While visiting graduate schools this past month, trying to find the perfect fit, I spent my time in the airports, buses and subways reading "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer. I was told by several friends close to me that the movie was amazing and that the young Chris McCandless (the stories protagonist) was a bold, and awe-invoking character. Needless to say, I was interested and decided to read the book first (which I admit, am sometimes way too lazy to do!). So, I began reading this biography of a young man who decides to leave everything and everyone he has ever known to live on his own in the Alaskan wild.
After only a few pages, I began to feel frustrated by this man's actions and could not help but think of him as selfish. Here is a young man who grew up in a well-to-do family, where money was never much of an issue, and who was fortunate to be educated and go to a prestigious university. However, the day after his college graduation he disappears forever from their lives, never writing them a letter or calling to say that he is okay. From experiencing the worrying from my own mother, I can not imagine how is parents felt when he disappeared. However, he does not seem to think twice about his family, instead changes his name and hits the road.
All I could think about while reading his adventure was that this would only happen in the west, never in developing countries where peoples basic needs and rights are not even met. He did not even think about fortunate he was to be born into a family who loved him, who provided more than enough food, and shelter to prevent him from being malnourished or diseased. Instead, he puts himself in situations where he will knowingly starve, become lost or ill. I don't think you would see this in areas of Africa where there are millions of malnourished, diseased and starving children.
I admit that he had some amazing experiences, and I too hope to visit several of the places where he travelled. I am definitely the traveling and global-minded type, yet for very different reasons. His mission was to "find truth" in human nature and he romanticized to the extreme the idea of living in the wild, following the literature of a few famous authors, like Jack London, Tolstoy and Thoreau.
In the bitter end McCandless realizes that true happiness can only be found through human interaction and through sharing with others, an idea that could have been learned without going to such an extreme. It is probably true that no one could have stopped him or prevented him from going on this journey, but I hope that his story does not cause others to do similar "soul-searching" to such an extreme. I believe that people should take the time to discover who they are and understand what they want and their purpose in life. However, Mr. McCandless was not giving back to society in any meaningful way, and instead hurt those who loved and cared about him. Surely there are other ways to find oneself.
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I live in bush Alaska. Okay, I've only been here for about 8.5 months... but that's a long time to be a resident of a village hub, off the road system, enough to know some basics about life in the bush. I have plans to stay for a while, indefinitely. My point is, Into the Wild... he was pretty thoughtless both about the people in his life and the courses of action he took. Going into the wild with as little food as he had?? How UNplanned can you be? No one here is really that dumb - you go out of town camping, you tell someone when you're leaving and when to expect you back. You take enough gas if you're driving, and you take enough food or fishing line or hunting gear to last you for your stay. If you really live out there, you live by the river, and you know what the hell you're doing. And few people do this alone. Okay, I know a few people who have taken trips like this alone, but the one I'm thinking of at least had a satellite phone, and we ALL knew where she was and the trail she was on and when she was coming back, and we all watched the weather. Going it alone out here is not an option.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/kariskoett
"All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else."
-Buddha
Amazing to have your point of view, and from the book I definitely got the feeling that people who actually live in bush Alaska have very similar views to you. He was just so ill prepared and a desperate romantic, which in the end killed him. I just can't understand why he would knowingly go into the wild with no food, no medical supplies or map, leaving his future completely up to nature, for such a long period of time.
Thank you for your comment, and for showing the other side of living in the wild.
Into the Wild was a beautiful film - it was well shot, the acting was superb and the music complemented it well. I can see how someone could really feel inspired by his journey and his story. That being said, he was not smart about how he went about it and his actions were extremely selfish and hurtful to those who loved him most. Regardless of his parents' behavior while he grew up, they didn't deserve to go through that. That was one of my feelings through watching the film, I was taken in by this story, but at the same time I couldn't help but keep thinking how incredibly self-centered he was.
Chris seemed to me to be a very well-educated person, but he was also a hopeless romantic idealist. He was a privileged college student who thought he could solve all of his & the world's problems by going out and being one with the world and that nothing bad could befall him in his spiritual journey. He just seemed to go out on a whim and saw that idealistic whim through to the end. It's tragic that he had to die that way, but what makes it really sad is the fact that just a little bit of smart preparation could have saved his life. He was very smart, but he was still just a stupid kid :).
Yes, I would still like to see the film and see if I get a different sort of feeling about him. I am just surprised that most people I know who have seen the movie have nothing very negative to say about him, simply that he is inspiring. And of course his journey to finding himself is quite a brave adventure and it really is amazing that he lived for so long in bush Alaska (over four months!). I suppose he knew what he was doing more than I thought, as I don't think I would survive even a week with the little knowledge I have right now. So I have to give him credit for that, but still, I can't get past his selfishness and how he took for granted all life had given him. Thanks for the comment!
Yes, he went out there armed with some knowledge on how to procure meat and a book on plants and herbs, as well as a limited food supply. Still, he was very ill-equipped and very selfish.
He had a vision and he went after it. If he had lived through his experience he could have been a very great leader, I think, or if not, at the very least perhaps a good author. He had a great mind and was a very determined little bugger ;). That sort of determination, independence, and willingness to go after your dreams isn't that common these days; most folks are just either too scared or too lazy I think. But anyway... His story is quite an interesting one so I highly encourage viewing the film. The soundtrack is pretty great too, and I'm not even that big on Eddie Vedder :).
Pursuing a vision is one thing. But his vision was skewed in that he thought being alone in this sort of capacity was possible. He seemed to be more of the Romantic, pastoral mindset, the lonely Walt Whitman type, but he was dreaming. His vision was lost the minute he chose to go it alone without proper preparation. Determined, maybe, but I can't see myself idolizing a guy simply for his determination, when he went about following it all the wrong way. Independence does not mean being able to live in the Alaska wild alone. I'm following my dream, too, but I'm not pretending that I can do it entirely by myself.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/kariskoett
"All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else."
-Buddha
I do agree that people need to follow their dreams and stand up for something that they believe in. Many people just choose easy or safer paths instead of going into the darkness alone, so I definitely admire McCandless for that.
However, I agree with what each of you has said, that his vision was unrealistic and idealistic in a way that did not help anyone but himself, and in the end even killed him.
Being idealistic can be a great thing if one puts practical and realistic thought into an issue and then acts on their dreams.