Chris McCandless Character Chart

Characterization Notes on Christopher McCandless

(a.k.a. Alex Supertramp)

Chapter and page #	Description/quote from novel	What impression you get about Chris with this character trait or description?
Chapter 1, page 4	“Five feet seven or eight with a wiry build, he claimed to be 24 years old and said he was from South Dakota.  He explained that he wanted a ride as far as the edge of Denali National Park, where he intended to walk deep into the bush and ‘live off the land for a few month.’”	Chris is not physically fit for walking into such a dangerous environment.  He seems a little crazy.
Chapter 1, page 6	“There was just no way talking the guy out of it, He was determined, real hung go. The word that comes to mind is excited. He couldn’t wait to head out there and get started.” Gallien	You get the idea that McCandless was a very stubborn and determined guy. That almost nothing could possibly stand in his way,
Chapter 2, page 14	“McCandless’s remains weighed 67 pounds.	Since he weighed so little it was easy to tell that he died of simple starvation.
Chapter 2, page 12	Chris’s emergency note, “S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. I am alone. This is no joke. In the name of God please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return by this evening. Thank you. Chris McCandless, August?”	This emergency note showed how desperate he became because Chris never asks for help from anybody but himself.
Chapter 3, page 16	“McCandless was a smallish with the hard, stringy physique of an itinerant laborer… exotic blood in his heritage-Greek, maybe, or Chippewa and conveyed a vulnerability that made Westerberg want to take the kid under his wing”	Shows a weaker side of Chris and a more vulnerable one. Shows you that maybe Chris does need help from outsiders more often than he’d like.
Chapter 3 page 17	“Exposed a mouthful of hoary teeth. He was nearsighted and wore steal-rimmed glasses. He looked hungry.	McCandless had bad teeth and wore glasses. You could also tell just be looking at him that he wanted food.
Chapter 4 page 30	“He was wearing long shorts and a really stupid hat, he had a book about plants with him and he was using it to pick up berries.”	Jan Burres describes him in this chapter as his appearance as a hitchhiker. He obviously didn’t care about the clothes he was wearing.
Chapter 4 page 36	“He screams and beats the canoe with his oar, the oar breaks. Alex has one spare oar. He calms himself, if he looses the second oar he is dead”	Alex has a very short temper and sometimes that short temper can almost get him killed.
Chapter 5 page 40	“He always wore shoes without socks; he just couldn’t stand to wear 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.	Chris did not like socks at all. I think socks to him symbolized going with the flow and doing what you were supposed to be doing. Not wearing socks made him feel free.
Chapter 5 page 40	“He was a nice kid and a good worker. Real Dependable.”	Chris is a very hard worker and you can always depend on him
Chapter 6 page 50	“He was polite, friendly, and well groomed.”	Franz describes Chris and u can tell how fond of him he is.
Chapter 6 page 51	“He seemed extremely intelligent, I thought he was too nice a kid to be living by that hot spring with those nudists and drunks and dope smokers.”	Franz again explains how highly he thinks of Chris
Chapter 7 page 62	“McCandless worked hard, doing dirty, tedious jobs that nobody else wanted to tackle.”	Chris was a very hard worker who would do any job even if it meant having to get dirty.
Chapter 7 page	“He was a big eater, Never left food on his plate. Ever”	Gail describes Chris saying how he eats all of his food. This is because he has felt like he was starving so many time’s that he appreciates food and would never throw and leftovers away.
Chapter 10 page 101	“His hair was long and he had a beard. Chris always had short hair and was clean shaven. And the face In this picture was extremely gaunt.”	Chris’s hair grows out and he stops grooming himself. Lets himself go.
Chapter 10 page 99	“Wearing a blue sweatshirt printed with the logo of a Santa Barbara towing company; which when contacted knew nothing about him or how he’d acquired that shirt.”	Chris did not care about fashion and wore whatever clothes he could find for cheap.
Chapter 11 page 107	“He was very to himself. He wasn’t antisocial, he always had friends and everybody liked him.”	Chris would never go out of his way to talk to someone but if you talked to him he could hold a conversation just fine.
Chapter 11 page 107	“He didn’t seem to need toys or friends. He could be alone without being lonely.”	Chris liked to be alone and would never start to miss people. It just wasn’t his “style”.
Chapter 12 page 118	“Chris was good at almost everything he ever tired, which made him supremely overconfident. If you ever tried to talk him out of something he wouldn’t argue, He’d just nod politely and then do exactly what he wanted.”	Chris was very confident and always did what he thought was best.
Chapter 12 page 120	“He didn’t care that it wasn’t a cool thing to do, he made a pole of money.”	He is a hard worker and will do a job even if it is unpopular.
Chapter 13 page 128	“Standing five feet eight inches tall, carine McCandless is the same height as her brother was…, and looks enough like him that people frequently asked if they were twins.”	Chris and his sister closely resemble each other.
Chapter 13 page	“…Chris is energetic and self-assured, a high achiever, quick to state an opinion.”	Chris is an above average student who isn’t afraid to argue his beleifs.
Chapter 16 page 159	“You could tell he came from a nice family, Mostly he talked about his sister. He didn’t get along with his folks to good, I guess.”	Chris acts very polite and you can tell that he loves his sister and misses her very much.
Chapter 16 page 167	“Smoking appears ineffective, Don’t know, looks like a disaster. I now wish I had never shot the moose. One of the greatest Tragedies of my life.”	Chris is in love with nature. When he realizes he is wasting food due to his own arrogance he is very sad.
Chapter 17 page 177	“Not only did McCandless die because he was stupid, the scope of his self-styled adventure was as small as to ring pathetic”	Locals believe that Chris is not as smart as Krakauer lets us think.
Chapter 17 page 179	“It occurs to me, must have been forced to make the belt after growing so thin that his pants wouldn’t stay up without it.”	Chris has become so skinny that his belt can’t keep his pants up.
Chapter 18 page 189	“Happiness, only real when shared.”	Chris says this right before it dies. It shows that he has had an epiphany and realizes that the life of solitude may not be the happiest life.
Chapter  18 page 195	“Day 100, MADE IT, but in weakest condition of my life, death looms as a serious threat. Too weak to walk out, have literally become trapped in the wild.	Chris finally realizes that his actions have consequences and that he will probably never return from his trip into Alaska.

I admire Chris for his courage and noble ideals, I do agree that his death was in vain and if he took time to think of some of the consequences his actions might have he would of changed the way he did things. However Chris was an idealist and lived his life the way he wanted to live it and I admire him for that.