YOU NEED MORE THAN RICE

"He was a big eater. Never left any food on his plate. Never. He was a good cook, too. Sometimes he'd have me over to Wayne's place and fix supper for everybody. Cooked a lot of rice. You'd think he would of got tired of it, but he never did. Said he could live for a month on nothing but twenty-five pounds of rice" (Krakauer 63).

Topic: Travel Advice

Here, the reader can clearly see Alex's strange obsession with rice and how noticeable it was. I picked this quote because it is the title of my blog, so it only seemed appropriate. Everywhere Alex went he brought rice to eat, yet the reader never truly finds out why this is. This quote also shows a lot about the chances of Alex surviving in the wild. He knew the amount of rice he needed to last him for a certain amount of time, yet he still did not bring enough with him when he decided to leave society. It also states that he was a big eater, my immediate thought was "if you are a big eater, why would you try to live where food was not consistently available," however I realized that this factor could have just been a reason for Alex to prove to himself he could live with the bare minimum in life. In my opinion, I feel he would have lasted a lot longer if he had picked a different place to live of off the land. Some travel advice I would share with Alex would be to accommodate to other people's taste buds, we get it, you love rice but that does not mean everybody else wants to eat it consistently. Secondly, Alex, if you planned to go live out in the wilderness, perhaps try packing more than just rice, try the other food categories as well. Lastly, if you are going to live off of the land, I recommend choosing a place that is not as cold as Alaska and has more abundant food options. 

True Gentleman

"It seems that McCandless was drawn to women but remained largely or entirely celibate, as chaste as a monk. Castity and moral purity were qualities McCandless mulled over long and often" (Krakauer 65).

Topic: Inspiration or Fool?

It is discussed that McCandless was seen as a fool by many people after reading this book, however many details are included throughout the book to show Alex's true personality, which indeed shows he was not a fool. This quote shines a light on McCandless' morals and shows a part of who he was morally. He remained chaste and did not use women to get "laid," which sadly to say, is rare in our society. So many men today see women as objects instead of an actual person and use them to satisfy their needs. McCandless was clearly not like most men, he did not give in to temptation and he did not use others for his own needs. Although this quote does not directly show he was an inspiration rather than a fool on his decision to go into the wild, it does show that McCandless was morally a good guy. This excerpt stood out to me because I can relate to this more than others may be able to. I myself have chosen to remain chaste, I have been proudly wearing my purity ring for about a year now. As a high schooler with a long term boyfriend (well ex-boyfriend now), I made the bold decision to not be like everybody else, and to save myself for the person I marry. Like Alex, I have my set of morals that I intend to follow regardless of how much I am tempted to break them. He can and has inspired many with both what he has gone through and the morals he had, and for that he cannot be seen as anything other than a true inspiration,

Family Doesn't Always Mean Blood

"If McCandless felt estranged from his parents and siblings, he found a surrogate family in Westerberg and his employees, most of whom lived in Westerberg's Carthage home" (Krakauer 18).

Topic: The Dynamics of Family.

This quote reveals a lot not only about Alex, but Westerberg as well. It is evident that Alex lacked the loving bond between his parents and siblings but was able to experience this feeling through people he met on his journey. This highlights the idea that family does not have to be blood, it can mean where a person finds love and feels at home. Westerberg and the employees became his family, they formed a closeness through guidance and time spent together allowing a family experience for Alex. The loving attention he did not receive from his blood family, was fortunately gained by the people he met that were not related to him. This quote also shows the type of charitable person Westerberg is. The end of the quote explains that most of the employees lived in Westerberg's home, from this information the reader can imply that he is a good man. He helps people in need and opens up his home to the people that need a place to stay, including Alex. It seems that the two men used the people around them to form bonds in order to fill voids that their early life caused.