What Really Drove Christopher McCandless to the Wild?
Christopher McCandless, otherwise known as Alexander Supertramp, was an eclectic individual. He didn’t believe in having a career, however he went to Emory University, earning a double major degree in history and anthropology (Krakauer 20). When he was in high school, he was the captain of his cross-country team- he loved to run. He used running as an escape from all the evils in his life…in the world. His family may have been one of the evils he was trying to escape. It is well known that Chris did what he could to remain distant from his family, specifically his parents; however he had an extremely close relationship with his sister, Carine. From an abusive father, to a hidden family secret, Chris wanted no part of the family, besides Carine. Chris was also enamored by Jack London and his writings and teachings. He carved “Jack London is King.” on a piece of wood near the sight of his death (Krakauer 9). He also loved adventure- he was quite the traveler, including a previous trip to Alaska.
These are just a few of the many facts that we know about Christopher ‘Alexander Supertramp’ McCandless. However, these are some of the facts that I believe had a major impact on Christopher’s decision to drop everything, disappear without a trace and go to Alaska to live in the wild for a time in solitude. I will be focusing on his family life, as he had quite a rough and extensive story dealing with his family, specifically with his parents. I believe that Christopher McCandless’s unhappy family life is one of the main and strong causes for his pickup trip to Alaska. His father was extremely abusive, both mentally and physically towards him, his sister, Carine, and their mother,
According to Chris’s sister, Carine, the two of them, along with their mother Billie, endured great abuse from their father, Walt. Walt was a research worker at NASA. He was in a previous marriage with a woman named Marcia, before Billie. Billie was a secretary for Walt’s business and they began to have relations, during Walt’s marriage, making Billie his mistress (McCandless 2014). Christopher and Carine were born while Walt was still legally married to his first wife, making the two children born out of wedlock. Chris did not learn this fact until he had graduated from high school when he travelled across the country to California to see long-distance family members.
Throughout Chris and Carine’s childhood, they experienced their father’s numerous angry outbursts, drunken rages, and abusive spurs. He would beat the two children mercilessly at the same time. In an interview Carine had with NPR, she said that during these violent outrages, Carine would look up at her dad “in search of some leniency” only to see the sadistic look of almost pleasure her dad had on his face, similar to that of a drug addict in the peak of his high (McAlpin 2014). This is just one example of the many instances they encountered. At one time, Walt attacked Billie in front of the children. This caused Chris to have even less respect for his father, and it caused him to grow closer to Carine. Carine was Chris’s confident and Chris was Carine’s protection; they were all each other had.
While Chris was in high school, he was the head of his school’s track team, as I mentioned before. He used running to escape from the evils of his home, and of his parents. Other than Carine, running was really his only escape, and he loved it greatly. He did very well academically, except for his Physics class, which he failed because he refused to comply with his teacher’s formatting rules. During this time in his life, he fell in love with the topic of apartheid, eventually leading to what he would study in college (Krakauer 20). During the summers, according to Carine, Chris would remain distant, contacting only her, and travelling to many different places, being the adventurer that he was.
Carine notes that during these years, regardless of the seemingly endless abuse, they had a rather good childhood- they had a roof over their heads, in an exceptionally nice home in a nice part of town. Granted it wasn’t a safe home, due to the abuse, but it was a nice home. She also mentions that there were also happy time amongst the hard and bad. She reflects back to the many camping trips that Chris absolutely loved (Schonfeld 14). She mentions that even through the hard times, she, and even Chris, were very thankful for the good times that they had, even if Chris refused to admit that his parents did have some part in those happy times.
In 1986, Chris graduated from high school, and travelled for his summer before attending Emory University. During these travels, Chris went to California to visit his distant relatives. During this visit with his relatives, it was that Chris learned the truth behind his parents’ marriage. He learned that Billie was Walt’s mistress, working as his secretary at NASA, while he was still in first marriage, still having children. He learned that from the time that he was conceived, through sometime after Carine was born, Walt was lying and using both his wife at the time, and Billie- drowning them both in lies and abuse. It was learning this that Chris really began to hate his parents, leading him to eventually cut all ties with them before he went to college. It was because of this that Chris really felt that his whole life was a lie, and that his childhood instantly became meaningless because not only had his father lied to him, but his mother also enabled his father in the lie, becoming his accomplice (McCandless 2014). I believe that this was the main event that caused Chris to decide that he needed to leave and be away from his family, which was confirmed when he mentioned to his parents that he needed to “disappear for a while” in one of the few postcards he sent them in his four years at Emory.
