Ron Franz

I think Ron Franz was portrayed as the father figure Christopher, in his mind, never had.  I think that John Krakauer wanted to show Christopher in a different light, that is why Franz is such a big part of this chapter.  Christopher made a huge impact on Franz; he completely changed his views on the world just in that relatively short time that McCandless spent with him.  I also think that Franz impacted Chris as well, Chris held onto that belt and “read” it often and very intently.  He looked to cherish it just as much as some of his favorite books, which were extremely important to Chris.  McCandless’ death impacted Franz as well; it says in the book that Chris’ death drove him to drinking again.  The last thing to do that was the death of Franz’s family.  That shows how important Chris was to him.  As well as Franz was one of the last people to receive letters from Chris.  Also, the fact that Chris repeatedly came back to see him was a sign of the intimate relationship he had with him.  I think Krakauer put this in his book to defend Chris’ image, showing him as an individual who was capable of loving another person but was just too troubled to do so.