Both Chris McCandless and Jack London left to go into the wilderness to find their true selves.
They both also had serious family issues, with McCandless’ father having a secret other family, and London’s mother attempting to shoot themselves. It is a possibility that through this they learned that humans are unpredictable, and unreliable, and as a result, they preferred to be in solitude for long periods of time, so that they would no longer be subjected to the random whims of other people. The death of both McCandless and London were debated as suicides, as they both took actions that undoubtedly contributed to their own deaths. Since both of these men had overcome such great adversity in the past, they both assumed that they could survive the adversity of Alaska, or Uremia poisoning, respectively. However, on this last challenge, they both underestimated the challenge, and overestimated themselves, and as a result, both of their stories end tragically. Chris looked up to Jack London, due to the fact that they had such similar values and beliefs. Both Chris and Jack traveled often, and neither of them had smooth sailing while they were traveling. Chris had many experiences where he was completely lost, and lacking food and money, while Jack developed scurvy when he was heading towards the Klondike during the gold rush.
Both Jack London and Chris McCandless had unorthodox idols, with examples for Jack London being Alexander the Great and Napoleon, while McCandless looked up to people like Thoreau and London. This shows that both of these menThese facts give a large deal of insight into the minds of Chris McCandless and Jack London. They both had an incredible will, and unrivaled determination. This is shown by the fact that they both jumped head first into challenges, knowing that they were not going to be easy, but they chose to attempt them anyway, due to their relentless vigor.
They both also had large family issues, which most likely has a large deal to do with the reason that they both liked to remove themselves from society for long periods of time. This isn’t to say that the duo didn’t like people as a whole. They both had a select group of people that they talked to and shared things with, such as Chris with his sister, but they both needed time away from even those people. They both felt that there wasn’t a large need for material possessions, and ironically, they both had a natural knack for making money, such as Chris’ Fast Copies, and London’s book sales. Most importantly, they both had a certain arrogance that caused them to overestimate themselves.
This trait was the downfall of both Chris McCandless and Jack London.