What kind of a person was Chris McCandless?

Krakauer's article was published in Outside magazine in January of 1993, but his fascination with McCandless did not end there. Krakauer identifies with McCandless's attraction to nature and to high-risk activities, and also understands the young man's troubled relationship with his father. Krakauer informs the reader that he has chosen to include some of his personal history along with McCandless's in an attempt to shed light on McCandless's motives. McCandless, like the author, was an intense, stubborn, and idealistic young man. Krakauer admits that many people believe McCandless foolishly threw away his life, but the author admires his drive and accomplishments and believes that if McCandless had not made one or two critical mistakes, he would be alive today.

Krakauer promises to allow the reader to form his or her own opinion of McCandless, but Krakauer's personal convictions are already apparent. He acknowledges the public criticism of McCandless as "a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist" (pg. xi,) yet he believes McCandless was not very different from many idealistic if short-sighted young people. Krakauer's obvious identification with McCandless suggests elements of hero-worship, as if McCandless's actions somehow justify Krakauer's own young adulthood. On the one hand, this sets a compassionate tone for the book. Yet, Krakauer's personal bias for his subject, inextricably linked with Krakauer's romantic view of his own youth, makes it clear that the author's purpose is to defend Chris McCandless from his critics.