The story of Christopher McCandless is well known by some, but not by most. It is the story of a young man who left behind the comforts of the world in order to pursue a simpler life, one that would ultimately lead to a lonely death. His story is both inspiring and troubling, empowering and horrifying. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, Chris journeyed across the country and ultimately found himself in the remote Alaskan wilderness, where he spent some time living in an abandoned bus. The exact cause of his death is still unknown…some have suggested accidental poisoning while others have maintained that he simply starved.
I attended graduate school at Emory University for three years and, until the day I graduated, I never once heard the story of Christopher McCandless. I was only privy to it that day because Sean Penn filmed pieces of the graduation ceremony for the film that he was making about the events that transpired in the Alaskan wilderness. Had there not been a movie retelling the story, I’m not sure that I would have ever heard it or been forced to think about it.
I watched Into the Wild for the first time last week and, just the other day, I had a discussion about the movie, specifically pertaining to the value it holds, if any at all. The following post is a reflection on that conversation.
There is something to be said for a person who will abandon the comforts that surround them. A car, a roof over our heads, a bank account and assurance of our next meal…these are things that we too often take for granted. Because we fail to see these things as anything other than givens, we often forget the troubles that they can and do bring. Christopher’s story is inspiring, first of all, because of his refusal to let material goods define who he was. His family was able and willing to send him to a good school where he was fortunate enough to obtain a good education as well as a degree to prove it. After graduation, however, he refused to tow the party line that insisted on his finding a job and becoming “successful.” Instead of seeking material wealth, he donated the contents of his savings account to charity and disappeared. In the eyes of society, he became the definition of unsuccessful.
After wandering through the country for some time, Christopher found himself in the Alaskan wilderness, living in an abandoned bus and eating off the land. In a style similar to that of Thoreau, he was learning to live deliberately. He no longer had the luxury of grocery stores or gas stations, and every action had to be intentional and well-planned. His solitude prohibited him from blaming anyone for his successes or failures…all responsibility fell on him and him alone.
It is tempting to view the life of Christopher McCandless as an example, one that we should seek to imitate. Society has much to offer, but if we are not careful it can turn us into people that we should not be. Many of us are told from a young age that the point of college is to empower you to make money. Money enables you to buy things. If you have more money, you can buy more things. Presumably, when you have more things, you will be a happier person. Christopher refused to buy into this lie, and instead he ran in the opposite direction.
Does this mean that his life is an example? I’m going to argue that it does not. His life is not an example, but that does not mean it cannot be an inspiration. Moving to the wilderness after cutting ties with family and friends is extreme, but it makes a powerful statement that cannot be ignored. Our identities do not rest in the things that we acquire or in the money that we make. The primary goal of education is not to make money, it is form character. To be a “productive” member of society means that we constantly strive to make our world a better place. This can only be accomplished through our relationships, a fact that Christopher only realized when it was too late.
We have the benefit of seeing his story from above, from beginning to end. We see what a life looks like when it is lived alone, and we see where a life as such can lead. When we view this solitary existence in comparison to a life defined by a lie, we find ourselves in an interesting middle ground. Material possessions are not evil in themselves, but they can lead us to a selfishness that rivals reclusiveness. True authentic living requires that we exist in relationship with others, and that we define our lives by those relationships. There are problems in our society, but these problems will not be solved by moving to the wilderness and abandoning those we love.
The story of Christopher McCandless is as inspiring as it is tragic, and we would do a grave injustice by simply dismissing him as an extremist who has nothing to teach us. His actions and their outcome teach us that, while society and wealth can destroy us, the same can be said about solitude. Instead of dismissing “success” or “wealth” as evil, we must learn how to define them responsibly, which involves refusing to be defined by them. We must learn to view our lives in relation to others and seek to strengthen those relationships in ways that acknowledge the intrinsic value of human existence.
