First of all, Chris appears to have a complex relationship with his natural surroundings. When Chris first starts his adventure, he is a city boy who has only really read about the wilderness in his books. He lacks a good comprehension of nature. A fine example of this would be when he parks in a flood area during a storm. As a result, his car is wrecked and he abandons it. As he continues to travel, he begins to gain a better understanding of his surroundings. Chris receives advice from the people he meets along the way, and they give him supplies he will need for his journey. By the time Chris reaches Alaska, he has a basic understanding of his natural surroundings. He loves the isolation and the beauty of nature, but things eventually become hard and he realizes that he doesn’t know and understand his natural surroundings like he thought he did. Chris becomes trapped by nature and cannot escape its cruel and harsh environment, which eventually leads to his death.
Second, although Chris tries to escape society and its ways, he cannot rid himself of his traditions and culture. Many times during his journey Chris finds himself back in society, and every time he ultimately flees from it. But he cannot truly escape its culture and traditions. No matter where Chris goes his traditions are still going to follow him. A good example of this would be his hitchhiking. He uses his thumb pointed in the air to signal drivers that he wants a ride.
Next, Chris once again has a difficult relationship but this time it’s with family and friends. Chris comes from a family that has its problems, which is one of the reasons he left. Chris seems to think that his whole family is a lie, and it kills him everyday to be a part of it. Chris only saw the dark side of his family, and he didn’t grasp how much they really cared for him. Chris was only able to realize this at the end of his life. On the other hand, Chris seemed to love and respect his friends more than his family. In essence, they become his family. They all offer him a chance to settle down but he decides to move on to Alaska to find himself.
Finally, Chris does not fully understand himself at first but at the end he finally comes to a genuine understanding of who he is and where he belongs. There are a number of reasons why Chris leaves on his quest, but one of the main ones is to discover his identity. He doesn’t know who is he, but he believes he can determine the answer in the wilderness of Alaska. As Chris begins to die from eating a poisonous plant, he finally begins to understand himself and longs to return to his family and friends. Chris eventually concludes that true happiness is only real when shared.
