He challenged himself by traveling with the least amount of belongings and as little money as possible, burning almost all his money. He had no phone, no map, no agenda, just the will to travel on his own. Some people might say that he is insane or “stupid” for doing this but I truly believe he did all that for his own adventure and happiness. He didn’t like the fact that his parents offered him materialistic things. In chapter 3, Krakauer stated, “...Walt and Billie for expressing their desire to buy him a new car as a graduation present and offering to pay for law school…” (20). Of course, Chris refused this offer and still went into the wild. He kept a journal and took self portraits now and then along his journey.
Chris McCandless went into the wild to find the true meaning of life and happiness and also to find out who he really is. According to Krakauer, “McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large, but rather, to explore the inner country of his own soul” (183). Chris McCandless abandoned his solitary life and most of his possessions to find true happiness and he felt that going into the wild was the way to find it. His purpose of living in the wild is to live with freedom, freedom from his parents mostly, and do whatever he wishes to