Into the Wild Resources

The theory I mentioned today in class, that Chris McCandless was actually suffering from schizophrenia, was suggested by Alaska writer Craig Medred. He writes:

As a reporter in Alaska for more than two decades, I was among the first to wallow in the McCandless story, and I confess to early on thinking he was but another of those poor, misguided fools who die in the north with some regularity. I no longer believe that.

Almost every psychiatrist, psychologist or mental-health professional I’ve talked to about “Into the Wild” over the years has noted — at least among those who’ve read the book — that schizophrenia or bipolar disorder was one of the first things that popped into their thoughts.

Filmmaker Ron Lamothe believes that Krakauer’s book is deeply flawed. He writes:

Rather, I feel compelled to discuss a fiction that in my mind does meet the threshold of mattering—the cause of Chris’s death—and to detail how the truth about it was ignored, and then the fiction re-invented, for the sake of reputation, and ultimately, dramatic effect. By doing so it is not my intention to slight Chris McCandless in the least, and I regret that any of these findings might be used insensitively or without proper context by the “anti-McCandless” camp.

Another critic of the McCanless story comes from Matthew Power, who wrote in Men’s Journal:

McCandless clearly believed in self-mythologizing, in the power of storytelling and self-invention. Had he lived, perhaps he would have gained enough perspective to tell the story himself, rather than leaving it for others to tell. As it is, he has entered the realm of myth, and myths are shaped by those who can make use of them.

A final critic is Sherry Simpson, who wrote:

McCandless’s biggest mistake may have been his failure to listen to the right stories. He ignored advice about the scarcity of game, the practicalities of bear protection, the importance of maps, the truths of the land. He was too intent on creating the story of himself.And yet, that story has such power, such meaning for so many people, that they feel drawn — called personally — to travel across the globe and hike the trail all that way to the bus to look for Christopher McCandless or Alexander Supertramp, or themselves.

Outside Magazine has a photo display of some of the photos McCandless took on his journey.