Chris McCandless found his father, Walt, to be a materialistic, controlling, and deceitful man. Chris put up with his father through college and then decided to break away, rejecting his father's values, getting out from under his control, and seeking an alternative way of life. He gave an inheritance he received to Oxfam, abandoned his car, burned his money, and hit the road by himself, taking along books by countercultural writers like Tolstoy, Thoreau, and Jack London for companionship.

Chris's adult life, for the few years he lived past college, was profoundly shaped in reaction to and rebellion against his father. He wanted to experience a completely different way of life, one he considered more authentic. He worked with his hands, spent much time in nature, and owned as little as possible. He finally went into the wilds of Alaska, where he lost his life. In Alaska, he was seeking spiritual purity and hoping to rid himself of the last vestiges of materialism.

Many of Walt McCandless’s characteristics influenced Chris, but his materialism and dishonesty seem to have had the greatest influence. Chris was rather disgusted by his parents’ materialism and want for money and things. Chris had a very different philosophy and outlook, preferring the natural world and written word over material possessions. Even more insulting, it seems, was his parents total lack of understanding of Chris’s views on life; nowhere is this more evident than when his parents try to give him a new car; they are quite taken aback when he refuses, showing that they truly don’t understand Chris. To Chris, this action seemed to be proof of their need for control and their oppression of his values. Walt’s dishonesty also played a big role in the way Chris viewed life. Finding out that his father had another family threw Chris into a tailspin. Chris effectively denounces his family from that point on, making a point to give away his savings account and keep his family in the dark about his great adventure. It can be surmised that, yes, Walt was the impetus for Chris taking off into the wild and living his life the way he wanted.