Chris McCandless’ Absolute Freedom

“Life has no meaning. Each of us have meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.”(Campbell) says American professor Joseph Campbell. In the coming of age biography Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer published in 1996, the protagonist Chris McCandless discovers that the only way to be happy in life is to find “ultimate freedom” where he is free from the shackles of society and plays by his own rules.

Told in the third person, Jon Krakauer addresses the theme by describing the setting of Chris McCandless’s journey to Alaska, establishing the main conflict of his struggle to survive in the wild and incorporating the literary devices of perspective and juxtaposition.

Krakauer’s purpose is to identify the motive of McCandless’s journey and encourage the youth of today to shed society’s materialism and to do what makes them happy by justifying McCandless’s actions. Krakauer creates a mood of empathy for an audience of open-minded and free-spirited individuals who have shared values with McCandless.

Although Chris McCandless left a stain on the hearts of the people who loved him as his journey spiraled into a tragic end, McCandless’s story has inspired like-minded individuals confined to mainstream-society, to live a meaningful life by living on his own terms and establishing authentic relationships with the people he met along his trek into the wild.

Even though “Alexander Supertramp’s” odyssey into the Alaskan wilderness has a devastating conclusion, McCandless story has unintentionally provided influence on people who admired his efforts to live authentically and freely.

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In the novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless had written a letter to his close friend and father-like figure, Ronald A. Franz, who he had met along his expedition. In the letter McCandless says, “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security…”(Krakauer pg 56). McCandless expresses how even though individuals are unsatisfied in the way they chose to live they don’t choose to change because they feel pressured to conform to society’s expectations.

McCandless believed that people were slaves to society and by facing the adversity of separating himself from society McCandless leads by example. McCandless’s actions inspired others to break out of the mold and live life with purpose and strive for happiness. Nowadays in modern society it’s almost impossible to break away and escape from a safe but unfulfilling lifestyle, but once a door has been opened its easier for others to follow in the footsteps of an individual who has paved the path. McCandless had opened up the possibility for many others who felt trapped to live life on their own terms and achieve the happiness and freedom they longed for.

What creates a meaningful life has been pondered since the beginning of time and we still don’t have an official answer because everyone has different values and beliefs that make an individual’s life meaningful. In the commencement address for Stanford (2005) given by Steve Jobs, Jobs explains how in the face of death you are only left with what is really important. In the speech Jobs states, “ Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life”, (Jobs). There is no reason why you shouldn’t follow your dreams and you should live your life in a way that is meaningful to you because eventually everyone runs out of time in this world and only the important things are left. Chris McCandless felt trapped in society and even though he had to give up his materialistic possessions in the end what it really came down to was his passion to search for the ultimate freedom and to be at peace with himself and the world around him.

Although McCandless’s journey may seem reckless to some, in his mind he wanted to find true happiness and freedom and to do so he felt the only way to do so was to turn to the wild. McCandless didn’t want to waste his life working a nine to five and living in a white picket fence house, he wanted to live with a purpose and that longing drove him to choose the path he took. McCandless valued freedom above anything else and in the end he knew that was an important aspect of life that he needed to have in order to achieve a meaningful life.

McCandless was not only in search of freedom but also authentic connections, he wanted to travel to meet people who have lived with purpose the way he wished to and share knowledge they have learned over the years with each other. In the article “This 75 Year harvard Study Found the 1 Secret to a Fulfilling Life” by Melanie Curtin, accounts a study that helped prove that the relationships we have make us feel happier and healthier. In the text Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, claims‘’It’s the quality of your close relationships that matters.’’(Curtin) It doesn’t matter how many friends you have, it’s more important to have quality relationships with people. McCandless had always dreamed of living life spontaneously and meeting real and authentic people along his journey. McCandless knew that no matter how many friends he had it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t have close or meaningful relationships with people. McCandless valued connection with people on a deep and meaningful level, he only ever wanted to live with purpose and by creating important relationships with people he accomplished this. McCandless took this whole voyage into the wilderness in search of a good honest life and to find inner peace with himself and his surroundings.

It’s nearly impossible to define what makes a meaningful life because everyone has made a different purpose for themselves. Every individual wants something different out of life and you cannot judge a person’s life based on what is considered meaningful in someone else’s life. The one constant in an individual’s meaning to life is the connections they have made with other people, a person’s life is not just defined by their own self image but also by the effect they have made on the people around them. McCandless unintentionally helped people like himself be freed from society and taste what real freedom is like. In his harvard commencement address Steve Jobs stated “…you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” (Jobs) McCandless left a lasting impact on people and that makes his life meaningful, even if he didnt know that he would have influenced so many individuals or if he didn’t even want to help them it doesn’t matter because it happened anyway. Chris McCandless’s life was extraordinary and gave way to innovation and purpose for a new generation of individuals who can help create an authentic and meaningful society.