Parallel Between Into the Wild and the outside world

During class today we talked a lot about the parallels and contrasts we see in the book. One that really stuck out to me today as we were discussing was the parallel between McCandless giving his real name and social security name while applying for the job at McDonalds, and suicide. We kept talking about this subject as I made more comparisons. One, for instance is how Chris left his car behind, or gave away his car, to the wild and then left and went off. The car was the one thing that Chris took with him when he left on his journey, and then he decided to give it away after it broke down. When someone is about to committ suicide, some consider giving away or leaving behind something that meant a lot to them to a specific person. Others, could take things with them when they take their life, and similarly, Chris took some of his belongings with him after abandoning his car. I could take this a little further and compare it to the tradgedies of the shooting that happened in Omaha yesterday. A nineteen year old boy who was said to be slightly ill-minded opened fire in a shopping mall and killed nine people, including himself. In this situation, he left behind questions for his family and the victim's family and everyone else in the shopping mall at the time. Instead of just committing suicide, he took with him the lives of nine other people. This tragedy his very unfortunate. So, there are comparisons all over the place relating to this book.