"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.
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