In the 2015 version of the book, the author describes that his latest research found the toxic amino acid L-cananavine is present in seeds of the wild pea, which McCandless mistook for wild potato.
LOL, Jon Krakauer just can't let go of his obsession with McCandless being such an extraordinary human being that he could not have died of simple starvation, there had to be a once-in-ten-trillion cause of death, unique in medical literature, to explain his demise.
He has had several quite erroneous theories (Krakauer knows zip about science, and is about as qualified to determine causes of death as he is to design the next Mars self-contained ecosystem). L-Cananavine is potentially harmful, though not toxic, to humans, especially to those with lupus or other autoimmune diseases, and in gigantic quantities, consumed over a long period of time (no studies of such have been done) could possibly impair immune function, T-cell production, and the like. McCandless just wasn't
in the bush long enough to suffer any ill effects from L-cananavine or other components of wild plants in the area, and there is no indication he ate those seeds in large quantities. He did remark that he felt ill and blamed it on the seeds, but he could easily have been suffering indigestion from a completely different cause, like coccidia or giardia.
I don't believe McCandless was a "hero," but he was a not untypical young man of his time. Tens of thousands of young Americans were doing similar (often dangerous) things in the late 80's and early 90's, taking time off between high school and college, or dropping out of school to bum around for awhile, even in foreign countries. A problem with the film, and the book, is that McCandless' quest is not placed in its historical context. In today's
zeitgeist, what he did seems incredible and stupid, while at the time, although it was certainly reckless, it was not that unusual. Young guys (more rarely young women) went "walkabout" to search for meaning, purpose, whatever, or simply to have a brief period of freedom and lack of long-term responsibility before settling down.
And settling down one day was in Chris McCandless's plans. He told Wayne he wanted to get married eventually, but he wanted to travel and see the world first. The film doesn't mention the injury McCandless suffered, which was the likely reason he didn't just walk out, which he could have done (he did have a map, and he knew there was a service road bridge over the Tek downriver from the bus).
Although he wasn't a "hero," many readers identify with his desire to explore the world, meet people and be open to new ideas, if not in quite so risky a manner. His death was partly due to his lack of sufficient planning and preparation, but also in part to sheer bad luck.
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