In his time at Emory University, Chris was reluctant to contact his parents. He would only contact Carine through letters and postcards. While he was there, he did not have a phone. He lived in a small apartment with a mattress on the floor and books everywhere. He got all A’s in college, graduating with a degree in Anthropology with a focus on African studies and History. His ending time at Emory University and his graduation would be one of the last times that Chris’s family would ever hear from him, including Carine.
At the time of his graduation, Chris received word from his parents that they would buy him a brand new car, and use whatever money that was left in his college fund to pay for graduate school. Chris was angered and insulted by this clear gesture of his parents trying to gain his respect. Chris wrote to Carine saying that he loved the car he had, and that there was no problem with it. He couldn’t believe that their parents were trying to gain his respect and his trust, and he swore that there was no way that it would succeed. This was the last that Carine would hear from her brother before he left on his journey to, I believe, escape his parents (Krakauer 22).
Walt and Billie received no word back from their son after proposing to buy him a new car and helping to pay for graduate school, so they decided to take a trip to Atlanta to check on him. When they arrived to where he lived, they found it abandoned with a “For Rent” sign taped to the window- Chris had left weeks earlier, embarking on the last trip he would ever take, the last adventure and journey that he would ever take part in. Their son had disappeared without a trace, without a word. It was at this time that Billie and Walt McCandless began to worry about their son; his whereabouts, his wellbeing. Even Carine had no idea where he was, and they would not learn of his whereabouts until they learned of his death two years later.
It was at this time that Chris would travel across the country, as far south as Mexico, meeting many people such as Jan Burres and Ron Franz, building new relationships that would only end as soon as they started when Chris would continue onto his journey to Alaska. He would never contact his parents again. Throughout his entire life, Chris’s parents would abuse him and his sister- lying to them, Walt beating them mercilessly, and Billie doing nothing but enabling the abuse. In Carine’s interview with Newsweek, she spoke about her mother’s many broken promises of escaping from Walt; there were countless times when Billie promised that she would leave Walt, and that she and the children would be safe from his abusive antics, but she never followed through (Schonfeld 2014). This really drove Chris away from his mother. She knew the situation was severe and she never did anything to protect herself or her children.
Chris hated his parents and he didn’t want anything to do with them, so he went to Alaska to find himself a happier life, and to really escape his unhappy home life, and society itself.
In August 1992, Chris McCandless died from both poison from eating potato root seeds, and starvation due to the poison from the seeds. His body was found a few weeks later, on September 6th, 1992. It was after that time, after his body was identified, when his parents and sister were notified about what happened to him. It was at this time, according to Carine, that his parents fell into a pit of sorrow and regret (McCandless 2014). Their son was dead and they would never be able to speak to or see him again. However, we later learn that Billie and Walt took no blame in the disappearance of their son (McAlpin 2014). Carine however, believes otherwise, rightfully so. The endless abuse that they both endured as children and young adults would more than warrant the disappearance of a child. She explains, however, that she did not blame their parents for Chris’s death, but that they needed to take responsibility for his disappearance; I completely agree. The McCandless household was one that had a severe lack of compassion and caring for its children and it was clear when you analyzed the relationship and marriage of Billie and Walt McCandless.
Christopher ‘Alexander Supertramp’ McCandless was a strong-willed person. When he set a goal for himself, he followed through; he wanted to go to Alaska, and he did that. He and his sister endured great abuse throughout their young lives, and it angered Chris that his parents did not see a problem with the way they were acting, so he disconnected himself. He disconnected himself from his parents and went to find himself a happier life, to escape his parents’ abusive lifestyle, and he did just that. He found an escape in the Alaskan wild.
REFLECTION: I rather enjoyed writing my essay. I was able to tell my own little story about what Chris McCandless and his sister Carine had to endure from their parents, Walt and Billie. It was difficult at times to be able to find the correct words to describe why I thought that Chris went to Alaska, but eventually, I was able to convey my message and display what I found in my research.
