Chris McCandless' "misrepresentation" of a college student.

Chris McCandless was a very outgoing and adventurous young adult. He didn't too much depend on the help of his parents, or anyone else for that matter. He displayed his independence through his thrill-seeking, extemporaneous adventures through the wilderness. McCandless seemed to enjoy taking risks, being self-reliant, and surviving on as few supplies as possible.

McCandless would frequently take off to pursue random expeditions without first notifying anyone of his whereabouts. He was very ambitious, and considering his personality traits, this did not seem very erratic for him to do so. Chris worked to save his money up and instead of blowing it on frivolous items, as typical college students would, he bought himself a car and some equipment for his wilderness trips. This behavior is very atypical of a college student, in that he actually saved his money to buy something that was actually a necessity for him. A typical college student would just buy things impulsively and end up purchasing unavailing items that will virtually be of no use to them in the future. Most college students are still trying to grasp the concept of spending a little bit of their money and also saving some of it. When young adults, who are destitute of the "real" world experience and the responsibilty that comes along with it, get a hold of money their first instinct is to blow it on something frivolous. Usually it's something such as alcohol, clothes, video games, cd's, movies, or clubs. So by McCandless actually saving up enough money to buy something beneficial, is already an idiosyncrasy as compared to most other college students.

McCandless' social life was also a peculiar one as compared to other college students of the same age. When all his friends began to join different fraternities and other social organizations, Chris pulled away from that. He began to spend more time alone and gradually lost touch with those he was once close to. Most college students try to join various organizations to become more social and to meet more people. But McCandless did the opposite and remained more reserved and introverted, which shocked his friends. Chris' behavior,to those who had once enjoyed being around him, was impalpable. They couldn't understand why he wasn't just more like them and everyone else in college.

Finally, McCandless met someone with whom he had made some kind of connection with. His name was Wayne Westerberg. Westerberg had met Chris while he was in pursuit of one of his many excursions. McCandless and Westerberg automatically hit it off and became good friends. Sometimes McCandless would send Westerberg a postcard letting him know where he was and that he was doing fine. Other times, Westerberg wouldn't hear from him at all. Chris had even gone back to work for Westerberg for a little while until he had earned enough money to buy new supplies for his next endeavor.

McCandless' aloof behavior and surreptitiousness caused his loved ones, and anyone he had come into contact with, to lack an understanding of who he was and why he did the things he did. No one understood why he would just take off, without a word to anyone, and lack the necessary supplies to be able to adequately fulfill his needs. No one understood what he was seeking or trying to accompolish by exploring nature and living in the wilderness. He did not live up to the stereotypical image of what a college student is expected to be. He decided he wanted to be different and therefore his death was not understood by anyone. The ambiguity of McCandless' death, of whether it was his intent or if it was unexpected, is the pivot to this stories controversy.