"Please return all mail I receive to the sender. It might be a very long time before I return South. If this adventure proves fatal and you don't even hear from me again, I want you to know you're a great man. I now walk into the wild"(Krakauer 69).
Inspiration or Fool?
Many readers have used the quote above as evidence that his trek into the wild was suicidal in intent, but this seems highly unlikely to me. I believe this acknowledgment of the risk and what is at stake shows that his arrogance and stubbornness was just as extreme as many portrayed it to be. I don't think he wants to die by any means but I do think he knows how dangerous this adventure will be and that the margin for error is very slim. He is willing to take these risks in return for the real experience of living a independent and free life which he's never truly experienced. In an effort to find himself and live his true meaning of life McCandless was willing to leave everything behind and embark on the adventure of his life.
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