Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, is the story of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless who ventured to Alaska and tried to survive in the wilderness. McCandless grew up in Annandale, Virginia, where he attended school and made excellent grades, rarely earning anything below an A. His father, Walt, worked for NASA for a while before starting own business with Chris's mother, Billie, own home. They worked hard and long hours to make the business work and it finally paid off. The McCandless family was wealthy, but had many emotional problems. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, Chris McCandless donated twenty-four thousand dollars from his savings account to charity, changed his name to Alexander Supertramp, and then disappeared. This book tells the story of his life and travels. Some critics say that Chris McCandless was a truly admirable person. He was a courageous man who followed his dreams. However, given all of his flaws, attitudes, and actions, that's not admirable. McCandless ventured into nature very unprepared and stubborn. He also treated his family and anyone who came close to him emotionally badly. Chris was also too impressionable to the point of admiring authors and the books they wrote and trying to imitate them. He was also very rebellious in his actions and did not seek to change the world or help others. As stated above, some critics believe that Chris McCandless was a truly admirable person. He was a brave man because he actually went out and followed his dreams instead of leaving them as visions he only saw in his sleep. Most people would never do what McCandless did because it's too risky. He did what he wanted and was not… middle of paper… not seen as an admirable person for many reasons. Chris treated his family very poorly and practiced emotional avoidance. His mother took his disappearance as the worst thing and he left no farewell or apology letter to her or anyone else in his family. He hurt the people who loved him dearly. McCandless was also too impressionable in trying to be like the authors who wrote the books he read. If he had been more realistic and seen the results of some of their lives, maybe he wouldn't have tried to copy them. He also failed to follow government rules and was rebellious. This showed how immature Chris was. These flaws possessed by McCandless cannot be considered admirable. Christopher McCandless died happy, but he didn't have to die, thus making him a less than admirable person. Works Cited Krakauer, Jon. In the wild nature. Anchor Books ed. Villard, NY: Random House, 1997. Print.