The Key essays

The Key essays Some would envy Chris McCandless for his ability to get away. Some would think him naive for thinking he could survive with minimal equipment. As we see, many have felt as he and tried to live out these fantasies. Each man, who did so, had his reasons. Of course, Chris had his. Chris was running away from the impending threat of human intimacy of friendship, and all the emotional baggage that comes with it. He [was fleeing] the claustrophobic confines of his family (Krakauer 55). That is the confines of expectations. The father-son relationship seems to be the center of Chriss runaway adventure. Chris was close to his father. This can be seen in their family camping trips. According to his friends and family, Chris had always been dreamy and adventurous, but he became even more so as he built a wall between himself and his father. The wall was built after Chris learned of his fathers hidden weakness. Throughout life, we all find people we look up to. Chris found his. Still there remains one thing to be said. Our parents are first and foremost our heroes. We grow up thinking that they can do no wrong and they have no weaknesses. They are our strength (sometimes). They are our key to survival. When that key becomes tarnished and dull it doesnt work the same. We have a hard time relying on it as we do our parents when they make a mistake. As Dr. Sandler put it, It is the issue that often lingers in your mind longer than the emotion or even the memory of the incident (Im not mad... 218). This rule applies throughout society. When I first read Into the Wild, I was stuck on the question how can Chris not forgive his father? I was dumbfounded by the fact that he could forgive a friend, who beat his wife incessantly, but could not forgive his father for a mistake (Im sure) he probably already beat himself up over. Then it hit me. I under...