Arrogance or Lack of Knowledge?

          After reading Krakauer’s Into the Wild, It seemed to me that Chris McCandless was just a young guy who thought he could adventure into the forest without learning the proper skills of living in such a remote environment. To me, it sounded like McCandless thought humans had a natural understanding of nature, and living with nature wasn't a learned skill, but an inherent ability.  McCandless thought since he was indeed an animal, he could survive with other animals. He thought he didn't need help from family, friends, or society, whether they gave him money, food or clothing, he believed none of it was necessary. He seemed unable to understand that living in the wild required training, so that when he was faced with a life or death situation, he could handle it. After first reading the book, in my opinion I thought McCandless died because he was arrogant. He went into Alaska thinking he was better than everyone else because he had the strength to live without society. With this opinion, McCandless contradicts many humans. Humans generally believe they are above nature, and they feel powerful living outside of nature, in their man-made buildings. In contrast, McCandless feels more powerful than society when he lives with nature, outside of the human community. But ultimately, if he had trained and learned about the dangers of the wild, and used society’s help, he would have lived.

            At least that was my first impression of Chris McCandless. Yet after reading the New York article by Krakauer, I felt that McCandless had a better understanding of his situation than I originally believed. McCandless actually died from eating grass pea, a plant that even the experts did not understand at the time of his expedition. Since learning this information I feel that McCandless had trained himself to live with nature. He knew what plants to eat and how to kill animals for food. He did not die because he didn’t have enough food or money, or because of his arrogant feelings towards society. Society most likely could not have helped McCandless avoid his death, because nobody knew much information about the deathly plant.

Between the two articles, Krakauer’s perspective also has changed about McCandless’s death.  In the book, Into the Wild, Krakauer seemed to think that McCandless died from a toxin found in wild potato seeds, yet later it was determined that he died of a different amino acid in the grass pea plant. While at first it seemed Krauker thought McCandless simply did not do enough research about his surroundings, suddenly Krauker thought McCandless died because of a virtually unknown element in the plant. His death changed from being caused by his personal knowledge, to being caused by people’s knowledge in general. Krakauer’s pursuit to free McCandless’s death from false judgments directly reflects his experiences with nature. Similar to Krakauer, I was easily persuaded by the new information about McCandless’s death.  Although I do not have an intense relationship with nature, I enjoy vacationing at my family’s farm, where wild forests spring up across the ridge, and ponds and rivers spread wide across the terrain. I love adventuring into the unexplored and un-humanized land, and part of me just wanted to believe that McCandless could have survived in the wild if he had not encountered the deathly plant.

            The source of Chris McCandless’s death may seem irrelevant since he died so many years ago, yet there is purpose in finding the true cause. Many people do not understand McCandless’s story, and many have quickly jumped to conclusions about his ideals, just as I did after reading Into the Wild. Yet finding just a little bit more information about his death can dramatically change somebody’s opinion, just like how it changed mine. Whether or not a human of today’s world can live in nature without technology and outside help, is a question that many people ask themselves, but never fully pursue. After McCandless died in the wild, the answer to the question seemed to be no. However the new information lets people understand that he did not die from starvation, but he died from a misunderstood plant. Since it was discovered that McCandless could have survived in the wild without technology, if it weren't for a rare sickness, the question arises once again.