A Tipping Point in Chris's Journey that He Calls Life

"Chris's smoldering anger, it turns out, was fueled by a discovery he'd made two summers earlier, during his cross-country wanderings...He called on a number of old family friends who still lived there, and from their answers to his queries, Chris pieced together the facts of his father's previous marriage and subsequent divorce--facts to which he hadn't been privy" (Kraukauer 121).

The Dynamics of Family

In our society today, children are constantly trying to live up to the high expectations of their parents. Our personal happiness and self-worth is based on the appreciation and acceptance of others. Chris McCandless took this social norm and made it his daily routine. His entire life he would get exceptionally high grades, high scores on standardized tests, and was put in accelerated programs for gifted students and if he, didn't then his parents would do everything in their power to make sure he would. These expectations started to tear him apart and eventually led to a point of rebellion and started to eliminate all contact with his parents. The summer he left for good was two summer after he lost respect for his dad as all his mistakes were kept concealed and made him think his childhood was all a lie. His expectations from his parents were based on all of the achievements they have but when he made the shocking discoveries of his father's screw ups in life he made the revelation that his father is a hypocrite to present his life is error-free. Then during his senior year he received a letter from his mother, Billie, where he perceived the meaning to be that he is stupid. After his graduation ceremony, he decided to leave once and for all to escape the hypocritical judgments of his father, his privileged life that he wanted nothing apart of, and now the harsh opinions from his mom.