The story of Into the Wild has many parallels with what we have read so far this semester. Chris McCandless in many regards practiced the ideals Henry Thoreau set out for in Walden. He set out to live a life alone, meeting new people along the way, but never building relationships because the “joy in life does not come principally from the presence of human relationships. It comes from the experiences.” However, we see Chris change his mind on this conclusion near the end of his ‘adventure.’
How would you compare this ‘adventure’ had with Thoreau’s ideology from Walden? When Chris finally does get to Alaska, describe the ‘magic bus.’ What did it mean to him? It was here in Alaska where he would fight the climactic battle to “kill the false being within to victoriously conclude spiritual revolution.” Does he accomplish his goal he set out for?
Chris says that it is good to feel strong. We all need to measure ourselves at least once. Do you agree? If so, why? How will you accomplish this? Finally, do you agree with his conclusion at the end of the film when he writes into the book he was reading for all the answers about life, that happiness is only real when shared?
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It seems that Thoreau's concept of Walden was in many ways more realistic than the goal that Chris attempted to reach. Though cut off in a spiritual sense from those around him, Thoreau was, as our trip illustrated, geographically linked to a nearby rail-way line, and there were many houses in the surrounding area that he was perfectly capable of reaching, should the need arise.
The magic bus, unlike Thoreau's cabin, which was crafted by his own hands, and had no need to insulate him from the dangers of starvation or severe temperature loss, proves as both a benediction and a prediction for Chris's path. Showing signs of previous habitation, it is clear that others were on the same track as Chris, with the same goals. However, it is uninhabited when he happens upon it, suggesting the transitory nature of the previous tenant's stay. For Chris it seems a vessel to help him achieve his goal, but it gives only the illusion of insulating him from danger. It could be said Chris is a greater victor than he had ever imagined; he not only kills the false self-- he kills the self in its entirety.
Chris was strong enough, in his adolescence, to realize that he needed to break away, and he felt strong enough to accomplish this. I think people need to feel as if they can face up to the challenges they will need to meet in life, even if they aren't strong enough initially, because most of the time, through trials and faith we can develop this strength. Unfortunately Chris challenged the physical limits of his body, not just the emotional and philosophical strictures of the mind, and those limits are generally immutable. His mind takes the plunge, however, as he is able to realize that perhaps his life would have been better served among people, for all that his isolation had at one point been necessary.
Chris’s journey had some similarities to Thoreau’s ideology in Walden. Both Chris and Thoreau set out to leave society and all the materialism associated with it behind. A major difference, however, between Chris and Thoreau is their attachment to a certain place. Whereas Chris is more of a wanderer who wants to see other places and have various experience, Thoreau is concerned with a having a singular experience in a singular place.
Both Thoreau and Chris develop friendships with the people that come into their lives. For Chris it was the people he came across in his travels. For Thoreau it was the visitors that came to Walden. Although both were not interested in building permanent friendships, the relationships Chris made seem to have a stronger effect on him. I think that it was the experiences he had with these people and the friendships he made, although temporary, which ultimately led to his final realization in the end the happiness is only real when shared.
I agree with Claire that Chris sees the “magic bus” as something that will help him to achieve his goal. For Chris, reaching the “magic bus” symbolized getting closer to reaching this goal of killing “the false being within to victoriously conclude spiritual revolution.” All through his travels he had been so focused on Alaska and he was able to reach is final destination successfully by living his life the way he wanted to. However, in terms of “killing the false being within” I think that Chris accomplished this way before Alaska, when he first decided to give up his former life and leave everything and everyone behind. But it was in Alaska where he finishes his journey of self-discovery and comes to his final realization in the end about happiness.
Chris' adventure is close to Thoreau's two years at Walden, but in a different way. I think Thoreau would be proud that a young adult thought it was necessary to complete this journey to be able to live off of the land and escape from society. Chris ends communication with his family and interacts and communicates only with the people that he meets along his journey.
I am not sure if Chris is able to succeed in his goal to "fight the climatic battle to 'kill the false being within to victoriously conclude spiritual revolution,'" as Eric stated. I mean, after all, he does die in the end. But perhaps he has overcome a more introspective battle?
I like how Claire compared Thoreau's journey to Chris'. . .Thoreau's journey has a definitive ending and goal. Chris wants to reach Alaska, but does not have a particular goal in mind, such as Thoreau's introspective one.
Although the end of Into the Wild is "sad" i think that McCandless ultimately accomplished his goal. He went on his great adventure for the experience of the adventure, not necessarily to find truth or a purpose. He wanted to live differently than his father and mother and especially the trend of his generation. He wanted to live "deliberately" as Thoreau describes it. At first I think he was actually happy in his lonesomeness, joking around with the "apple of his eye". He does not even stay long with his close friends teh "rubber tramps". This shows how determined, almost obsessed he is with seperating himself with society. Although he is on a journey, seemingly searching for adventure, he passes on wisdom which shows that he is not just trying to "find himself" or discover a new aspect of himself. He seems to have it all figured when he speaks to tracy about life and getting what you want. However, by the end his ultimate conclusion is that experiences unshared arent truly real. I think through his reading of thoreau, tolstoy, london, he determined that it is important to be able to depend on yourself, in some cases only yourself, but true happiness comes from what you share with others, and the give-take relationship. Instead Mccandless rejected the love of his family, and even those he met along the way. Mccandless endured somewhat of a reality check when he had his conversation with ron franz. To mccandless this old man had seemingly given up on life, he didnt like new experiences. However, what franz has is life experience and his faith. In no uncertain terms franz tells mccandless hes going down a slippery slope towards lonliness. franz is the opposite of mccandless in the sense that he is looking for companionship and someone to share life with. mccandless shy's away, or rather deters franz from adopting him. In the end I think that the lessons that mccandless learned were very similar to what Thoreau spoke of in his book but mccandless was a risk taker, a true thrill seeker not only in a physical sense but by opening his mind to new ideas. IN the end his journey to expand his view of the world left him too far from removed physucally and mentally to get back.
