The Egoist Christopher McCandless “If you want anything in life, reach out and grab it. » (Christopher McCandless) That's exactly what Chris McCandless did. Raised in a wealthy family in Annandale, Virginia, McCandless was a bright young man ready to enter the working world by accepting law school. However, after graduating from college, McCandless embarked on a journey to escape the confines of society and get lost in nature. This journey took him to the West Coast and eventually to the Alaskan border. Hunting a huge Alaskan elk, making new friendships on the road, and hitchhiking to Alaska are snippets of his wilderness adventure. McCandless' journey and willingness to separate himself from society was admirable, but completely abandoning the network without any warning or note was devastating to his family and loved ones. His parents searched and searched for him, hired a private detective and feared the worst for more than two years. McCandless's journey proved fatal, and his body was found by hunters in Alaska. His parents finally discovered him after two long years of searching. This was extremely selfish of McCandless, although he "reached out and grabbed" what he wanted in life, he handled it in the worst way possible, by not telling anyone , which left his family in grief. In Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, Krakauer's negative tone towards McCandless reveals his selfish nature, while Penn's incorporation of McCandless's friendship into the film reveals a neutral McCandless due to his combination of selfishness and 'altruism. Although both men have justified reasons for their beliefs, my own experience with selfish friends makes Krakauer's position more appealing to... middle of paper ...... killing a wild elk also showed his selfishness in the sense that he had no knowledge of meat conservation and this resulted in the wastage of the animal. However, McCandless was also portrayed as a selfless person in that he devoted time and energy to smoothing over a difficult patch in Jan and Wayne's relationship. That he went out of his way to help others instead of looking after himself like he usually did. In my opinion, Christopher McCandless was a selfish man. His actions remind me of a good friend who stopped dating me because he was older and didn't want to be seen with a 6th grader. It was a selfish reason to stop being friends with someone and that's why Jon Krakauer's position resonates with me more than Sean Penn's. Ultimately, McCandless “reached out and grabbed” what he wanted in life, but he did so selfishly..