It is important to understand that McCandless fled society not because he couldn't get along with others, but because he chose to be alone. Not only did he befriend the octogenarian Ronald Franz, but he convinced the old man to change his ways fundamentally at a time in life when most people have settled down for good. The theme of this chapter is the astonishing ability of Christopher McCandless to win friends and influence people. He withdraws his church membership and resumes drinking. " Franz denounces God for letting his friend die. Eventually, a hitchhiker he tells about "Alex" says, "I hate to tell you this, mister, but your friend is dead. Remarkably, Franz heeds the advice of the 24-year-old McCandless and stays at his abandoned campsite for eight months, waiting for the young man's return. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon."
"Ron, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life.
"The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure," McCandless writes. (His own son died years earlier in a car accident.) McCandless evades this request, telling Franz that they'll discuss it when he returns from Alaska.įrom his next stop, in South Dakota, McCandless writes Franz a long letter in which he details his time on the road and suggests that 80-year-old Franz change his sedentary ways. Franz tells McCandless that he wants to adopt him. Franz buys him a meal at a local steak house, and McCandless stays with him for a day, after which the older man drives him to Grand Junction, Colorado. Franz next hears from his friend "Alex" via a collect call McCandless is back in California. I'm living like this by choice."Īfter a few weeks, Franz drives McCandless to San Diego, where he lives on the streets before leaving for Seattle, jumping trains to get from place to place. Franz tries to convince McCandless to leave the encampment, which he believes is a bad influence, but the young man replies, "You don't need to worry about me.
While hitchhiking into town for food and water, he meets Ronald Franz, a retired army veteran who once had a drinking problem. McCandless sets up camp along the badlands abutting the Salton Sea, not far from a gathering of aging hippies, itinerant and indigent families, nudists, and snowbirds set up in an area they call Oh-My-God Hot Springs.
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