And indeed, this is not just a side effect of his quest, but part of its aim-he explicitly wanted to cut his parents out of his life, and his anger at them seems to have been a large part of the source of his need to be always on the move. His risky behavior over this time is, however, deeply selfish, in that it causes pain to all those who love him, and especially his family, who for two years do not even know if he is alive. From what Krakauer learns about him, he seems to have been a deeply compassionate person, and a significant part of his two-year quest was fueled by his sense of injustice at how selfishly and greedily most Americans lived. This passage is emblematic of the problem at the core of McCandless’s story. ‘How is it,’ he wonders aloud as he gazes blankly across Chesapeake Bay, ‘that a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain?’” Into the Wild, 103-104 “Seven weeks after the body of his son turned up in Alaska wrapped in a blue sleeping bag that Billie had sewn for Chris from a kit, Walt studies a sailboat scudding beneath the window of his waterfront townhouse.
#Into the wild book buy full#
He seems to be trying to escape from the responsibilities and bonds of human relationships by going into the wild, alone, with no way to contact the outside world, and by having to focus his full attention on keeping himself alive, he cannot be called on to participate in relationships with those who care most about him. McCandless’s treks are also clearly escapism on some level. The intense focus required to survive such activities means that the mundane problems of daily life cannot intrude, and Krakauer can reach a kind of meditative state.
It becomes clear, here, that it serves as a kind of escapism, for him at least. This passage describes Krakauer’s feelings while climbing the Devils Thumb, and is, essentially, his explanation of the allure of mountain climbing, or of high-risk activities in general. The accumulated clutter of day-to-day existence-the lapses of conscience, the unpaid bills, the bungled opportunities, the dust under the couch, the inescapable prison of your genes-all of it is temporarily forgotten, crowded from your thoughts by an overpowering clarity of purpose and by the seriousness of the task at hand.” Into the Wild, 142-143
“A trancelike state settles over your efforts the climb becomes a clear-eyed dream. He feels this is worth it, however, for the real experience of living completely independently and freely, and his excitement can be seen in the final, terse sentence of his postcard to Westerberg. Instead, this acknowledgment of the risk, and of what is truly at stake, shows that his arrogance and hubris are not as extreme as many imagine-he does not want to die, but he knows very well that he is embarking on a dangerous adventure, and that his margin for error is very slight. The fact that he acknowledges the chance that he might not survive has been used as evidence that his trek was suicidal in intent, but this seems highly unlikely. This passage consists of McCandless’s own words, written on his last postcard to Wayne Westerberg before he goes into the Alaskan wilderness. I now walk into the wild.” Into the Wild, 69 If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again, I want you to know you’re a great man. It might be a very long time before I return South. “Please return all mail I receive to the sender. In allowing himself to forget about the responsibilities one has in any close relationships, he ignores the harm done to those who love him when he risks his safety and his life. In this passage, he is just leaving Ron Franz, who spends the next year or so waiting for his return, living by his tenets, while McCandless ignores the responsibilities and bonds of intimacy by going into the wilderness, where he only has himself to account to. During these two years, McCandless doesn’t contact his sister, with whom he was very close, and while he meets many people and becomes close to a few, he always makes sure to maintain a certain distance. This passage illuminates McCandless’s deep problems with intimacy, which are very central in his ultimately fatal two-year quest for meaning and peace. And now he’d slipped painlessly out of Ron Franz’s life as well." Into the Wild, 55 He’d successfully kept Jan Burres and Wayne Westerberg at arm’s length, flitting out of their lives before anything was expected of him. He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family. "McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well-relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it.
0 kommentar(er)
