Pain and Compassion

"Seven weeks after the body of his son turned up in Alaska wrapped in a blue sleeping bag that Billie had sewn for Chris from a kit, Walt studies a sailboat scudding beneath the window of his waterfront townhouse. 'How is it,' he wonders aloud as he gazes blankly across Chesapeake Bay, 'that a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain?'" (Krakauer 103).

Topics: The Dynamics of Family

This quote has a lot of irony tied to it. To begin, Chris McCandless said he wanted break all ties with his parents yet I find it interesting he still had and brought his blue sleeping bag that Billie had made for him. I think Chris deep down always wanted to have a good relationship with his family but he could not because he did not want to be part of something so cruel and hurtful for others. The dynamics of his family were far from a traditional happy family although he might have always wished it could be different. The second part of irony I found was that after everything his father has done to his family all Walt was focused on was how his son was so compassionate but somehow made his parents feel terrible. I find it amazing how Chris coming from not the best family environment took life into his own hands and didn't let what was "bound" to happen overtake what he truly wanted, pure happiness.