McCandless’s story, despite its tragic end, has inspired many copycats since the original publication in Into the Wild. Why might this be?

Chris was a free spirit. He was a counterculture adventurer who escaped the shackles of prescribed society and lived for the moment. Chris ended his relationship with endless consumption and simply went out and experienced people and places for what they really were. Chris was a romantic that spoke to the spirit of transcendentalists like Thoreau and Emerson.