Take a Journey... Into the Beauty, Into the Danger.... Into the Wild

There are people in this world, who go looking for adventure. Christopher McCandless was searching for himself.
           - From the Into the Wild trailer, 2007

The book I'm currently reading is Jon Krakauer's 1996 National Bestseller Into the Wild, the story of Christopher McCandless, a young man who adopted Tolstoy's ideals and gave up all his worldly possessions to hitchhike across the country from Georgia to Alaska in order to live his life "in the wild"- living by himself off the land. Unfortunately, in the end, his lack of survival skills are what got him killed; he died in 1992 from a combination of starvation and poison from a potato plant. He had turned twenty-four that February.

At the time of his death, I was only about three-years-old, and so too young to understand, yet even really remember the headlines that most likely graced the pages concerning his death. However, when the film came out in 2007, I was seventeen going on eighteen, had heard about the book, but had no real interest in seeing either film or reading the story.

The reason I bring this up, is because a few weeks ago, my World Literature class had read The Death of Ivan Illyich, and were discussing Tolstoy and his life. We got on a discussion of how Tolstoy spent the majority of his life preaching "simplicity", a "life without materialistic attachments and social hierarchy," yet he never actually lived that way. In truth, Tolstoy lived the majority of his existence the exact opposite of what he preached, and it wasn't until the last year or two of his long life that he finally succeeded in living "simply". One of the girls in class compared- in her presentation on Tolstoy- the writer to Chris McCandless.

One of the major points she brought up, was that McCandless took Tolstoy's views to the extreme- going so far as to burn his identification, cash and leave the money in his bank account to charity and then hike into the Alaskan wilderness. He never returned- at least, not alive.

Surprisingly, I was the only one in the entire class that hadn't read the book or seen the film, so at work that weekend, I picked up the book while I was reshelving, intent on reading it- or at least going to make an honest attempt, if it held my interest. Seeing as I work at a bookstore, I'm allowed to borrow any book I want as long as I bring it back. My boss had told me that, seeing as I read everything I can get my hands on, this would be a book I'd be able to read and most likely enjoy. When I got off work, I walked to the bus stop, pulled out the book, and thumbed through it, studying the maps and reading the quotes at the beginning of each chapter without actually reading it. I didn't start really reading until I got on the bus.

Curling up on the back seat in the back corner of the bus, I settled down for the hour and forty-five minute ride- one hour plus stops every five minutes. I was able to get through the introduction and first chapter on the ride into the bus station, and worked my way into the second chapter on the walk home from the station. When I  reached the end of the second chapter and the words "..... dead for two weeks" I had to stop, because the description of how the hunters had found his body was- while not graphic- gruesome.  It turned my stomach, and I had to put the book away.

When I got home that night, I tried again, before finally giving up and searching for the movie on the Internet. A friend had recommended I look it up on Youtube, yet all I was able to find was the trailer and the ending scene. Interested, I watched the trailer, and then played the final scene. I got as far as him closing his eyes, before I had to stop, due to the fact that it made me sick to my stomach, which ultimately irked me to no end.

I'm an avid reader, and therefore am able to finish any book I pick up, yet this one I was unable to. I left it alone for the better part of two days. Part of the problem was most likely because A) it's true, B) he was only three years older than I at the time of his death- I'm twenty-one now, and he was twenty-four when he died- and C) the fact that he took Tolstoy's ideology to such extremes without preparing or thinking things through caused his death, when he was obviously smart enough to think things through and didn't.

I was able to get through that second chapter, and picked up again at Chapter Three- from Three on, it's been pretty easy to handle, mainly because the majority of the chapters I've read have been about his journey hoofing across the United States.

 The 1996 cover.                            The 2007 cover.

 

  

There are people that can successfully leave society and live "simply"- writer Henry David Thoreau was one of them. He left society behind in 1846, and until his death in 1862, he managed to write Walden's Pond and live pleasantly off the game he hunted and the land he farmed. Yet, Thoreau had also grown up in the wilderness, and so returned to his roots in 1846; it was easy for him to adjust and adapt to the wilderness because he had spent his childhood living in a cabin in the woods.

The transit bus that Christopher McCandless died in

In my honest opinion, I think McCandless had good intentions, yet he wasn't the brightest in regards to his planning. After all, burning your cash and identification, abandoning your car and hoofing across the United States with a backpack and a ten pound bag of rice- while it may seem like a brilliant plan in theory- is not the best plan in reality. He wasn't prepared for living in the wilderness, and it showed when he ate a poisonous potato plant by mistake.

               The Real Christopher McCandless

               Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless

In the end, one little mistake cost McCandless his life. While I don't necessarily agree with what he did or how he thought, I do sympathize with his family as any human being with a heart would over the death of a loved one. He was obviously a brilliant young man with the world at his feet; he could have done great things had he decided to stay within society instead of branching out on his own into Alaska. But he chose to live his life the way he saw fit, and though he was destitute, he was obviously happy with his life. I, nor any one else, can fault him for that happiness.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out whether or not the movie is worth watching. So far, the book is pretty good; I've gotten mixed reviews on the film though. My literature professor says that the film is definately worth watching, while a close friend says that it's relatively okay, but not as good as the book (but that's always a given when they turn books into movies).

I remember when the trailer came out, and the hype surrounding the story of the "hitchhiker who'd died in the Alaskan woods." Though the film was obviously ten years in the making, the majority of my friends in high school saw it as soon as it came out in theaters. I, being one of those who had no interest in the story of some random hitchhiker, had no desire to see the movie.

That was almost four years ago. I guess you could say that my interests have changed and that my horizons have broadened. I prefer to think that my reading list has gotten low.

I like the trailer; the imagery is absolutely beautiful, and coupled with the music, it's by far one of the best trailers I've seen. It almost- almost- makes me want to rent the movie and watch it. But even with that, I'm still on the fence about seeing the film. I will say this, however, there are some wonderful quotes from the trailer, especially the last one:

"If you want something in life, reach out and grab it."

2007 trailer for Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn and starring Emile Hirsch

While I may not agree with what he did or how he did it, at least he had the courage to try-

And that's what counts.