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07/10/2025 8:08 am
Krakauer clearly admires McCandless’s spirit and drive. As read in the book, Krakauer also shares parables from his own life, like climbing the Devil's Thumb. He understands the allure of going out of your comfort zone and doing risky adventures.
Krakauer does not stray away from McCandless’s flaws. McCandless had barely any preparation for this trip. Kraukauer also sees that McCandless is stubborn; he discovers that information from others. I feel empathetic for McCandless in some ways. I wish he were more prepared so he wouldn’t have died. Maybe that’s what he wanted in the end; we don’t know. I do agree that he was selfish for leaving his family the way he was, and he also left Franz the way he did. “That's when I had a bad feeling that we wouldn’t ever see Alex ever again.” (68) This quote is about how they are sad they probably won’t see him again.
Ultimately, I believe that Kraukauer seems empathetic to McCandless, but he isn't blindsided by his actions. He also cares enough to research and find all the information about Chris.
08/10/2025 11:20 am
The connection you made between Krakauer's personal life and why he admires and understands McCandless is perfect. Understanding the potential bias that an author allows us to understand why an author is writing about something. I know he is supposed to be objective, but I wonder, is Krakauer's personal connection the reason why he decided to write a whole novel about McCandless?
15/10/2025 9:41 pm
I really like how you pulled evidence directly from the text to support your ideas, which I agree with entirely. I agree that Krakauer is putting Chris on a pedestal, but I also think that what Chris did something respectable and does deserve some credit. Nicely written!