Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Into the Wild (2)
I have 'reviewed' Into the Wild over at Forge & Brew. Will post some more personal thoughts here, plus sum up general comments from last week's meeting in a day or so . . .
Monday, March 9, 2009
Into the Wild (1)
I saw the movie 'Into the Wild' last year some time, upon the recommendation of my brother. I remember thinking how tragic the story was, and so when the book was selected for the reading group, I was interested to see how close the movie was to the actual events. Of course, I knew that there wasn't going to be a happy ending, but I wondered how the author of the book would interpret the course of the events and perhaps shed some light on why Chris McCandless decided to embark on such an adventure. Although it is not entirely clear as to what were McCandless' motivations, I think the book did manage to give some insight into who McCandless was.
One may argue that his behaviour was the result of his upbringing - that the standards and expectations of his parents were what forced him to abandon his former life, to seek a less oppressive alternative. However, I never got that impression. The fact that McCandless was always somewhat of an outsider suggests that he had quite a different (unreal?) expectation of the world and society. It was mentioned several times in the book that he seemed almost naive in how he viewed the world, and I think that this particular trait was his undoing. From my perspective, I think McCandless was in actual fact trying to find himself and he chose to do this by isolating himself from others. I got the impression that he felt that he didn't want or need to live a 'normal' life - to interact with people, to have money or possessions - and could be self-sufficient without these elements of society. And so he embarked on a journey to test this hypothesis. However, this journey of self-exploration only resulted in the realisation that he was not meant to live (and die) alone.
But I think that that most of us go through a similar journey, albeit not to the same extreme. At some point, we question where we fit into society, and who are we as individuals. Sometimes, it is necessary to displace oneself from our own habitat in order to find out who we are - I can say that this was one of the reasons I left Australia. I wanted (needed) to put myself into different situations/enviroments to see how I would react. And by doing so, I learnt more about myself, and my limits, as well as what I wanted from myself and the people around me. Had I stayed in Australia, I may have also discovered this over time, but I do believe that the journey would have taken longer.
I thought it was interesting that the author of the book, Jon Krakauer, had undertaken similar adventures during his younger years. At first, I thought this was a bit egotistical, but after reading of his experiences in the context of McCandless story, I think it helped to give some perspective on McCandless' thought processes. Had McCandless survived his ordeal, I think he would have returned to civilisation and carried on life in a more or less 'normal' way.
A tragic yet thought provoking book, and one that I am sure I will read again, sometime.
One may argue that his behaviour was the result of his upbringing - that the standards and expectations of his parents were what forced him to abandon his former life, to seek a less oppressive alternative. However, I never got that impression. The fact that McCandless was always somewhat of an outsider suggests that he had quite a different (unreal?) expectation of the world and society. It was mentioned several times in the book that he seemed almost naive in how he viewed the world, and I think that this particular trait was his undoing. From my perspective, I think McCandless was in actual fact trying to find himself and he chose to do this by isolating himself from others. I got the impression that he felt that he didn't want or need to live a 'normal' life - to interact with people, to have money or possessions - and could be self-sufficient without these elements of society. And so he embarked on a journey to test this hypothesis. However, this journey of self-exploration only resulted in the realisation that he was not meant to live (and die) alone.
But I think that that most of us go through a similar journey, albeit not to the same extreme. At some point, we question where we fit into society, and who are we as individuals. Sometimes, it is necessary to displace oneself from our own habitat in order to find out who we are - I can say that this was one of the reasons I left Australia. I wanted (needed) to put myself into different situations/enviroments to see how I would react. And by doing so, I learnt more about myself, and my limits, as well as what I wanted from myself and the people around me. Had I stayed in Australia, I may have also discovered this over time, but I do believe that the journey would have taken longer.
I thought it was interesting that the author of the book, Jon Krakauer, had undertaken similar adventures during his younger years. At first, I thought this was a bit egotistical, but after reading of his experiences in the context of McCandless story, I think it helped to give some perspective on McCandless' thought processes. Had McCandless survived his ordeal, I think he would have returned to civilisation and carried on life in a more or less 'normal' way.
A tragic yet thought provoking book, and one that I am sure I will read again, sometime.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)