Compare And Contrast Siddhartha And Into The Wild

Everyone has a different view on life, some cherish and crave the materialistic objects whereas some people focus more on happiness and finding themselves. In the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse and the movie Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer the characters Siddhartha and Chris McCandless differ in the sense of their journeys to enlightenment, but they are also alike because they share similar ideas and values. Chris and Siddhartha meet many friends along their journeys that teach them valuable lessons, but they also take different approaches on their paths. Chris and Siddhartha have a lot in common because of their view on happiness. They both meet a lot of friends during their journey that seem very alike. These friends help Siddhartha and

Chris and Siddhartha are both dead set on their journeys so they end up leaving their friends behind, but never forget the lessons they taught them. Both of them start their journeys by eliminating all materials in order for them to focus completely on the paths they want to take, Chris burns and donates his money and leaves his family behind, Siddhartha also leaves his wealthy family behind. Chris’s main hate is money, not necessarily all materials like Siddhartha. He does keep some of his belongings, just mostly eliminates money. In Siddhartha, the character Govinda plays a large role in Siddhartha’s life, he is his best friend and he is extremely loyal to Siddhartha. “As with benumbed legs, he slowly left the still sleeping town at daybreak, a crouching shadow emerged from the last hut and joined the pilgrim. It was Govinda.”(Siddhartha, pg.12). This quote really exemplifies Govinda’s loyalty to

At the end of each story both characters come to their own conclusions about what makes them happy. Their conclusions are different because they fulfil them separately and it is what makes them personally happy. “Happiness is only real when shared.” (Chris, Into the Wild). Chris comes to the conclusion that he can only be happy when he shares his happiness. Chris realized this too late as he was dying in Alaska. Chris had wanted to be in Alaska so badly, but it wasn’t what he thought. As Chris was dying he remembered all of the people in his life and how they impacted him and made his life better. He realized that he was at his happiest point with all these friends he made. While he was in Alaska, a place he thought would fulfil him he felt isolated and was incapable of survival. “During deep meditation it is possible to dispel time, to see simultaneously all the past, present and future, and then everything is good, everything is perfect, everything is Brahman.” (Siddhartha, pg.116). This quote is Siddhartha talking to Govinda and explaining to him his newfound sense of peace. Siddhartha has become content with his life and has achieved what he was looking for. This is different than Chris’s idea of enlightenment because Siddhartha believes that enlightenment is having a harmonious relationship with the world and with nature. Chris’s sense of enlightenment is towards spending