Is McCandless a Schizophrenic? No

            So a topic that came up during class on Friday was a theory about the possibility of Chris McCandless being a schizophrenic. I find this hard to believe because it is just far-fetched. Even if McCandless has some of the known symptoms of being a schizophrenic, we cannot just jump to the conclusion that he is one. In fact, a vast amount of people in the world have some of these symptoms, which include depression, hostility, anxiety, and the inability to form or keep relationships. This last listed symptom seems to just wipe out the possibility of Chris being a schizophrenic because the book mentions that he kept in touch with his friends. He sent postcards and wrote letters, somewhat frequently. In one of his letters to Burres he says “’greetings from Seattle! I’m a hobo now! That’s right, I’m riding the rails now. What fun, I wish I had jumped the trains earlier…I’ll be in touch (Krakauer 53).’” Most people would not have the guts to blatantly tell someone that he or she is a hobo, which is what McCandles does. He would write about anything at all to keep his friends updated on his progress into the wild. He even deliberately says that he will keep in touch. In fact, if McCandles lived in this age and had a Facebook or twitter, he probably would have kept his friends updated even more frequently. Another known sign of being a schizophrenic is dropping out of activities and life in general. Burres recalls that McCandles “’had a good time when he was around people, a real good time. At the swap meet he’d talk and talk and talk to everybody who came by. He must have met six or seven dozen people in Niland, and he was friendly with every one of them (Krakauer 44).’” In addition to being very sociable with complete strangers, McCandless would play a portable electric organ in front of a crowd. Burres says that “’Alex took it over and entertained everybody all day playing it…he and an amazing voice. He drew quite a crowd (Krakauer 45).’” This act is definitely not something that any old person would take up. Alex enjoyed being around people and used his talent to do so. I have almost no doubt that McCandless was  a perfectly fully functional and normal guy.

quote analysis of Into the WIld

“…he wrote, ‘Can this be the same Alex that set out in July, 1990? Malnutrition and the road have taken their toll on his body. Over 25 pounds lost. But his spirit is soaring (Krakauer 37).”

It seems that McCandless’s ambitious journey into the wild has not been fruitless. Chris McCandless set out for the wild in order to find his true inner self: someone who is not locked up in the safe society inside the walls of a building. He wanted to find something new, and so he set out on his journey to Alaska to live off the nothing but the wilderness. McCandless wanted to test his limits, and though his body took a toll from malnutrition, his spirit was higher than ever before. I personally would consider this a great reward in and of itself. McCandless was living his life to the fullest by seeking thrill and adventure without being so safeguarded by luxuries.

“’He always wore shoes without socks – just plain couldn’t stand to wear socks. But McDonald’s has a rule that employees have to wear appropriate footwear at all times. That means shoes and socks. Chris would comply with the rule, but as soon as his shift was over, bang! – the first thing he’d do is peel those socks off…kind of like a statement, to let us know we didn’t own him, I guess’ (Krakauer 40).”

McCandless is living a new kind of lifestyle, one that includes nothing but pure freedom without being told what to do. His old lifestyle was so heavily based upon orders and rules that he wants to make the most out of his newfound freedom. Though he keeps socks on during work, he takes them off right after as a demonstration of his free will. It may seem like a small thing, but the main idea behind it is it's symbolism. He is the master of his own life, and he does what he wants to do. McCandless has almost completely stripped himself of all attachments to the mainstream way of life, by donating or leaving behind his belongings. He even went as far as to live as a hobo for weeks, and enjoyed it. It is apparent that never before has he experienced true liberty. Some may say that the way he carries himself throughout the journey may be self-degrading (he lives as a hobo!) but I can personally see pride in what he did. He let go of the shackles of the "acceptable way to live" in order to truly live.

goals and progress

            Something that I realized the other day was that having a certain goal makes all of the work needed to achieve that goal much more bearable. A great example of this is me playing the violin and playing the guitar. I personally find that playing the guitar is just more fun while playing the violin seems to me as more work than fun. The reason could be because I am in the school orchestra and practice the violin for a grade, rather than playing to improve for my own enjoyment. If I suddenly started loving playing the violin, I am sure that I would be able to make huge improvements by devoting time for practice out of my own desire. Looking at how long I have played the violin and the progress I have made leaves much to be desired. If I had been more serious about playing the violin with the sole goal of improving for my enjoyment, then all of those years that I have played the violin would have definitely been more efficient. I just started playing the electric guitar today and I absolutely love it. I already have made goals of being able to play certain songs by around when in the future and I actually want to practice scales (the dreaded, painful things teachers make us play) in order to improve. Just today I have already learned most of the song called Sweet Home Alabama (yes, for a boy from New England, I do still enjoy some Southern Rock) and I’m satisfied with the progress I have made in just two days. I expect to be able to play harder songs in the next month or so. This makes me wonder how good I would be at playing the violin if I had put the same effort into it.