Characterization of Chris McCandless

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	“I won’t run into anything I can’t deal with on my own.” –Chris McCandless	Chris thinks he is prepared to handle anything and doesn’t want help
Chapter 2, page 12	A peek through a window revealed a Remington rifle, a plastic box of shells, eight or nine paperback books, some torn jeans, cooking utensils, and an expensive backpack.	Chris was interested in a lot of other things beside hiking.
Chapter 3	“There was something arresting about the youngsters eyes. Dark and emotive, they suggested a trace of exotic blood in his heritage greek maybe or Chipew- and conveyed a vulnerability that made Westerburg want to take thr kid under his wing”	This makes me picture Chris not as dirty and scruffy that you would think he would be by now.
Chapter 3, page 21	"I'm going to have to be real careful not to accept any gifts from them[his parents] in the future because they will think they have bought my respect."- Chris McCandless	Chris wants people to earn his respect, not buy it.
Chapter 4, page 28	“He could simply abandon the Datsun and continue his journey on foot. And that’s what he decided to do. Instead of feeling distraught over the events, McCandless felt exhilarated.”	This shows that Chris focuses more on the positive and is very adaptable to his situation.
Chapter 5, page 46 Chapter 5, page 38 Chapter 6, page 52 Chapter 6, page 55	“He was smart. He’d figured out how to paddle a canoe down to Mexico, how to hop freight trains, how to score a bed at inner-city missions. He figured all of that out on his own, and I felt sure he’d figure out Alaska too.” –Jan Burres. When his camera was ruined and McCandless stopped taking photographs, he also stopped keeping a journal, a practice he didn’t resume until he went to Alaska the next year.”  “Not infrequently during their visits, Franz recalls, McCandless’s face would darken with anger and he’d fulminate about his parents or politicians or the endemic idiocy of mainstream American life.” McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well--relieved that he had again evaded the impeding threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it.	Chris knew how to deal with the negatives while living in the wilderness but still found out a lot on his own.  I don’t understand why he does this because even though his camera broke he could still write his feelings and such on paper. Chris wasn’t close with his family except Carine because of what happened in the past. Chris loved being around people but he didn’t want to become attached with a relationship because in his eyes they cause too many problems.