     McCandless’ incredible use of his various talents and consequent downfall due to his over-confidence is reminiscent of the famous con-artist Frank Abagnale. Abagnale’s parents divorced when he was sixteen and Frank decided to run away. As a teenager, Abagnale was incredibly resourceful and managed to learn how to impersonate an airline pilot, flying over one million miles and “proceeded to scam bank tellers out of millions during the 1960s—the heyday of airliner travel and easy money”. Using his charm and intelligence, Frank constantly talked to airline workers and managed to manipulate everyone into helping him. Throughout McCandless’ wild escapades, it is noted that he had befriended numerous people across America. Almost every person admitted they liked Chris very much and tried to help him by giving him food and shelter. Abagnale concocted numerous scams before his audacity caused him to make mistakes, and led to his arrest on multiple counts of forgery. Fortunately Abagnale was able to turn his life around and work as a Fraud Consultant for the FBI; McCandless could not apply the lessons he learned from his odyssey because of his death. The difference between Abagnale and McCandless is that Frank was ultimately a more logical individual. Unburdened by any stern and uncompromising morals, Abagnale learned to use common sense and conquer his brashness. McCandless, though given many chances, did not learn from his mistakes and paid for it.
    There are many other views on why Chris McCandless died. The subject of whether or not he was prepared for the wilderness is widely debated. It is true that Chris knew what berries to eat when in the wild. Truck driver Gaylord Stucky recalls that Chris wanted to go to the University of Alaska to “study up on what kind of plants to eat”. McCandless had also acquired advice from South Dakotan hunters to smoke his meat to prevent it from spoiling. It may seem that Chris knew what he was doing, but in reality he failed to prepare sufficiently. Stucky also mentioned that the snow would mean that there would no plant or berry growth. Chris would also discover that smoking moose meat did not work, as the meat should have been dried. The biggest criticism that people give McCandless was not carrying a map. Chris was so wrapped up in the idea of searching for lands unknown that he purposely decided not to carry a map. Chris’s fantasies soon caught up with reality when he starved to death, for if he had a map he would have known where to travel in order to save his life. It was not that McCandless was totally unprepared; McCandless occasionally lacked the common sense to survive in the Alaskan wild.
   Other views on Chris’s death are that he either had a death wish or that he died due to moldy seeds that poisoned him. The evidence that supports the “death wish” theory is that McCandless writes to Wayne Westerburg, “If this adventure proves fatal”. This is not great evidence because Chris was merely preparing himself mentally for the harsh reality of Alaska. Chris did indeed survive for a good amount of time, for he lasted from May 1992 to August 1992. McCandless had also written in his diary, “Happiness only real when shared”, heavily implying that he wished to return to society and the people he loved. Krakauer famously reported that McCandless must have eaten moldy seeds that blocked his body from absorbing nutrients. But a later article in Men’s Journal explains that Dr. Thomas Clausen, a professor at the University of Alaska, disagrees. Clausen states that the seeds in question has “no toxins or alkaloids”. Still, the strongest theory explaining Chris McCandless’ death is that he starved to death due to a lack of preparation.
