|
| In April 1992 Chris McCandless, son of an eminent
scientist from a prestigous neighborhood in Virginia,
hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness
north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later, his decomposed
body was found by a moose hunter. McCandless was an intelligent but misdirected young man searching for meaning and a fuller life. This book attempts to answer the question of why someone with everything to look forward to would leave it all behind for a life on the road. While the study of the personality issues involved in this story was interesting, and the effect this young man had on the people he met along the way was significant, I found it difficult to find anything worth emulating in his value system or lifestyle. I can empathize with his search for purpose and meaning; I think we all share that though few of us go to extremes to find those answers. I can not, however, identify with the key philosophical perspective that drives people like McCandless to seek a life apart from the rest of civilization to find purpose in nature apart from society. Early in the process of reading this book I felt a certain compelling force behind the idea of seeking to find one's true purpose by leaving the trappings of civilization and trying to make it one-on-one with nature (and with God, though God was not part of McCandless's world view). But the more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion that to seek the true human experience apart from other humans is just as artificial and contrived as any "trappings of civilization" that ascethics like McCandless run from. Even from a non-Christian perspective, it is hard to characterize humans as anything but social animals. To truly experience life, then, one should not seek to be alone but rather find a mate and raise a family within a community of other humans. From a Christian perspective, "it was not good for the man to be alone." God made Adam a mate, and together they raised a family. Their children built cities and communed together. In my opinion, the full richness of life that McCandless was seeking can not be found apart from God's purposes. The book is somewhat interesting; more for the psychological insights it offers than anything related to survival skills (which is what I thought it would be about). NOTE: I've been criticized (anonymously in my guestbook) on two points: First, for saying "God was not part of McCandless's world view" and second, for condemning this book because the protagonist differs with my religious point of view. If you're about to fire off an anonymous guestbook comment because you're too chicken to stand behind your own opinions, read on. First, my understanding of McCandless comes only from this book. Someone emailed me and explained that McCandless was actually a strong Chrsitian, but Krakaur (the author) found that repugnant and buried it. If you knew McCandless personally, please don't condemn me for extracting my opinions only from what is said in this book. Second, I'm not condemning the book because of anyone's religious belief. My point in this review was to say that anyone who seeks to understand life by running away from people is, in my opinion, missing his or her first opportunity to understand life. Life is intended to be lived in the community of others. I use my own religious beliefs to lend weight to that argument, but I think the conclusion flows from experience, not just from the Bible. -- Craig 6/20/99 |
Into the Wild