Image Study

This is a photograph of the beautiful Alaskan wilderness–what McCandless was expecting to come to on his Alaskan odyssey. However, he quickly learns that surviving on the bare minimum is not as romantic as he thought it would be, and that nature is harsh and unforgiving.

This picture represents McCandless's liberation from materialism and society. This shot is merely from the film adaptation of the book, as McCandless did not actually burn his social security card. He did, however, burn his money at one point in the novel.

Throughout his childhood, McCandless was embarrassed by his parents' wealth even though they both have known poverty, worked hard to gain what they had, and weren’t flashy about it. He thinks wealth is inherently evil, even though he is a natural salesman and capitalist from early on.

McCandless insists that his parents are too materialistic, and declares that he'll never be as greedy as he believes them to be. He lives by his anti-materialistic principles, giving away all of his life savings to charity, only earning the bare minimum of money that he needs to survive. "Chris was very much of the school that you should own nothing except what you can carry on your back at a dead run" (23).

These images are shots from the movie adaptation of the book, directed by Sean Penn. In each of these pictures, McCandless–played by actor Emile Hirsch–portrays a strong emotion. In some it's sheer joy and jubilation, while in others it's sorrow or anger. The image as a whole represents both McCandless's physical and emotional journey across the North American continent. He set out not only to escape what he views as the twisted ideals of society, but to find out who he really is. With almost no one around to influence his thoughts and emotions, McCandless discovers a strong sense of self and an inner-peace.

While reading the book Doctor Zhivago, McCandless made many scribbled, excited notes in the margins and underlined several passages. Next to a paragraph that read, "And so it turned out that only a life similar to the life of those around us, merging with it without a ripple, is genuine life, and that an unshared happiness is not happiness...And this was most vexing of all," he noted, "HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED" (129).

 

This can be interpreted to mean that upon his return to civilization, McCandless planned to abandon the life of a solitary vagabond, to stop avoiding intimacy, and to reinstate his position as a member of the human community. We will never know for sure. 

One thing's certain, is that McCandless went out into the wilderness to experience the ultimate adventure and to find what he was searching for. He found it both in nature and in his heart. He realized that while these wonderful feelings and experiences will still exist in solitude, they are best shared with a human companion.