From his next stop, in South Dakota, McCandless writes Franz a long letter in which he details his time on the road and suggests that 80-year-old Franz change his sedentary ways. “The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure,” McCandless writes. “Ron, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life . . . Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon.”

Remarkably, Franz heeds the advice of the 24-year-old McCandless and stays at his abandoned campsite for eight months, waiting for the young man’s return. Eventually, a hitchhiker he tells about “Alex” says, “I hate to tell you this, mister, but your friend is dead. Froze to death up on the tundra. Just read about it . . . ” Franz denounces God for letting his friend die. He withdraws his church membership and resumes drinking.

Analysis

The theme of this chapter is the astonishing ability of Christopher McCandless to win friends and influence people. Not only did he befriend the octogenarian Ronald Franz, but he convinced the old man to change his ways fundamentally at a time in life when most people have settled down for good. It is important to understand that McCandless fled society not because he couldn’t get along with others, but because he chose to be alone.

The fact that McCandless achieved this effect by means of a letter speaks to the power of the written word. Remember that he was inspired to head “into the wild” by books he read (Tolstoy’s, Jack London’s, and others) — and that it is a magazine article which informs the hitchhiker Franz picks up at chapter’s end that McCandless has died, thus inspiring the old man to give up on life.