Absolute freedom is an odyssey that everyone, at least once in their life, tries to conquer. Chris McCandless did everything in his power to try and capture that freedom he was looking for. He ultimately gave up his life during that search. Did you find what you were looking for? Maybe we will never know. Many people have different opinions about this character. Chris McCandless wasn't selfish. He was a young and well-mannered boy. His parents handed him everything on a silver platter; he wanted to prove not only to himself but to everyone else that he could do things on his own. His possessions did not define who he was as a person. He thought that in relation to everyone else he was just another brick in the wall, a rather rich guy, and that didn't "fly" with him. He had to prove his worth. According to others, Chris McCandless was inherently selfish. Please beg to differ, for heaven's sake, he was a grown man! It was his life and he lived it the way he wanted. Chris gave his sister fair warning. He told her, "Since they will never take me seriously, for a few months after graduation I will let them think that they are right, I will let them think that I am 'getting back to their side of things' and that our relationship is stabilizing." . And then, when the time is right, with one swift and sudden action I will eliminate them completely from my life…” (Krakauer 64) He knew what he had to do. He had to show his parents how they had made him feel his whole life. As a graduation present they offered him a new car, his old Datsun apparently up to their standards. Chris was furious. That was his pride and joy, how dare they try to take that away from him! They ignored what he was saying, as he had done many times before, he… halfway down the paper… was at peace. Chris McCandless died happy and at peace with life thanks to all the places he had seen, all the people he had met and, in the end, the goal he wanted to achieve was within reach. He didn't make it out of “Great Alaska,” but died trying. He had survived more than a hundred days. He had walked all over America. He had met some amazing wanderers along the way. It had caused heartbreak, but it helped thousands of people. I believe, based on the fact that he said he would write a book when he returned, that all he wanted was to be a legend and have a legacy. He did just that. Chris died over ten years ago, and here I am in my tenth year learning about his eventful life. Chris "Alexander Supertramp" McCandless had lived a more eventful life in his twenty-four years of life than most of his one hundred years of life. His legacy will live on forever.
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