In the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, he explains the long journey of a young adult named Chris McCandless. McCandless was a man who felt the need to live an unconventional and joyful life. Learning from philosophers like Jack London and Henry David Thoreau, he developed his ideas about living his life to a joyful extension. His perception of the meaning of life and ideas about how to find true happiness are easily misunderstood by many. McCandless felt the need to journey on into the Alaskan wilderness and live off of the land with just a bag of rice and a poorly packed backpack. A man named Shaun Callarman stated that he did not find McCandless's journey respectable at all. Poor preparation and a few big mistakes ended up costing McCandless his life, and Shaun Callarman thinks he is "just plain crazy" for even trying. Although there are many things that McCandless could have done better, it is poor judgement of Callarman to call McCandless crazy simply because he didn't understand or agree with his ideals.
McCandless had a reason for everything he did. He wrote a letter to a friend of his explaining why he felt his choice to begin this journey made him happy and McCandless was even encouraging his friend to do the same. In his letter McCandless states, "The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun" (57). McCandless felt that by living with no ties to any one place, person or thing he could find the joy to continue on his long journey. He was also very grateful for the world and nature around him and wanted to be very close to it. McCandless was a passionate person. When he loved something he would live it every day.