"McCandless was a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity - and was undeserving of the considerable media attention he received"

This is only a short answer question space. You will have to reflect on your text for this. There are shades of truth to your statement but I think Chris is much more than an arrogant narcissist. He was also an idealist which are in short supply these days. McCandless describes what he is looking for on his odyssey, particularly on the Alaska trip, as “ultimate freedom.” It would seem that this largely represents, to him, freedom from other people’s rules and authority over him. Throughout his whole life he finds authority particularly oppressive, especially when exercised by anyone who he feels only has such power over him for arbitrary reasons. To live completely alone, in a world where the only laws he feels the need to follow are those of nature, is to him ultimate freedom.