You might like to approach this question by considering
the instances when Chris worked as a law abiding citizen and did nothing to try and defy
societal laws and conventions. Every description of Chris that we are given of his
employers and his work colleagues presents him as being hardworking and diligent, which
is a far cry from "flouting" the laws of the state. He creates no problems and is
praised by many of his bosses and working colleagues for his industrious nature.
Consider, for example, Chapter Seven, when Chris McCandless works for Wayne
Westerberg:
During those four weeks in Carthage, McCandless
worked hard, doing dirty, tedious jobs that nobody else wanted to tackle: mucking out
warehouses, exterminating vermin, painting, scything
weeds.
Again, in Chapter
Five, there is nothing unconventional about Chris's actions at this stage of his
odyssey. Note how he is described as he works in
McDonald's:
At the time he wrote these words, he was holding
down a full-time job, flipping Quarter Pounders at a McDonald's on the main drag,
commuting to work on a bicycle. Outwardly, he was living a surprisingly conventional
existence, even going so far as to open a savings accounts at a local
bank.
Clearly, holding down a
full-time job and also opening a savings account would be a great example of how Chris,
at this stage of his journeying, did nothing to "flout the laws of the state," as
Thoreau's essay implores his followers to do.
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