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Into The Wild
This bus scene shows us a picture of the actual bus Chris McCandless lived in until the day he died. Once he tried to head back home, the tiny stream he once crossed erupted into a huge river full of snowmelt. Having no food, he went foraging. Chris McCandless eventually died because of a misidentification of an edible plant.
"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth."
Character List: Christopher McCandless Wayne Westerburg Jan Burres Ronald Franz
Kasey Seeman Mr. Plaia English III, Period 7 June 1, 2009 The story of Christopher McCandless in Into The Wild tells us about a man, humbly discontent with the ways of society whom eventually decides to relinquish the American dream of money power and fame. Chris’s discontent with society all together eventually led him to scrap his belongings. He donated over $20,000 to OXFAM International, an organization trying to find solutions to end poverty and injustice in the world. Besides donating all of his life savings to charity, he burned his social security card, abandoned his car, and burned all of the money in his wallet. Chris’s main goal was to venture out into the Alaskan wilderness, surviving on nothing but the land throughout the winter. On the road people would get to know Chris as “Alexander Supertramp”, releasing his birth name his parents gave him and giving birth to the new Chris McCandless. Some would argue that McCandless was an intellectual, being influenced by the writings of Thoreau, Jack London, and Tolstoy. Once Chris escaped the constraints of society and began his journey out on the road, he set out toward the Stampede Trail in Alaska, where he would ascend into the wild. Throughout his journey, Chris met many people. The first impressionable person Chris ran into was a man named Wayne Westerburg. Wayne liked Chris right off the bat. Westerburg he owned a grain elevator in Carthage, South Dakota and wanted Chris to work for him. Wayne Westerburg was described as a man with wide shoulders and a black goatee whom owned a grain elevator in Carthage, South Dakota. During the days Wayne would should Chris the ropes around his grain elevator and how the harvesting works. During the nights McCandless and Westerburg would hit the bar for a long night, talking about life and Chris’ experiences on the road. Chris would often talk to Wayne about his goal of reaching Alaska and living out off the land. Westerburg was enlightened with McCandless and the special bond they shared. After working for Wayne for a few months, Chris decided to move on with his journey, occasionally writing to Wayne when he could. Chris would often complain about having money, because it made everything easier. As Chris journeyed further, he soon ran into Jan Burres and Rainy, a couple of hippies known as “rubber tramps”. A rubber tramp became known as people who live out of their car; Chris however, had been known as a “leather tramp”, or part of those who “hoof it”. Chris and Jan bonded deeply throughout their time together. The trio eventually traveled to “the flats” out in the middle of nowhere, where many “rubber tramps” would congregate. Chris and Jan enjoyed their time together before Chris had to move on with his quest into the Alaskan interior. After Chris parted ways with Rainey and Jan, he set out to Anchorage Alaska. Before he made it there, he stopped by a place called Oh-My-God Hot Springs in Anza Borrego. On the way there, he met an old man named Ronald Franz. Before Chris left, he lived with Ronald Franz for a little to get to know him and to add some interest into Mr. Franz’s life. In 1957, Ronald was stationed in Okinawa and one night his wife and one son happened to get struck by a drunk driver. They both died. Ronald has been living by himself ever since. Once Chris came into his life, he literally touched his heart, saying things that made Ronald literally want to adopt Chris. Unfortunately, Chris had to complete his journey onto the Alaskan wilderness. Alexander Supertramp, as he proudly referred to himself as, survived approximately 189 days in the wild. When Chris approached the Stampede trail in the winter, he had very little supplies for how long he intended to survive out in the wild. Chris carried with him a .22 caliber rifle, a 10 pound bag of rice, a camera, rifle rounds, and a small selection of text to read. Among the text Chris had with him was a book on identifying edible plants. Among Chris’ mistakes was the research he put into his journey. His downfall led to two things: the river he was crossing in the winter would later erupt into a large torrent during the summer due to the snowmelt, Chris was not very adapted to the land and familiar with survival skills of natives. His unfamiliarity of the land led to his downfall when he misidentified a toxic plant for an edible plant. Chris’s attempt to survive out in the wild was by no means an act of suicide. Chris’s story has inspired many, including me.
