Stock Kevin

Into The Wild is story about Chris McCandless' experiences after graduating from Emory University. Instead of taking the conventional route after graduating college, Chris left his upper middle class family to "LIVE LIFE".

[Chris was] an American wanderer who adopted the name Alexander Supertramp and hiked into the Alaskan wilderness with little food and equipment, hoping to live a period of solitude.

Notable Quotes:

"I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong... but to feel strong."

"[written into book] Happiness only real when shared."

"Mr. Franz I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one."

-Christopher McCandless

Despite all this jazz by Hollywood, which is extremely convincing while you are watching the movie, I was disappointed to discover that his journey may not have been as remarkable as was presented in the film.

Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian wrote: "I am exposed continually to what I will call the 'McCandless Phenomenon.' People, nearly always young men, come to Alaska to challenge themselves against an unforgiving wilderness landscape where convenience of access and possibility of rescue are practically nonexistent [...] When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn’t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he [had] had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament [...]

This just brings me back to reality. I was really feeling this movie, but this romanticized Hollywood movie probably isn't what it is all cracked up to be and the above passage helped me see that. Still, there's got to be more than life than working that 9 to 5.