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.