Dear Editor:

I think it is clear that McCandless was a man of great ability and motivation and it is unfortunate that he had to perish in the way that he did, but nonetheless possessed several faults that led to his downfall. Frustrated by the limited options that life provided for him at the end of his education, he chose not to worry about money, work, or any of the other things that others his age are forced to worry about and set out simply to live, surviving as a vagabond. It is possible to think that his decision to enter the forest without provisions was a sure sign of stupidity or suicidal intent, but one should first examine his motives. There is little doubt that the young man wanted to experience everything he possibly could about the situation, and that included the feeling of isolation and the struggle of surviving in nature. There is, at least in his mind, no point in just superficially experiencing the beauty of nature and going back to camp and grilling cheeseburgers for yourself, then saying that you're in harmony with nature and are a happy person. As he put it, he wanted to "experience life in the most pure of human conditions" and that was what he tried to do. He succeeded, and for several months lived only on the food he collected or killed. This intense need for unique experiences away from the normal realm was one of the things that isolated him from modern society and led to his death. His main faults were his unwillingness to accept authority and his desire to experience achievement on his own terms, as shown by McCandless' lack of interest in money, the law, and his resistance to his parents "buying his affection" with a car. These traits led him to turn away from society, even though he could have been successful there, a move that could be seen as supremely stupid but also as an ultimate adventure, how he saw it.
Another thing that led to McCandless' downfall was the lack of a map or compass with which he might have found a place to cross the river or find help. However, that too would have eliminated the sense of adventure for him, making it feel like he was walking on a paved path and not making his own map. That these factors led to his decline is unfortunate, but at that point McCandless had not had any experience to suggest that death was a real possibility. When he finally did realize that and wrote a note, signing it with his own name and admitting his severe vulnerability rather than using the name that he invented as a way to romanticize himself and his way of life, it was too late and his arrogance was gone.
Nonetheless, it is possible that McCandless experienced more in his life than many people and had a good understanding of how to survive. His previous successes surviving in the natural world, including the trip on the Colorado river and his auto excursions, led him to believe that he could take on anything: the more intense, the better. In Alaska he made several mistakes but was not a complete fool, and one mistake caused his survival to spin out of control. If he had not gotten sick, he would have ended up like so many others that had done what he did and survived.
-Robert Kramer