The Mccandless Journey

In the book “Into the Wild”, John Krakauer gives an account of a man, Christopher McCandless, who decides to take a long trek across the west into Alaska, where he eventually perishes. The book “Wild”, written by Cheryl Strayed, follows her journey as a twenty-six year old woman across the Pacific Crest Trail. Throughout both stories, the characters go through intense battles with the world around them and themselves, but the stories are not completely identical. The reasons for these two people’s journeys are varied as is their outlook on life and how their journeys ended overall. Within these stories there are also hidden parallels that link the stories and create a very similar dynamic between the two.

While these two treks do indeed vary

For one, Cheryl planned out her journey prior to embarking on it. She did research and gathered materials to prepare. Chris, although, did not prepare at all and really just stumbled onto the journey when his car stopped working. The only prior thinking he did was the fact that he knew he wanted to go to Alaska. Another difference was their family life. Chris never had a girlfriend, and was very distant from his parents, truly only finding solace in his sister. Cheryl, on the other hand, Was very close to her mother and became devastated when she died, Cheryl was also married before divorcing her husband once her mother died, and her life began to crumble. Another difference was their connections to their previous worlds. Cheryl had continuous connection to those around her and kept in touch to update them on her location, as well as receive food and money from them. Chris, in contrast, never spoke to his friends or family, not even to let them know where he was or if he was alive. Chris and Cheryl also had varying outlooks on life. Chris discarded all material possessions and disassociated from his previous friends and family in order to simplify his life, which he believed would bring him greater happiness. Cheryl, did not find happiness in completely getting rid of her previous life, but believed she needed to clear the air with herself and be more in touch with who she was. Chris believed in a