone must find their own destiny and pursue what makes them happy. Joy and happiness is all around us, you must find the power within yourself to realize that. 

The Circle of Life as We Know it

"Relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it" (Krakauer 55). 

Topic: The Dynamics of Family

              Here it can be said that Chris McCandless strategically avoids getting close with anyone he meets along his journey. McCandless purposely prevents himself from forming any emotional attachment, despite certain people trying vigorously to break down his walls and really get to know him. Similar to the way McCandless acts on his journey, is how his parents treated him his entire life growing up. His parents were distant and they had not formed a very close bond with Chris. Mr. and Mrs. McCandless did not provide the love and attention for Chris that every child should receive. It is no coincidence that Chris and his parents are similar in these characteristics. How we act in our committed relationships is largely the result of how we experienced relationships in our families-of-origin. Chris subconsciously avoids forming emotional bonds with new people because his parents had not formed much of an emotional bond with him. Here it can be inferred that there is somewhat of a cycle that repeats itself within the dynamics of family. Humans typically carry on the characteristics their parents had into their adult lives and so on and so forth. partners know they have choices about how they behave with each other. Since the process of making choices is risky and confusing, a strong degree of motivation is necessary to reconsider old ways of doing things.

money can't buy happiness

"At long last he was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from the raw throb of existence" (Krakauer 22)

Topic: The Dynamics of Family

            Here, it can be inferred that money and material items cannot create happiness nor contentment, in an individual's life. Chris McCandless grew up in a very sheltered environment along with his eight siblings. His parents provided him with everything he could possibly need in terms of what money could buy. Yet McCandless was unhappy and unsatisfied with his life, so much so he decided to completely abandon his past life. Although he was showered with material possessions and a prestigious education, the lack of things that cannot be purchased such as love and attention from his parents, left him with a sort of emptiness. Here it is also clear that the absence of love and attention McCandless suffered from growing up, resulted in bad decisions and ultimately his death. This also affected his relationships with his peers, which can be inferred from the quote, and people he met on his journey. McCandless developed the habit of cutting off relationships, just like he felt cut off from "the raw throb of existence". Here it is evident that although money can buy many things, it cannot buy happiness.