Into the Wild
details the account of Chris McCandless, a college graduate who donated his
entire savings to Oxfam, burned the remains of his cash, and took to
hitchhiking around the States before he was found dead in Alaska. For two years
after finishing college, McCandless tramped around the US, camping,
occasionally picking up odd jobs, and meeting other vagabonds. He never stayed
in one place for more than two months, although there were a few locations he
returned to multiple times. Influenced by Tolstoy and Thoreau, McCandless
adopted an ascetic lifestyle, shunning mainstream US culture and beliefs. He
was drawn to the wilderness, and told everyone he met that he was planning a
grand adventure in the wilds of Alaska. He adopted the name Alexander
Supertramp during his travels, but used both names intermittently. After years
of hitchhiking, McCandless finally made it up to Alaska, and set out on what he
thought was a remote trail to live off the land for a few weeks during the
Alaskan spring and summer. Through some mistake or accident, it is thought that
McCandless starved to death, and he was found dead at his camp site by some
other hikers a few weeks later.
John Krakauer is an excellent writer. He is quickly making
it to my list of favorite authors. His pieces are very thorough,
well-researched, and always gripping. He paints pictures with his words, and
though sometimes I could complain that his descriptions are too detailed, that
rarely ever happens. His story about McCandless mostly pieces together his
travels before he went to Alaska. McCandless kept a terse journal and had no
other communication while he was in Alaska, so one can only speculate about
what happened. From interviews and letters, Krakauer retells McCandless’
journeys and his relationships. Krakauer also compares McCandless to other
infamous weirdos/hippies/vagabonds who wandered into Alaska and perished, and
even tells his own story of stupidity on Alaskan mountains. In the book,
Krakauer makes the argument that McCandless was not just another stupid hippie
on a trip to lose American society and find himself in the Alaskan wilds, and
his reasoning is fairly convincing. Again, it is speculation at most, but it is
nice to hear someone give McCandless credit amidst all the accusations of
stupidity.
Actually, I am guilty of calling McCandless stupid,
reckless, and unprepared. I watched the movie before I read the book, and I
thought McCandless was rather callous and selfish in the movie. The book tells
a different story. While the movie focuses on McCandless as he drifts towards
Alaska, the book brings in his relationships. By talking to the people
McCandless met, Krakauer brings in another dimension to the story. I still
think McCandless was rather cold in his relationships – he seemed to view the
wild not quite as a replacement for human relationships, but as a source of
contemplation and understanding that he couldn’t achieve through interactions
with others. The wilderness had a higher priority on his list of relationships
than other people. He seemed most focused on completing his own plans and not
letting others interrupt or deter him. The question is, does that make him cold
and self-centered, or does it make him determined and independent? It’s open
for interpretation. The whole story is open for interpretation as most of it is
speculation. It’s an excellent story, and one of the first I’ve read that I
can’t really compare to the movie because it seems like they are different
stories – or at least different perspectives on the same story.
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