Into the Wild

How would you characterize McCandless’s relationships with other people: his parents, his sister, Westerberg?

Activity 15

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Chris kind of had two lives and two identities. There was the Chris that was a product of societal norms. He came from an upper-middle class family, went to the right school, had friends and was destined for a successful life in the matrix of a market economy. Then there was the Chris who defected from the world of materialism, elitism and external validation. Chris becomes his alter ego, Alexander Supertamp. Alexander is different with his social interactions. Where Chris was pensive and aggravated with people at his home, "Alex" was open to new ideas, friendships and deep social connections. Whether it was Wayne Westerberg or the elderly Ronald Franz, Chis let down his guard and opened up. Alex, however, rejects his old life. Chris cannot come to terms with his father's infidelity and, in part, he distances himself from his old identity.