I believe that McCandless’ goal certainly differs from Thoreau’s, although on the surface it seems that they are the same. They both wish to separate themselves from society and live solely off the land, however I agree with Sean in that McCandless was not really searching for himself. He seemed to have knowledge of his place in the world before setting out on his journey. Rather, I believe that he is determined (to a fault) to prove to himself that he can be completely and totally self-reliant and alone and still be happy. His relentless pursuit of his goal leads him to alienate himself from both his family and all of the people he meets on his trip. It seems that, once he grows close to a person, he needs to leave them in order to convince himself he is strong enough alone. This single-mindedness comes to a devastating halt when he finally comes to the conclusion that happiness is only real when shared.
I also liked the last question Eric asked about testing our strength. I definitely agree it is good to feel strong, and that we as humans motivate ourselves by testing our strength, both physically and mentally. By setting goals, even small ones, we challenge ourselves, thereby testing our strength and endurance. If we remain dedicated to accomplishing our goals, we will find proof of this strength/endurance. This therefore boosts our confidence and gives us hope and reassurance that we can accomplish our goals. I think this entire process of pushing oneself can definitely be applied to McCandless’ adventure. He was able to accomplish his goal of living in the wild for an extended period of time, and although he died before he could tell his own story, he revealed truths about self-reliance and happiness which will not be forgotten.
While Chris has been heeded as a present day Thoreau, they share both differences and likenesses. Thoreau heeded advice on living, and he stayed put, building, planting, fishing, etc. Chris was a wanderer and he never stayed in one place, besides the bus. Whenever he was given advice he usually didn't head it and in many cases, he ended up doing the complete opposite. They both turn their backs on materialism and question the basic values of society.
Chris was, no matter how hard he tried not to be, a very amiable and likable guy. He avoided interpersonal relationships, but yet people still seemed to get attached to him. His connections with nature and the environment were much less personal than Thoreau's because he relied on material things much more. Even thought he ditched his car and burned all his money, he still had to hitchhike to travel and work to survive. The only home that Chris had was the 'magic bus', and obviously he didn't create it. But even though it wasn't made by his hands, he still held it in great value. It was his stay in the bus that made him realize that he couldn't find true happiness through solitude. Unlike Thoreau, he comes the the conclusion that one can't be happy through solely one's one company.
Thoreau remained much more secluded, and instead of going out into the world he let the world come to him. I disagree with Eric because I think that it was Chris who was searching for himself and not Thoreau. Thoreau wasn't very introspective, for his writings portray how he was more interested everything else except himself. He didn't really talk at all about finding his inner being, for he focused on the landscapes and how man interacted with it. Chris definitely is more unsure of who and what he wants to be, for he only realizes that "happiness is only real when shared" right before his death. He was successful in his search, but he didn't live long enough to utilize his new found ideals.
Chris McCandless and Henry David Thoreau had similar goals and ideology. Both had willing chosen a lifestyle that they freely accepted as their own. Their journeys also had an individual purpose. I doubt that when they were wringing down journals and such that they thought any one else was going to read and interpret them. They also made a lot of references to what would be classical works form their own set time periods. I do agree with the end statement on how happiness is only real if it is shared. It seemed as if happiness is something Chris had been searching for his entire life. The family drama and other factors however cut him off from relationships with people entirely. Chris says in the movie “ joy ion life does not come from the presence of human relationships. It comes from the experiences.” In a way that was his way of explaining his journey’s purpose in a way. Relationships with people have failed him in the past so he decided to turn to the wild for comfort. He believed it would be a constant environment in which he could always rely upon. It could always provide him with food, shelter and comfort. The magic bus acted as a symbol for Chris’ ultimate utopia for living in the wild.
I think one similarity between Thoreau and McCandless we haven't touched upon is the antecedent to their journey. Both were running from a problem that they believed could not be fixed by directly combating it, and they instead took a more spiritual path to find the cause of that problem. Thoreau, a staunch societal rebel, didn't believe in paying taxes, and McCandless, on a much more serious note, needed to escape the chaotic and abusive home environment created by societal pressure. To me, the idea of running from problems seems immature and unproductive, but if one considers the issue deeper, the problems the two question really can't be solved in another way. I think McCandless spiritual opifany regarding happiness goes to show that we can't really find these solutions randomly, but must instead search for them. Once found, we must share with others our knowledge, as the quote Eric mentioned would state.
I would disagree and have to say that he doesn't really accomplish the goal of how to overcome his problem though. While his death my symbolize his spiritual evolution and the bus may symbolize his journey, if the before statement about happiness is true, then his revelation is in vein. In real time, the knowledge and insight he gained from his experience will go to waste because he wasn't able to share it with others. However, since a movie was made about it, its possible that others can learn from this.
And as far as being strong and testing yourself, I don't think we as humans need to test ourselves physical as McCandless and Thoreau may have believed. As I said before, they both ran from their problems, so maybe the greater test would have been to stay and face the issues, no matter how insurmountable.
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