“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 for dreams. And I lived to tell my tale”(Krakauer155).
Inspiration or Fool?
The quote above illustrates Krakauer's feelings about McCandless and how he believes that McCandless had the common misperception that many young adults have in life. The misperception that if you really want something and go after it, you'll be rewarded. Krakauer went to Alaska because his young minded self felt the need to, without fully assessing the logic or consequences of his decision. He connected actions with an idea that they would solve his problems and uncertainty within his life, when fulfilling his desires, merely did nothing. Chris's decisions at such a young age were out of desire to fix what was not right in his life, like his abusive father and live in a fashion that he dreamed of for years. His passion to live in an uncivilized environment and his disagreement with society overrode the cons behind his decision to leave normality.
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