"You have: Youth... Symptoms include recklessness, restlessness, senselessness, and much more..." - WebMD

         "It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it. When I decided to go to Alaska that April, like Chris McCandless, I was a raw youth who mistook passion for insight and acted according to an obscure, gap-ridden logic. I thought climbing the Devils Thumb would fix all that was wrong with my life. In the end, of course, it changed almost nothing. But I came to appreciate that mountains make poor receptacles of dreams. And I lived to tell my tale" (Krakauer 155).

Topic: Travel Advice

         In this part of the book, Krakauer compares his youth to that of McCandless'. Krakauer tells of his experiences, which he lived through, and explains that it didn't have much benefit for him. He seems to equate youth to being prone to illusions, and that ideas like Krakauer and McCandless', among other people, are disillusionments. Krakauer says that when someone is young, they have the mentality of entitlement beyond the amount they really should have. Youth have amazing amounts of creativity. That can lead to goals and dreams, which, when bundled together with illogical steps and solutions towards, may lead to unwanted consequences. Planning carefully, taking precautions and giving time before acting can help prevent unwanted consequences. Of course, anyone can, and should be encouraged to, dream big. There, however, should be some reality check or checks. People may believe that their dreams and goals can help fix their problems but, as it was for Krakauer, that is not always the case.

Greetings from Elsewhere...

"Across the top of the first one, dating from McCandless's initial visit to Carthage, in 1990, he had scrawled "EXEMPT EXEMPT EXEMPT EXEMPT" and given his name as Iris Fucyu. Address: "None of your damn business." Social Security number: "I forget." But on the second form, dated March 30, 1992, two weeks before he left for Alaska, he'd signed his given name: "Chris J. McCandless." And in the blank for Social Security number he'd put down, '228-31-6704' " (Krakauer 101).

Topic: Inspiration or Fool

Here, we see McCandless acting against rules, government, and cultural ideas like structure and convention. He ultimately has to follow the rules in order to get his job prior to leaving for Alaska. This shows that no one can truly be above the law, at least not for long. Even though McCandless is well-educated, the way he acts makes me believe that he is a fool. Rules, government, and cultural ideas exist in order to (respectively): keep people in control, to protect people, and to explain beliefs, conventions and to promote communities and togetherness. Going against this nearly guarantees legal trouble or injury that can go as far as death, just like this situation does. There are a few rules and precautions to follow if traveling alone. These include thoroughly planning the trip, notifying family and/or friends of the plans, and staying in contact. On the contrary, McCandless didn’t really plan his trip, only told his sister what he was going to do, and stopped writing letters.

Less is More ... Right? ... Guys? ...

"His gear seemed exceedingly minimal for the harsh conditions of the interior, which in April still lay buried under the winter snowpack" (Krakauer 5).

Topic : Inspiration or FOOL

        Although McCandless was educated and against having too many possessions, he was ill-prepared for what seemed to be a planned trip and experience. Due to this, I believe that McCandless portrays a fool in this situation. While with McCandless in his truck, Gallien “thought the hitchhiker’s scheme was foolhardy and tried repeatedly to dissuade him” (Krakauer 5). This shows that what seemed like a good idea to Alex/Chris ended up being viewed as foolish by others. Even though McCandless followed his beliefs by not taking a surplus of supplies with him, he did not take the bare minimum for himself considering the duration and the conditions of his “planned” stay in Alaska. If McCandless had done this part of the trip later in the year, he may have survived on the supplies he had with him. We know that McCandless could have left his campsite once his supplies ran out, go to the road and hitchhike to town. He, however, did not and passed away in the Alaskan interior.