Christopher McCandless, otherwise known as Alexander Supertramp, was an eclectic individual. He didn’t believe in having a career, however he went to Emory University, earning a double major degree in history and anthropology (Krakauer 20). When he was in high school, he was the captain of his cross-country team- he loved to run. He used running as an escape from all the evils in his life…in the world. His family may have been one of the evils he was trying to escape. It is well known that Chris did what he could to remain distant from his family, specifically his parents; however he had an extremely close relationship with his sister, Carine. From an abusive father, to a hidden family secret, Chris wanted no part of the family, besides Carine. Chris was also enamored by Jack London and his writings and teachings. He carved “Jack London is King.” on a piece of wood near the sight of his death (Krakauer 9). He also loved adventure- he was quite the traveler, including a previous trip to Alaska.
These are just a few of the many facts that we know about Christopher ‘Alexander Supertramp’ McCandless. However, these are some of the facts that I believe had a major impact on Christopher’s decision to drop everything, disappear without a trace and go to Alaska to live in the wild for a time in solitude. I will be focusing on his family life, as he had quite a rough and extensive story dealing with his family, specifically with his parents. I believe that Christopher McCandless’s unhappy family life is one of the main and strong causes for his pickup trip to Alaska. His father was extremely abusive, both mentally and physically towards him, his sister, Carine, and their mother,
According to Chris’s sister, Carine, the two of them, along with their mother Billie, endured great abuse from their father, Walt. Walt was a research worker at NASA. He was in a previous marriage with a woman named Marcia, before Billie. Billie was a secretary for Walt’s business and they began to have relations, during Walt’s marriage, making Billie his mistress (McCandless 2014). Christopher and Carine were born while Walt was still legally married to his first wife, making the two children born out of wedlock. Chris did not learn this fact until he had graduated from high school when he travelled across the country to California to see long-distance family members.
Throughout Chris and Carine’s childhood, they experienced their father’s numerous angry outbursts, drunken rages, and abusive spurs. He would beat the two children mercilessly at the same time. In an interview Carine had with NPR, she said that during these violent outrages, Carine would look up at her dad “in search of some leniency” only to see the sadistic look of almost pleasure her dad had on his face, similar to that of a drug addict in the peak of his high (McAlpin 2014). This is just one example of the many instances they encountered. At one time, Walt attacked Billie in front of the children. This caused Chris to have even less respect for his father, and it caused him to grow closer to Carine. Carine was Chris’s confident and Chris was Carine’s protection; they were all each other had.
While Chris was in high school, he was the head of his school’s track team, as I mentioned before. He used running to escape from the evils of his home, and of his parents. Other than Carine, running was really his only escape, and he loved it greatly. He did very well academically, except for his Physics class, which he failed because he refused to comply with his teacher’s formatting rules. During this time in his life, he fell in love with the topic of apartheid, eventually leading to what he would study in college (Krakauer 20). During the summers, according to Carine, Chris would remain distant, contacting only her, and travelling to many different places, being the adventurer that he was.
Carine notes that during these years, regardless of the seemingly endless abuse, they had a rather good childhood- they had a roof over their heads, in an exceptionally nice home in a nice part of town. Granted it wasn’t a safe home, due to the abuse, but it was a nice home. She also mentions that there were also happy time amongst the hard and bad. She reflects back to the many camping trips that Chris absolutely loved (Schonfeld 14). She mentions that even through the hard times, she, and even Chris, were very thankful for the good times that they had, even if Chris refused to admit that his parents did have some part in those happy times.
In 1986, Chris graduated from high school, and travelled for his summer before attending Emory University. During these travels, Chris went to California to visit his distant relatives. During this visit with his relatives, it was that Chris learned the truth behind his parents’ marriage. He learned that Billie was Walt’s mistress, working as his secretary at NASA, while he was still in first marriage, still having children. He learned that from the time that he was conceived, through sometime after Carine was born, Walt was lying and using both his wife at the time, and Billie- drowning them both in lies and abuse. It was learning this that Chris really began to hate his parents, leading him to eventually cut all ties with them before he went to college. It was because of this that Chris really felt that his whole life was a lie, and that his childhood instantly became meaningless because not only had his father lied to him, but his mother also enabled his father in the lie, becoming his accomplice (McCandless 2014). I believe that this was the main event that caused Chris to decide that he needed to leave and be away from his family, which was confirmed when he mentioned to his parents that he needed to “disappear for a while” in one of the few postcards he sent them in his four years at Emory.
