Please respond to one of the following questions:
1. What significance, if any, do you attach to the note Chris left in the margins of Dr. Zhivago: “Happiness only real when shared” (189) as he neared the end of his life?
2. On Thursday we watched a large portion of the documentary The Call of the Wild about Ron Lamothe's journey to retrace Chris's own two-year plus odyssey. In what ways did the documentary aid in your understanding, connection, or feelings toward Chris? Or, did you find the documentary distracting? Share your thoughts on the documentary and Ron's journey.
3. Is Into the Wild a man's book? Are there gender issues in the narrative? Look, perhaps, at how women and men are portrayed in the book. What does the book say about men and particularly young men?
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We see Chris throughout this whole book really wheel away from relationships in his life, or at least with ones that would seem the most important in ones life. But after reading this book I think by going into the wild and being so out of touch with society his feelings changed on his journey. I think he thought he would only feel happiness if he were by himself doing what he wanted during the first half of the book. But when he wrote this, "Happiness only real when shared", made me think differently about what he really wanted. I think when he was dying and alone he realized that he was only really happy or he would be happy if he would survive and share it with the people he loved. He was happy in many parts of the book which was when he was with people and he could share his happiness. Chris was especially happy when he had Mr. Westerburg in his life and others like him when he was on his journey. I think Chris went into the wild in search of finding what he wanted out of life, and he realized that at the end happiness is real when it is shared. Krakauer says, " It is tempting to to regard this latter notion as further evidence that Mccdandless long, lonely sabbatical had changed him in some significant way." He also goes on to write that maybe Chris felt that he knew that he shouldn't have run so far from society rather become a member of society.
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ReplyDeleteI think that this quote definitely has a lot of significance. I think that Chris was trying to say that happiness can only really happen when there is someone around us to share it with. I believe that this shows a lot about how he was feeling towards the end of his life and about how maybe he was feeling lonely and second guessing what he had come out there to do. In his other note he even wrote that he was lonely and tired and I don't think he put much thought into how alone he really was going to be until he experienced it. I feel like this entire journey and experience was something that Chris wanted to do, but then he realized near the end that he really was alone and there was no one to share all of these experiences that he had gone through with. I think that in writing that quote, Chris was showing people that someone may be able to be happy on their own, but when that happiness is able to be shared, that's when it's really real.
1. Chris went into his Alaskan adventure with the notion that nature was he needed to feel complete and at peace with himself. After living alone for months he came to realize that life is essentially about the experiences one shares with others. He couldn't fully experience his adventure, because he had no one to experience it with. Although people can be hard to live with sometimes, everyone needs at least one person to share their happiness with in order to be truly happy. It is sad that it took Chris until the days before his death to realize how closely human relationships are tied to happiness. Krakauer suggests that Chris was finally ready to leave behind his life of solidarity upon this realization, if only his health had permitted him to return to civilization. I think it is important to find a balance between solidarity and socializing, without one taking too much presidence over the other. Chris' realization of happiness only being real when shared, was in my opinion what he went in search of on his expedition.
ReplyDelete2. On Thursday we watched a large portion of the documentary The Call of the Wild about Ron Lamothe's journey to retrace Chris's own two-year plus odyssey. In what ways did the documentary aid in your understanding, connection, or feelings toward Chris? Or, did you find the documentary distracting? Share your thoughts on the documentary and Ron's journey.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the documentary helped my understanding of chris and the story he lead. For example, it gave me a better understanding of Chris's environment and the climate/area he faced and was able to admire each and every day he lived on the bus. It also helped me have a better understanding of the little to no luxuries that Chris possessed while living on that bus. There was little reach of the world around Chris. I also valued the man filming the documentary of Chris. I felt that he could connect in the way Chris did, while feeling the frustration of Society while trying to interview Chris's friends. It was very difficult to find anyone who was able, by contract, to be able to communicate with the director/actor of the documentary. I felt as if Chris would have identified with his frustration in that situation. I also believe that the documentary opened up a very intersting point of view, was Chris's shoulder injured, furthering the mystery of Chris's death. The documentary prosented the idea that Chris's death had to do with the "missing" arm in one of Chris's latest photo's. This brings up the curiosity of Chris's actual death, and Got me to really wonder if this thesis had any truth to it.
Over all, the Documentary helped me grab a different viewpoit of Chris's story and helped me grasp every aspect of his story.
1.I think it's very possible that Chris realized at the end of his life that he had found perfection, yet it wasn't satisfying because he was alone. Humans are naturally social creatures and many studies have been done showing that even the most antisocial people need some type of connection with another human being. I think that Chris initially felt like he could survive by himself, and pushed away from society. Yet, this note/quotation is proof that Chris realized that he ultimately was just human and needed love, compassion, and nurturing from others. Obviously, throughout his journey Chris felt the need to stay in contact with those he met along the way through means of postcards. He valued their friendship and the connect he had with these obviously important people. I think it’s sad that it took his death for him to realize this. The quote he leaves us with also makes me wonder if Chris wished he had made amends with his parents and kept in touch with his sister. I feel like regret is a major part of deathbeds and it seems Chris was filled with it on his, yet the question will always remain, who did he regret not sharing his life experience with?
