Who is Chris MCCandless - Essay Example

?Who is Chris McCandless Introduction Christopher Johnson McCandless was an itinerant from America who renounced the worldly possessions, took the name of Alexander Supertramp and hiked in the obscured parts of wild Alaska with very insufficient food and equipments to perceive the nature and its wilderness. After almost four months from the date of the initiation of his expedition, his body was recovered from his sleeping bag which weighed only 67 pounds during the time of recovery from Denali National Park and Preserve near the Lake Wentitika. He was presumed to die of starvation. His body was discovered on September 6th 1992 and he was assumed to die on August 1992. Soon after his death in the year, 1993 author John Krakauer published the tragic story of McCandless in that month’s issue of ‘Outside’. Extremely moved by the death, life and philosophy of McCandless, Krakauer conceived the inspirational book, “Into the Wild” in the year 1996. The book narrates McCandless’ expedition. This book further motivated Sean Penn to make a film, in the year 2007 featuring Emile Hirsch as McCandless. Christopher McCandless was the prominent student and an athlete who graduated from the Emory University in the year 1990. Soon after his graduation, Christopher left all his material possession, donated his entire savings of $24,000 to a charity and set off for an awful expedition to Alaska which ended with his death within four months. It’s quite interesting to search the reason for adopting a life of a hermit and fight a reckless battle with the wilderness of nature where he actually wanted to seek solace can be quite quenched after an in-depth reading of Krakauer’s evocative documentation about McCandless’ struggle and life captivated within the pages of his book “Into the Wild”. Relationship and Value of Nature for McCandless Krakauer discovered the relationship of McCandless with the nature. What actually appealed him and what made him so passionate to embrace the death against the battle of wilderness and merciless life of Alaska, is a puzzle. But there are certain pre-occupations regarding the decision of McCandless which can be traced in his past. These reasons actually paved his unification with the nature. Krakauer draws effective influence of W. H. Davies, Thoreau and Tolstoy in McCandless’ life. He renounced all the material aspects of life and tried to seek solace and peace of mind in nature. He tried to ex-communicate himself from all institutionalised forms and this perhaps was guided by an immense pressure on him since his childhood, inflicted by his autocratic father. Despite of wealth and all the material pleasures, Christopher, since his childhood witnessed a very complicated relationship of his parents and since then he inculcated a very strong-will which was reshaped by staunch idealism in his youth. He understood that real happiness in life cannot be drawn from material pleasure and therefore he reverted to the primitive aspect of life falling back into the lap of nature and trying to seek a life of a pantheist thereof. In his author’s note of “Into the Wild”, Krakauer remarked regarding the relationship of McCandless with nature that “He was an extremely intense young man and possessed a streak of stubborn idealism that did not mesh readily with modern existence. Long captivated by the writing of Leo Tolstoy, McCandless particularly admired how the great novelist had forsaken a life of wealth and privilege to wander among the destitute.........When the boy headed off into Alaska bush, he entertained no illusions that he was trekking into a land of milk and honey; peril, adversity and Tolstoyan renunciation were precisely what he was seeking. And that is what he found, in abundance” (Krakauer, “Into the Wild”). Value of Nature in the Life of Man Nature is entwined with man and civilisation like a paradigm that complements and supplements each other. It is very hard to comment on the fact whether man is for nature or the nature is for man. However, man is not inseparable from nature and this is why human beings have fallen back in retrospection and retrieve to seek solace, comfort and consolation from nature. In this regard, the name of a great romantic poet William Wordsworth comes into mind repeatedly, who has devoted his entire career and life seeking unification with nature. Connection of man with nature is a very common idea but communion with nature is an idea that takes the soul and mind surging the journey to a realm different from the comprehension of general mind set. Such was the idea and place of nature in the life of McCandless. Krakauer in his book “Into the Wild” mentions in the first chapter, ‘The Alaska Interior’ that “Livin’ in the bush isn’t no picnic” (Krakauer, “Into the Wild”). Countering and facing the immense ordeal of the nature, McCandless tried to overcome the bridge of communion with nature. He perhaps tried to feel the way the primitive man grew in the lap of nature. The predicament of the ordeal and the consequence faced by McCandless is tragic but his own way to perceive and set the communion with nature take his attempt and life to a different realm altogether. Interaction with nature for the Attainment of Completeness of Humanity Interaction with the nature makes the human life complete. The element of nature cannot be completely subtracted from the life of human beings. The failure to communicate with the bounty, beauty and failure to comprehend the aesthetic appraisal of nature by man are the reasons why civilisation is incessantly harming the nature and natural scheme of things. In the epoch making documentation by Krakauer, that throws light on the struggling testimony by McCandless, he tries to justify the attempt of Christopher in order to save his expeditions from negative reviews, “Some readers admired the boy immensely for his courage and noble ideals; others fulminated that he was a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity- and was undeserving of the considerable media attention he received. My convictions should be apparent soon enough, but I will leave it to the reader to form his or her own opinion of McCandless” (Krakauer, “Into the Wild”). The ability to love and comprehend the nature complete a character in man and only few of us are able to surpass the barrier which divides man and nature. It’s not essentially required to transcend the pre-occupations of reality and sacrifice the life for the sake of solace and love for nature like McCandless but at least a bit of balance and understanding the requirement of nature in human life can lead the civilisation to a better place where the balance with the nature and coherence would be easily attained. Impact of Nature and Attitude of Man towards Nature Man’s unquenchable thirst from nature is the reason why man has brought considerable harm to it. Draining of immense wealth and not thinking about the nature in return has left man on the edge of disaster where he has no other option but to face the adversity of nature. The laws should have been more stringent regarding the human interface with the nature. Excessive urbanisation and industrial growth have brought immeasurable harm to the nature and now the time has come to strike a proper balance between human progress and nature, otherwise mankind will not be able to sustain the fierce effects of nature. Commentary and Conclusion Man and nature are complementary to each other. Harm to one facet can bring the similar effect to another. But human beings are often ignorant about this simple truth which is very disappointing. McCandless is an extreme example who has set a communion with nature sacrificing his own life but a balance to some extent can be drawn and it is the duty of every human being to interact and set a balance with the nature which is an indispensable part in human life. Yet renunciation of the material life to seek meaning in nature is a job that transcends all the civilised barriers and transports man into a realm of divinity. Whether McCandless’ attempt was his hubris, stupidity, callous attitude or a deliberate suicide shall always be under suspicion and supervision. But the sacrifice of McCandless can be seen as a significant protest at a very subtle plane. Overburdened with extreme material pursuit, McCandless tried to seek comfort in nature, the cradle from which man has evolved and he thought it to be a safe and comforting refuge to escape from the pangs of material life. His embracing of death can be felt and perceived by a sensitive person with an ounce of sentimentality like McCandless as a protest against the extreme material life of America that decapitates one from nature, innocence and primitivism. Bibliography Christopher Johnson McCandless Memorial Foundation. “Home”. 2010. Chris’ Purpose. 2011. Krakauer, John. Into the Wild. Anchor, 1997. Read More