Christopher McCandless Characterization Chart

Chapter	Page Number	Quote/Description	Impression
1	4	Five feet seven or eight with a wiry build	Chris is underweight and not healthy.
1	6	"I won't run into anything I can't deal with on my own."-Chris McCandless	Chris thinks he is prepared to  go into dangerous situations.
1	6	"He was determined. Real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited."-Gallien
2	12	"S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. I am all alone , this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?"	Chris did not want to die that way. He wanted to be saved.
2	12	A peek through a window revealed a Remington rifle, a plastic box of shells, eight or nine paperback books, some torn jeans, cooking utensils, and an expensive backpack.	Chris had many hobbies. Hiking into the wild wasn't the only thing that interested him.
3	18	He always had to know the absolute right answer before he could go on to the next thing.
3	20	Chris graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, where he'd been a columnist for, and editor of, the student newspaper, The Emory Wheel, and had distinguished himself as a history and anthropology major with a 3.72 grade-point average.	He was very smart.
3	21	"I'm going to have to be real careful not to accept any gifts from them[his parents] in the future because they will think they have bought my respect."- Chris McCandless	Chris does not think that people should buy respect; they should earn it.
4	29	telling the truth was a credo he took seriously	He did not like lying or liars.
4	29	McCandless documented the burning of his money and most of the events that followed in a journal-snapshot album	He liked to keep a record of things, so he could keep track of everything he did.
5	45	"He had an amazing voice. He drew quite a crowd."-Jan Burres
5	46	"He was smart. He'd figured out how to paddle a canoe down to Mexico, how to hop freight trains, how to score a bed at inner-city missions. He figured all of that out on his own, and I felt sure he'd figure out Alaska too."-Jan Burres	Chris knew how to adjust to the hardships of living in the wilderness.
6	52	McCandless's face would darken with anger and he'd fulminate about his parents or politicians or the endemic idiocy of mainstream American life.	Chris searched for equality in the world. He wanted social justice for everyone.
6	55	McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well--relieved that he had again evaded the impeding threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it.	He liked to be  around people, but he did not like developing relationships because relationships caused him problems.
7	64	Both father[Walt] and son[Chris] were stubborn and high-strung.
7	65	remained largely or entirely celibate, as chaste as a monk	He respected life.
10	102	'Chris almost always had short hair and was clean-shaven. And the face in the picture was extremely gaunt."-Sam McCandless	Chris changed.
11	107	"Even when we were little, he was very to himself. He wasn't antisocial -- he always had friends, and everybody liked him -- but he could go off and entertain himself for hours. He didn't seem to need toys or friends. He could be alone without being lonely."-Carine McCandless
11	113	On weekends, when his high school pals were attending "keggers" and trying to sneak into Georgetown bars, McCandless would wander the seedier quarters of Washington, chatting with prostitutes and homeless people, buying them meals, earnestly suggesting ways they might improve their lives.	He wanted the best for everyone and didn't care about his 'social status.'
12	118-119	"If you attempted to talk him out of something, he wouldn't argue. He'd just nod politely and then do exactly what he wanted."-Walt	He didn't care about other people's opinions.
12	122	"If something bothered him, he wouldn't come right out and say it. He'd keep it to himself, harboring his resentment, letting the bad feelings build and build."-Carine
12	122	He could not pardon the mistakes his father had made as a young man, and he was even less willing to pardon the attempt at concealment.	He was unforgiving.
13	128	"Chris didn't think twice about risking his own life, but he never would have put Buckley in any kind of danger."-Carine	Chris respected life and would never force any kind of danger on someone.
13	129	Chris and Carine were uncommonly close.
16	159	"He was a dandy kid. Real courteous, and he didn't cuss or use a lot of that there slang. You could tell he came from a nice family."-Gaylord Stuckey	Chris gave great impressions on people.
16	159	"He wanted to prove to himself that he could make it on his own, without anybody else's help."-Gaylord Stuckey
17	174	He simply got rid of the map.	He was spontaneously travelling and didn't know  what was going to happen next.
17	183	McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large but, rather, to explore the inner country of his own soul.
18	198	"Chris would never, ever, intentionally burn down a forest, not even to save his life. Anybody who would suggest otherwise doesn't understand the first thing about my brother. "-Carine
18	199	Chris is smiling in the last picture taken of him.	Although he was suffering, he felt accomplished and died happily.

  

Reaction:

                While reading the book, I thought that Chris McCandless was prepared and not crazy. It seemed like he knew what he was doing, but towards the end of the book, I changed my mind. He was not as prepared as he seemed. I think that he was a reckless idiot, and he was a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity. He realized that happiness is only real when it is shared. Into the Wild is a very tragic story. At least, McCandless realized that he was somewhat wrong about life and enjoyed his journey. I feel bad for what had happened to him.