ReplyDeleteI have mixed emotions about The Call of the Wild. On the one hand, I definitely felt closer to Chris in the sense that viewers of the documentary are able to see the actual places and people that Chris encountered on his travels. In a roundabout way, the fact that Ron Lamothe had difficulty speaking to many of those who knew Chris made me gain a better understanding of Mcandless as well. Chris had a disdain for rules and regulations and ironically, the rights to his story are now under such contracts. I do not think Chris would be pleased to know that his great Alaskan journey has now been commoditized into a book and films.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this documentary is really no exception. Yes, Chris’ story struck a chord with Lamothe as they come from both the same generation and backgrounds. However, it is interesting that Lamothe decided to make the documentary around the time that Sean Penn’s picture was filming. Was the buzz that surrounded the story at the time the motivating factor? In any case, I felt like the documentary focused too much on the injuries which Chris may or may not have sustained, as well as the plausible causes of his death. These aspects are not as important as exploring the motives behind Chris’ expedition and what can be taken away from his story.
1. My interpretation of the very insightful message Chris/Alex scrawled in the margins of one of the inspirational books he read is that he finally came to the realization that he had been debating his entire life. From an early age, Chris had sought independence. Whether this was instinct, (which I believe was the case when he was six and found in his neighbor’s candy cabinet at the crack of dawn) or curiosity (which he fueled with his aspirational adventures as he grew older, I will never know the difference; however this boy was after answers for questions he could not even form yet. He wanted to know why he failed to fit into every stereotypical mold he was formed to fit; why he always strove for more while his peers were always satisfied by the norm. Finally, in his last days, his last feelings of consciousness, he gained his answer. Sadly, I feel as though only that extreme could have rewarded him with an answer so clear. It is said that spiritual enlightenment and peace can bring you to a state of clarity that is induced by the effects of starvation; perhaps this revelation is one of the products of his illness.
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe in his proclamation, and I think it truly took this brave and unfortunately fatal attempt at enlightenment for McCandless to achieve his answer. However, I think it drastically contradicts his entire sojourn; but the fact that it took that long means that he was thoroughly dedicated to this question. He was not about to settle for an answer that would merely satisfy his curiosity; he challenged himself to a revelation. I respect him for his passion, his drive for truth, and his relentless morals. His journey is a complicated battle between righteousness and frivolousness, and in the end, he chose the right way. His adventure is remembered not only for its mystery, but also for its lessons in human nature.
I find the message that he left in Dr. Zhivago a very telling one. I believe as many others here have posted, that he learned a valuable lesson about the difference between experiencing life and being happy. He just learned it too late to enjoy the happiness that the realization would bring. People need the company of other people at least part of the time. It fills a universal need and makes it possible for us to share our greatest experiences. Experiences just like the ones that Chris was living at the time. His story is inspirational, but it is also tragic and sad.
ReplyDelete3. Like most of Krakauer’s book, as well as the story, I am on the fence. I feel like the story could be a man’s story but on the other hand I don’t feel as if gender plays a large role. I think it would be just as difficult for a man or for a woman to pick up everything and go on an odyssey like Chris did. I honestly think that gender has nothing to do with that at all. I also think that a woman could have easily made the same mistakes he made, yet a woman could have also come out of it alive (as could he, if he hadn’t been so naive). The only part of the book that I find any gender discrimination is that Krakauer never describes a woman’s adventure in his offshoot chapters. He talks about himself climbing devils thumb and Everett’s adventures in the desert, but never once does he mention a woman. So except for those few tidbits, no, “Into the Wild” is not a mans book.
ReplyDelete2. I do not feel that the film, The Call of the Wild, necessarily helped me better understand Chris. If anything, I felt frustrated with the whole story. My mixed emotions are caused by the fact that this man, Ron, had seemingly grown bored with his own life and tended to hide behind Chris’s life as a way to reconnect with the younger version of himself. I thought he was tragically irresponsible at times, and yes, he did help reveal new things about Sean Penn and Chris, but his motivations for doing so seemed selfish. I have a hard time relating to The Call of the Wild because I feel as though Ron has his own story to tell of his own youth, and no matter how similar it is to Chris’s, to try and walk in Chris’s footsteps, while filming nonetheless, was no more than a cheap attempt to escape a life Ron had become bored with because he “sold out” to society. As he grew older, he lost touch with the adventurous young man he had once been and that is why he is so attached to Chris McCandless. It's a forever preserved, ideal image of himself at that age. I am glad we watched the film, even though all of what I just wrote was rather negative. Bringing in further opinions and new ideas on a subject is usually never a bad thing, especially if they are open for debate and discussion as they are in our class. The film certainly provided enough controversy to do just that.
ReplyDeleteTowards the end of his journey I think Chris felt the true pain of death which caused him to do a lot of different thing than I think he would normally do and think. I’m sure as he was dyeing he realized a lot of things about life which he hadn’t been forced to confront before. When he wrote “Happiness only real when shared” I think he really understood the true gifts in life which most of us over look every day. Each day we take our personal interactions for granted and don’t look around to truly appreciate where we are and who we are with. Chris understood so much more about loneness and the desire to be with people than I think I will ever feel because he knew the true pain of suffering alone. I think the quote in the margins of Dr. Zhivago’s book and the term “lonely” on his notes are significant clues into how his feels may have developed over time.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that gender is a big issue, but to some extent this book might be portrayed differently to men. This might be more appealing to younger men because of Chis’s age and reading about a young person who is doing something adventurous that many might not think of doing. In Chapter 8, Alaska, Krakauer talks about other men people who followed Chris’s footsteps, they were adventurous and naïve just like Chris. If you would ask which gender would this story influence more I would definitely believe that men are more likely to follow McCandless footstep more than women. Men are influenced by other men, while if women read similar stories they might not initiate. However, when it comes to reading the story both genders would enjoy the story.
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