Chris McCandless is an admirable person. Others may not agree with me, but that is their opinion. We all have different views of what is admirable. To some people playing sports is admirable. Some think a teacher is admirable. To others parents are admirable. Those are all very admirable things. To me what's admirable is a person who doesn't give up and wants to prove to people that they can do something when the odds are stacked against them. That's admirable because they don't quit, they keep chugging along until they get what they want.

McCandless is admirable because he went on all these journeys by himself without help from other people and was able to survive. Most people wouldn't be able to survive a week in the places where he was. One journey that he went on was when he graduated high school and drove across the country. He drove all the way to the pacific coast and came home two days before he was suppose to leave for college. He lost thirty pounds from the adventure and had gotten lost in the Mojave desert and nearly died of starvation. His sister Carine recalled, "He was so thin. He looked like those paintings of Jesus on the cross"(118). That to me is noble because he clearly wanted to do this and he was able to find his way back home after being lost in the desert. It's admirable because his parents didn't want him doing it, but he didn't listen and went on this trip. Plus, he nearly starved to death too and made it back alive. That makes him look like a hero or super human.

Another thing that makes Chris admirable is how he didn't like being wealthy. Most people who are wealthy aren't embarrassed about it. They embrace it with open arms, but Chris wasn't fond of the idea of being wealthy. His mother Billie acknowledged, "He was embarrassed by all that"(115). He for some reason didn’t want a lot of money. Before he went on his trip to Alaska he gave the rest of his college savings to charity. When he left his car, he even burned the rest of the money he had left and took a picture of it. That is a noble thing to do because he already was tight on money and he was away from home and didn’t have a car anymore. He could’ve used that money to go buy food, or get a hotel room, or get a new car, but he decides to burn it because he doesn’t need it anymore. It shows that he thinks that he can survive without it and doesn’t need it.

I think Chris felt it was unfair that homeless people had to fight for their food and not know when they were going to have their next meal. And he had a nice house, warm clothes, and a meal 3 times a day. Billie agreed that, "Chris didn't understand how people could possibly be allowed to go hungry, especially in this country. He would rave about that kind of thing for hours"(113). Chris wanted homeless people to have the same privileges that he did. So, he would go out and give homeless people meals, let one guy live in the trailer next to his house, and suggest ways for them to improve their lives. This is admirable because Chris would help brighten another person's day instead of enjoying his day of privilege and opportunity. He would give his time to help someone when he didn't have to. That to me is something all people need to follow and admire, which is a person who is selfless. If other people can catch on to this, then I think the world would be a better place. It would be a world without hunger and poverty and everyone would have a house and a bed to sleep in.

Another thing that I think is noble and admirable about Chris is the fact that he couldn’t be talked out of anything by anybody. He didn’t seem to be scared of anything that stood in his way. He was willing to do anything that he set his mind to. For example, when he was 12, he and his family were in Colorado hiking Longs Peak, the highest summit in Rocky Mountain National Park. They hiked up to 13,000 ft, then decided to turn back. Walt recalled, ‘’The route above looked slabby, exposed, dangerous.’’ ‘’I’d had it, OK, but Chris wanted to keep going to the top.’’ Walt "told him no way’’(109). Even at a young age, Chris would not be rattled. If it came into his mind he probably would’ve wanted to climb Mount Everest and go all the way to the top. And I bet if he was alone, he would’ve tried to go all the way to the top. He would not be stopped. When Jim Gallien talked to him and tried to persuade him into not going into Alaska, he tried saying all these things that would scare him. But, it didn’t work at all. ‘’There was no talking the guy out of it. He was determined. Real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited. He couldn’t wait to head out there and get started.’’ This is very admirable because he was so brave and willing to do all of these things and not even second guess it or doubt it. A lot of people wouldn’t even consider the things he did. They would think it was crazy to do those things. I think it’s a good thing to look up to someone like that because they would learn that they can’t be scared all the time. They need to man up and do things out of their comfort zone and grow up a little bit. It would also teach them that they could do anything if they just set there mind to it. But, they have to work to get there.

What do we consider admirable? There are many things in the world that are admirable. But, people don’t always think something deserves being admirable because they think it’s stupid or arrogant or weird. But it isn’t. You have to really understand why someone would do something to make it admirable. To me, I think Chris is admirable because he was so independent. He went on all these journeys by himself and didn’t get much help from anybody. Nobody could get through half of those things all by themselves. Chris was also a very kind person who didn’t like wealth and would rather trade all of it to help someone in need. Most people wouldn’t even think about stopping and giving help to a person who needs it. The last reason why I think Chris McCandless is admirable is because he was so brave. A lot of kids are scared by their own shadow let alone surviving by themselves in the wilderness. But, Chris wasn’t scared. He faced all of these things and ended up winning the battle in most of them. All of these things show he deserves to be considered admirable to people. Because, they couldn’t do those things and thrive. They would see it’s more important to help someone in need than to have all the money in the world and a nice house. These are the reasons why Chris McCandless is admirable and noble. He was selfless and we all would benefit from trying to be a little like him.