Chris McCandless was still just a young man when he decided to drastically change his life through the madness of a child. However, little did Chris know at the time how powerful his testimony against his father's authority was, society, or perhaps even his own lifestyle, would be revolutionary not only in Alaska, not even in the Lower 48, but in the whole world. The story of Chris McCandless is a much-discussed debate on the issues of safety and preparedness in the wild, these things forever associated with the boy who was a little too anxious for a death wish. Today Chris is remembered as either a fool or a hero. The fool, a boy who allowed himself to drown in an imaginary world inspired by his readings, dying because he was unaware that he was just an ordinary human being or the hero who set out to become something more. Chris McCandless is considered something of a cult-hero spiritual figure, some call him a disillusioned madman, others call him a great adventurer, and the debate still continues. As Matthew Power calls it in his article, an article in which he tells the story of McCandless, “The debate falls into two camps: Krakauer's visionary seeker, the tragic hero who dared to live the unmediated life he dreamed of and died trying; or, as many Alaskans see him, the unprepared fool, a newbie who had fundamentally misjudged the wilderness he had so desperately wanted to commune with. Like so many stories surrounding the death of Christopher McCandless, both ends of the argument are discussed unfavorably in hopes of helping develop an opinion on the McCandless story. This open-ended question can only be answered openly based on what readers base themselves as understanding the stories covered. As Power did,... at the center of the card... themselves. They tolerate mosquitoes, rain, strenuous walking, rough river crossings and the possibility of bears. The burden that the pilgrims carry on the bus is so heavy, loaded with their frailties, hopes and desires, with their lives that are not entirely satisfying. Well, many of them are young and, in some way, they are lost, just like he was." What makes Chris McCandless such a hero to young people is that he is relatable to them. As Neal Karlinsky writes about Chris McCandless , “McCandless crossed North America determined to live completely free from the trappings of modern society. He was intoxicated by nature and the idea of ​​a great adventure in Alaska: surviving in the forest totally alone. In his last postcard to a friend, he wrote : “Now I Walk in the Wilderness.” Works Cited Krakauer, Jon. In the Wilderness New York: Anchor, 1997. Print.