In the 2013 online article, “The Chris McCandless Obsession Problem”, author Diana Saverin describes the Alaskan wilderness travel phenomenon along with attempting to uncover the ‘McCandless Pilgrims’ “root of motivation. Sparked by the release of both Jon Krakauer’s and Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild”, numerous individuals pack their backpacks and eagerly step into their (sometimes newly-bought) hiking shoes and tramp into the Alaskan Wild to pay homage to their hero Chris McCandless. Filled with personal anecdotes and interviews, Severin’s Outside article takes a new approach Into the Wild commentary by directing attention to the lives McCandless’s story affected indirectly rather than critiquing on McCandless himself. In response to what appears to be a huge amount of troubled McCandless-inspired tramping stories, Saverin provides an unbiased rationale as a attempt to explain why so many are “willing to risk injury, and even death, to..visit the last home of Alaska’s most famous adventure casualty”. Saverin begins her article with anecdote- telling the unfortunate experience of young lovers and adept adventure seekers, Ackerman and Gros.
It was a cold November 16, 1934 and Everett Ruess was in a sticky situation. He was stuck in a snow igloo hastily made 6 days before his hands were poisoned by a rattlesnake’s bite. The rattlesnake that had bitten him had an owner, Frank Dandis, his greedy childhood friend who moved to Escalante, Utah five years before. Six days ago, they were the best of friends, but now they were bitter enemies stuck in an igloo because of a whirlwind snowstorm. Frank Dandis was a farmer who had always dreamed of being a roamer, one who explores nature’s natural beauty as a profession.
The Man Who Lived with Grizzlies “I would never, ever kill a bear in defense of my own life - would not go into a bear’s home and kill a bear.” These were the words of Timothy Treadwell, the main character of the documentary film, Grizzly Man. Directed by Werner Herzog and released on August 12, 2005, Grizzly Man stitches together video footage taken by Treadwell over five years that he spent living among the grizzly bears of Kodiak Island in Alaska to tell a mesmerizing story. Using interviews of people close to Treadwell and Herzog’s narration, the film reveals Treadwell to be not a mentally deranged lunatic, but a passionate, remarkable human being worthy of the audience’s exploration. Grizzly Man effectively translates a cruel punchline
Chris McCandless and Timothy Treadwell both ventured out into Alaska trying to accomplish their own goals. While in Alaska they both lived in the wild. Chris lived on a bus in the Alaskan wilderness living off the land (Krakauer 54). Timothy Treadwell lived in the Alaskan wilderness helping bears (“The Bear Man”). Both of these men enjoyed being in the wilderness, but sadly they both died in Alaska.
Zoe Engel 6-19-23 Mr. Selfridge Period: 2 Stepping Into the Wilderness The work of nonfiction Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer, tells the true story of Chris McCandless, an adventurous young man, who leaves home to travel around the continent eventually setting foot into the Alaskan wilderness on a journey that becomes fatal. Highlighted throughout this work of nonfiction is the true story of McCandless’s life, along with bits of Krakauer’s personal life as it relates to McCandless’s. Each chapter begins with at least one epigraph that shares common themes with the following chapter. The focus in this paper will be on chapter 14, “The Stikine Ice Cap,” in which Krakauer shares his experience climbing the Devil’s Thumb in Alaska, and the second
Chris McCandless’s Rational Exploration: To claim that a young 22 year old boy going into the Alaskan wilderness alone is ignorant, witless, and crazy is inaccurate. This is Chris McCandless. McCandless embarked on a two year long, solo journey to break away from societal exceptions, and discover himself, along with the unknowns of the wild that was recorded in the writings of “Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer. Shaun Callarman, a former police officer and now writer, expressed his disapproval of McCandless’ journey by attesting, “I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his romantic silliness.
Treadwell “love[s] [the bears] with all [his] heart, [he] will protect them, [he] will die for them”(Grizzly Man). This is an enormous mistake that Treadwell makes because the bears cannot love him back. Along with all of Treadwell’s problems with alcohol and drugs, he leaves society in search to find comfort in the bears. On the day of Treadwell’s death, it is recorded that he tells his girlfriend to run away as he fights off the hungry bear (Grizzly Man). At this moment, Treadwell has decided that he can’t be as close, emotionally and physically, to bears as he wanted and the one person that loved him was in danger.
Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, is a non-fiction book based on the real-life story of Christopher McCandless, a young man who leaves his comfortable life behind to live in the wilderness of Alaska. The book is a fascinating exploration of McCandless's motivations and the reasons behind his decision to abandon society and embrace the wilderness. One of the key themes in the book is the tension between the desire for freedom and the need for human connection. Throughout the book, Krakauer explores how McCandless's desire for freedom and independence led him to reject the traditional trappings of society, including money, possessions, and even his own name.
When people isolate themselves from society they develop similar characteristics. In Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Christopher McCandless, the main character graduates as a top student and makes the choice to give away all his money to charity as well as leaving behind his belongings instead of pursuing a career. He then travels out to Alaska, journaling his experience in the wildness and changes his name to Alex. In the movie Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog uses footage shot by Timothy himself to document what inspired him to live with the wild bears in Alaska. One of the bears Treadwell takes care of tragically kills him; his footage gives a stronger look at nature and its harsh realities.
As documented in Grizzly Man, Timothy Treadwell believes himself to be the “guardian of the bears” and goes on an expedition to live like one of them, in hopes to become one of them. In reality, his ways are very radical and unorthodox, such as coming into close contact with bears or touching their feces. A local Native American was interviewed on his opinion of Treadwell’s efforts with the bears and said, “To me, it was the ultimate of disrespecting the bears and what the bear represents…I think he did more damage to the bears… If I look at it from my culture, Timothy Treadwell crossed a boundary.” (Herzog).
Heading into the wilderness to hike may seem like a fun adventure, but what would it be like to stay out there for 35 weeks straight, knowing that some of the most ferocious animals are nearby? In “A Walk in The Woods” by Bill Bryson, Bill examines the dangers and challenges of hiking the Appalachian Trail, which stretches 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine. Along the way, Bryson encounters various obstacles and difficulties that force him to push his limits. Some of the things Bryson encounters range from animals to diseases to dangerous weather conditions. The theme of danger that must be faced to be overcome is presented throughout the book when Bryson and Katz must confront the risks of the Appalachian Trail.
Dear Timothy Treadwell, Society is something that is hard to keep up with. By watching the documentary you filmed, Grizzly Man, I can say that you were beginning to get soaked up in it until you started living with the bears. Your ideas did follow the aims of transcendentalism. Being in the wilderness was where you got your true happiness. Although Herzog focused more on your death than the things you had to do to survive modern society, it did do a great job by expressing the feelings you had towards these bears and nature.
World War One was the first time the world saw what a true war without restraints or mercy causes to the world. Nations didn’t need to have a strong army but a strong ally with whom they can drag down into whatever war they wished to wage upon any nation they had the slightest disagreement to justify the bloodshed and the loss of the basic human nature leaving soldiers with nothing more than memories of the barbaric actions they had implemented into the war just because a country wished to obtain the spoils of war. World War One came as the first war were the mass production of the war machine came into the world making countries able to mobilize more than 5 million armed troops into war not even with the necessity of rationing weapons, ammunition, or uniforms because of the ease nations had on placing all of their production into the war effort thus making it possible for countries to now mobilize such immense number of armed troops into a war.
The Alaskan Bush is one of the hardest places to survive without any assistance, supplies, skills, and little food. Jon Krakauer explains in his biography, Into The Wild, how Christopher McCandless ventured into the Alaskan Bush and ultimately perished due to lack of preparation and hubris. McCandless was an intelligent young man who made a few mistakes but overall Krakauer believed that McCandless was not an ignorant adrenalin junkie who had no respect for the land. Krakauer chose to write this biography because he too had the strong desire to discover and explore as he also ventured into the Alaskan Bush when he was a young man, but he survived unlike McCandless. Krakauer’s argument was convincing because he gives credible evidence that McCandless was not foolish like many critics say he was.
Gary Paulsen: A Look at the Childhood, Achievements, and Literary Analysis of a Wildlife Enthusiast Gary Paulsen 74, was born on May 17th, 1939 in Minneapolis Minnesota, to parents that Paulsen could not tolerate in which made him runaway at the age of fourteen (www.FamousAuthors.org). As a child to drunken parents who fought daily Paulsen learned how to take care of himself at a very young age, at the age of seven Paulsen had learned how to iron and fed himself. Gary is a firm believer in the fact that “things can change, that you are not defined by who or what you did as a child.” -Gary Paulsen (Inspire,”Q & A with Gary Paulsen”).
