Sunday, June 10, 2012

Chapters 16-18: Into the Alaskan Wild

In Chapter 16, there is a quote from Estwick Evans about experiencing the pleasure of danger and suffering, followed by a quote from Roderick Nash about wilderness being an escape from society. Chapter 17's epigraph includes a quote from Henry David Thoreau saying that nature is savage and awful, though beautiful. Chapter 18 has a quote from John M Campbell about how hard it is to live by hunting, and a quote from Boris Pasternak about the idea of life as a sacrifice.

It is hard to say whether McCandless was crazy. I can definitely see why people would suggest that he was. Many people McCandless met during his travels said that it seemed like he had a couple screws loose. Since he acted on impulse, had odd behaviors, and had a hard time staying in touch with reality, it seems like Chris may have had something like schizophrenia. But, it's impossible to decide that kind of thing without knowing him personally.

I think Chris was definitely ignorant. While he was constantly thinking and had a lot of great ideas, he had a gap in his thinking. He underestimated Alaska and always thought that he could handle anything thrown at him. He didn't like being coached or receiving instruction. That ignorance led him to his death since he didn't take hunting tips or accept extra clothes from Jan.

No one will ever know for sure whether McCandless had a death wish. I personally don't think he was suicidal in any way, but I do think he didn't really care whether he died, which is why he was way under packed. I think that as long as he got to experience the wild in Alaska, then Chris felt as though his life was fulfilled.

Based off of the evidence the author provided, I think the wild sweet peas and wild potatoes McCandless ate were toxic. The author spent a long time looking into this, and he came to the conclusion that McCandless ate moldy seeds, which caused him to starve more than he already had, and weakened him until he ultimately met his death. This makes sense because Chris' health suddenly declined after eating those seeds, and he even wrote that it was the "FAULT OF POT. SEED" (page 189).

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