In his time at Emory University, Chris was reluctant to contact his parents. He would only contact Carine through letters and postcards. While he was there, he did not have a phone. He lived in a small apartment with a mattress on the floor and books everywhere. He got all A’s in college, graduating with a degree in Anthropology with a focus on African studies and History. His ending time at Emory University and his graduation would be one of the last times that Chris’s family would ever hear from him, including Carine.
At the time of his graduation, Chris received word from his parents that they would buy him a brand new car, and use whatever money that was left in his college fund to pay for graduate school. Chris was angered and insulted by this clear gesture of his parents trying to gain his respect. Chris wrote to Carine saying that he loved the car he had, and that there was no problem with it. He couldn’t believe that their parents were trying to gain his respect and his trust, and he swore that there was no way that it would succeed. This was the last that Carine would hear from her brother before he left on his journey to, I believe, escape his parents (Krakauer 22).
Walt and Billie received no word back from their son after proposing to buy him a new car and helping to pay for graduate school, so they decided to take a trip to Atlanta to check on him. When they arrived to where he lived, they found it abandoned with a “For Rent” sign taped to the window- Chris had left weeks earlier, embarking on the last trip he would ever take, the last adventure and journey that he would ever take part in. Their son had disappeared without a trace, without a word. It was at this time that Billie and Walt McCandless began to worry about their son; his whereabouts, his wellbeing. Even Carine had no idea where he was, and they would not learn of his whereabouts until they learned of his death two years later.
It was at this time that Chris would travel across the country, as far south as Mexico, meeting many people such as Jan Burres and Ron Franz, building new relationships that would only end as soon as they started when Chris would continue onto his journey to Alaska. He would never contact his parents again. Throughout his entire life, Chris’s parents would abuse him and his sister- lying to them, Walt beating them mercilessly, and Billie doing nothing but enabling the abuse. In Carine’s interview with Newsweek, she spoke about her mother’s many broken promises of escaping from Walt; there were countless times when Billie promised that she would leave Walt, and that she and the children would be safe from his abusive antics, but she never followed through (Schonfeld 2014). This really drove Chris away from his mother. She knew the situation was severe and she never did anything to protect herself or her children.
Chris hated his parents and he didn’t want anything to do with them, so he went to Alaska to find himself a happier life, and to really escape his unhappy home life, and society itself.
In August 1992, Chris McCandless died from both poison from eating potato root seeds, and starvation due to the poison from the seeds. His body was found a few weeks later, on September 6th, 1992. It was after that time, after his body was identified, when his parents and sister were notified about what happened to him. It was at this time, according to Carine, that his parents fell into a pit of sorrow and regret (McCandless 2014). Their son was dead and they would never be able to speak to or see him again. However, we later learn that Billie and Walt took no blame in the disappearance of their son (McAlpin 2014). Carine however, believes otherwise, rightfully so. The endless abuse that they both endured as children and young adults would more than warrant the disappearance of a child. She explains, however, that she did not blame their parents for Chris’s death, but that they needed to take responsibility for his disappearance; I completely agree. The McCandless household was one that had a severe lack of compassion and caring for its children and it was clear when you analyzed the relationship and marriage of Billie and Walt McCandless.
Christopher ‘Alexander Supertramp’ McCandless was a strong-willed person. When he set a goal for himself, he followed through; he wanted to go to Alaska, and he did that. He and his sister endured great abuse throughout their young lives, and it angered Chris that his parents did not see a problem with the way they were acting, so he disconnected himself. He disconnected himself from his parents and went to find himself a happier life, to escape his parents’ abusive lifestyle, and he did just that. He found an escape in the Alaskan wild.
REFLECTION: I rather enjoyed writing my essay. I was able to tell my own little story about what Chris McCandless and his sister Carine had to endure from their parents, Walt and Billie. It was difficult at times to be able to find the correct words to describe why I thought that Chris went to Alaska, but eventually, I was able to convey my message and display what I found in my research.