Afterword and additional

These materials helped define Krakauer's goal in telling McCandless’s story and motive. In my opinion, they helped solidify the reasons why McCandless left his family. My initial opinion about McCandless was that he made selfish and unreasonable decisions, “He made McCandless out to be an idol or hero in a situation that could’ve been avoided with common sense” (lvalentin26).” After reading about his parents and the cause of his death, I came to realize that he wasn’t as naive as I thought. It seemed like McCandless lacked support and resources, and this independence drove him to push away help, society, and his relationships with others.

The Foreword clarified why Krakauer became invested in providing justice to McCandless. He wanted to respect the family, but realized that he needed a way to convey that the way he grew up drove him to leave his family. The message at the end of the Foreword also added depth to Krakauer as a reporter, “She belatedly recognized that the most toxic secrets could possibly be robbed of their power to hurt by dragging them out of the shadows into the light” (Krakauer). It shows how he valued truth and experiences to bring justice and good to a bad situation.

The articles explaining how McCandless died also emphasize that his death was an accident and that he had no way of knowing that the way he was nourishing himself was a slow poison. The research Krakauer did to determine the cause of his death also disproved the critics who believed McCandless could have avoided the situation with “a Boy Scout manual”. Evidence of his physical state being incapacitated after eating the seeds, “…the poison had rendered him too weak to move about, to hunt or forage, and, toward the end, "extremely weak," "too weak to walk out," and, having "much trouble just to stand up” (Krakauer 212). Even if he wanted to get out of the woods, which happened to be not far off the highway, he physically could not. His death led to a discovery that scientists and journalists debated and were unable to reach a conclusion until decades later. I came to realize that Chris McCandless’s story did have purpose. It served as a precaution to young individuals seeking thrill and freedom, and even to foragers to check to make sure all parts of a plant is safe.