Literary Analysis Essay on "Into the Wild" and "Wild"

Introduction

The journey towards self-discovery and reinvention has often been a staple for teenagers and young adults, and this often results in either a redefinition of individuals or fixation in a world of fiction and delusion. This is the very message carried by the two authors Jon Krakauer in the book Into the Wild, and Cheryl Strayed in the Wild. These two books hold a variety of similarity, more so based on the desire of the protagonists, Christopher McCandless later Alexander Supertramp, and Cheryl Strayed to redefine their lives. They embark on a journey towards the work of the self, and hence isolate themselves from the reality of the world into yet another reality that exposes them to different experiences, emotions, and environments that gradually cause their transformation. McCandless wishes to re-establish himself away from the non-communist society he and his family live in as well as from the betrayal from his father while Strayed seeks to rejuvenate herself from the loss of her mother, as well as her chemical and self- intoxication. However, their encounters are quite different from each other, and this hence leads to different outcomes. From the minor difference in characters to the expanded attitudes, achievements and paths that these two books take, much difference is achieved than similarity.

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To begin with, is the difference in characters of the two books, with In the Wild having McCandless and Wild having Cheryl Strayed as the protagonist. While these two hold many variations, the most immediate one is their difference in gender, more so considering the nature of the activities, they have to go through. Krauker manages to present the resilience and determination of men through his narration of McCandless, the problems he endures, the sacrifices he makes and his richness in autonomy and independence. McCandless is a graduate from the Amory University, who after realizing the bigamy of his father, as well as experiencing the strained relationship between his parents resorts to living his life exploring the world, and attaching new meaning to his life. He despises the materialistic attitudes of his generation, and that of his family, and hence gives his money to charity, sells his car, burns his money, and takes off on a hitchhiking to Alaska. Krauker narrates of other men who embark on a similar journey, including himself as a determined climber and carpenter away from his father's dream and philosophy of him joining the Harvard school of medicine (102). A comment from the reactions of the death stated "Over the past 15 years, I've run into several McCandless types out in the country" and indeed they were (Krauker, 51). There was Gene Rossellini, the Hippi man who embarked on an anthropologic experiment, John Mallon Waterman the mountain climber and McCann, the photographer. All these cases ended up tragically, and this can be a depiction of the risk-taking tendencies of men or merely a representation of their hasty and irrational decision. Cheryl Stranger, on the other hand, is presented as a woman at the brink of failure from the death of her mother, to the divorce as a result of her infidelity and heroin addiction. She loses her family, her siblings, and terminates a pregnancy she gets from Joe. "The people in my life were like the Band-Aids that had blown away in the desert wind", she said (strayed, 58). The turn of events after her mother's death convinces her that she needs to do something "To be the woman my mother raised" (Strayed, 25). She hence embarks on a hitchhiking to the pacific crest trail and sooner realizes she is the only woman on this hike. The idea of a woman undertaking such a dangerous journey is shocking, but it is only an introduction to the revolution of women as bold, courageous and initiative. However, the determining factor of success is the attitude.

Attitude is aptitude, so the cliche goes. Attitude has been an aspect that has primarily driven the plot of both books. McCandless is a pessimist, while strayed is optimistic, and it is through these two lenses that the two authors of the books achieved originality even while dealing with similar expeditions. For a young man who was born in a family of three, it is peculiar that he was the only who was vastly affected by his father bigamy, while the other moved on with their lives and even succeeded professionally. He also knew that he was embarking on an unpredictable journey, yet he proceeded to sell his belongings and donate his money to the OXFAM charity. While these might act as gestures of his generosity, his a decision of burning his money speaks others. From the time he set his mind to this journey, it seems like he had long pronounced a death sentence on himself due to his lack of preparedness as Gallien observes, "He wasn't carrying anywhere near as much food and gear as you'd expect a guy to be carrying for that kind of trip" (Krakauer, 5). He was literary running away from the people who cared for him, into a life of uncertainty conjured in the fantasy of work for self. His open-mindedness towards life and the one-day-at-a-time approach did not work for him as he could frequently run out of food, or money. His last postcard to Westerberg said, "If this adventure proves fatal and you don't ever hear from me again, I want you to know you're a great man" (Krakauer, 49). In a way, he had already given up hope. Strayed on the other hand had all the issue figured out, and she had been preparing even before she knew she would literary go to search for a new identity. The book The Pacific Crest Trail, Volume 1: California had adequately explained everything in equanimity (Strayed, 39). She had then packed a backpack full of supplies. It was so heavy that she named it monster. She had also made arrangements with a friend to be receiving supplies frequently. Her optimism was primarily attributed to her goal of redefining her life, and hence unlike McCandless, she was running towards a new self, rather than running from an old one. This attitude kept her going, and every time she felt like letting go, she would find a reason to keep moving. The song "take me home, country roads" she frequently sang to scare away bears and other animals was an explicit propagation towards her destination. With these different attitudes, getting to the target was one thing, and achieving the goal was another.

It is apparent that both McCandless and strayed were heading towards a better self and a redefinition of who they were. While both achieved the latter, by McCandless changing his name to Alexander Supertramp, and strayed adopting that name after the divorce shortly before embarking on the journey, and later attain the name Queen of PCT, the real dreams and goals were far from the mere change of name. McCandless was sure able to get away from his corrupted life and family, but all he later achieved was alienation from the people who cared so much about him. Anytime he was able to form a relationship, he would shortly afterwards move with no hope of coming back. He left an impact to many, for instance, Westerberg's mother who was never fond of his workers but once she interacted with McCandless said "I didn't want the night to end" (Krakauer, 48). All he was striving for was hence his selfish interest and not a redefinition of his life. His death was a shock and painful to many. Instead of achieving a new self, all he achieved was self-dismantling. Strayed on the other hand not only achieved a new identity but similarly a new self. She evaluated herself over and over, shun from abusing drugs, and maintained an impressive control of her sexuality while in the hitchhiking. She struggled with the death of her mother, blamed her for dying and not parenting them well, but finally, she was able to forgive her and let her go. While the redefinition was still on the table, the last day of her journey presented her a second chance at marriage and parenting. Hers was a journey towards self-making. All these achievements and failures were primarily dictated by the path taken.

The paths that McCandless and strayed took were both rough, dangerous and brutal, but while Strayed chose a path that would lead to her re-entry into the society, McCandless chose one of solitude. McCandless hence brushed off any relationship or friendship he would form and set off to a place where he would either be walking or sleeping alone. He would previously keep in touch once in a while with his friends and family, but after realizing his destination, shut the world out. It is no wonder that he died in solitude, either from starvation or from food poisoning. Strayed on the other hand was seeking a way of becoming the person she could be, and the one her mother would have wanted her to be. Therefore, instead of the typical America therapy and rehabilitation, she takes the long walk home, to give herself a chance to transform and hence loop back to the world as a better person.

Conclusion

It is an interesting adventure to go through these two well-presented books, and more so due to their interrelatedness. The different traits presented by McCandless and strayed takes one off the book pages right into nature, experiencing the adventure, challenges, breakthroughs and tragedies together. The authors have managed to create a closely-related yet far-fetched non-fiction account, and through the use of different attitudes towards, paths, and achievements in life, have presented the differences in a successful and tragic encounter. It is apparent that indeed societies are fundamental to the survival of human beings, and no one can handle life in solitary.

Works Cited

Krakauer J. Into the wild. 1995. Pp. 1-141

Strayed C. Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. 2012. Pp.1-229.