This is the only way Chris believed could keep him from failing the way his father had.
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Chris knew he had imperfections, but when somebody else noticed them, he would clam up. Walt remembers, "Chris had so much natural talent, but if you tried to coach him, to polish his skill, to bring out the final ten percent, a wall went up- (Krakauer 111). What Walt did not realize was when anyone wanted to coach or polish Chris' abilities, he failed to see it as help. Chris mistook "polishing- for "perfecting- and "perfecting- meant he was imperfect. Chris did not like the idea of anyone believing he was less than perfect. This principle is stated in many ways throughout McCandless' life. For example, Alex Supertramp never stayed anywhere too long. He gave a wonderful first impression to everyone he spent time with on his long journey, but as soon as any level of intimacy arose between McCandless and his "tramp family-, he would move on as soon as possible, as to avoid revealing Chris' imperfections. When Ronald Franz offered to adopt Alex as his grandson, Chris reflexively dodged the question with, "We'll talk about it when I get back from Alaska, Ron- (Krakauer 55). Chris avoided the intimacy Ron offered therefore, he would never know "Alex- was really Chris; meaning Alex lied to Ron, the devout Christian, and the truth about Chris McCandless' imperfections would never be revealed to Ronald Franz as long as he left.
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Chris devoutly read the books of the individuals he professed to admire. One of which, Jack London, "was a heavy drinker and incorrigible philanderer who beat up his girlfriends for the last two years of his life- (Krakauer 122). Tolstoy was the other who, "despite his famous advocacy of celibacy, had been an enthusiastic sexual adventurer as a young man and went to father at least thirteen children.""(Krakauer 122). The reason Chris is admiring these hypocritical writers is not because of their proclamations made toward the greater good, but because of their hypocrisy, ironically.