Mankind has unarguably gained control of the world. Nature has remained only as a weak force in the world, but attainable. Life of Pi focuses on Pi Patel, an Indian teenager who is moving to Canada when the ship sinks, bringing down his family and their zoo. He is then forced to survive almost a year at sea in a lifeboat with a tiger. Into the Wild is a biography of Chris McCandless, who gives up city life to instead explore the country. His body is found in a bus in Alaska when he cannot leave. Jon Krakauer, the author, explains how he got there and the people McCandless meets on the way. Jacob Bronowski’s quote is qualified by man’s usual ability to control his environment, but not his ultimate future. Pi Patel has never known anything about the ocean and the only information he has about …show more content…
His Alaskan adventure is always the top priority in McCandless’ mind, even though he is unprepared. He is forced to accept gifts of food and supplies from Jim Gallien once he arrives at the Stampede Trail, though he maintains that he will be fine without outside help. At first, he succeeds in manipulating his environment to feed him, killing birds and small animals, but by the end of his trial, he cannot find reliable game, going hungry. Then he fails in the worst possible way - he cannot cross the raging July river that replaces April’s frozen beaver ponds. No amount of “man” that he is can force the river to calm down and let him pass. As Bronowski’s man, McCandless is unsuccessful. One month later, he is dead. But compared to many of the area’s residents, McCandless is relatively close to success. He has reason to believe he could survive because of his previous adventures in California and Mexico, eventually exploring most of the Western continental United States. However, when it really matters, McCandless cannot shape the landscape to his