Will White

Chris McCandless's distance from his parents in the story gave me the impression that perhaps his parents would have little understanding of him or his journey. Although my impression of Chris didn't change, I found his parents to be insightful, elegant, compassionate, and courageous. Even after losing their son they were able to keep the focus on his life and his story. They had the compassion to sincerely try to understand his motives and they respected his decisions even though his choices ultimately led to his death. Chris's journey was absolutely spiritual and his parents were able to see that, too. His abandonment of the superficial world for an authentic, unfiltrated reality was his symbolic purification and awakening into a higher order. The fierce wilderness that confronted him was also the womb in which all things communed. Attempting to survive out there was his only chance to experience purposefulness and the unadultered essence of truth.