There is a pleasure in the pathless woods;
There is a rapture on the lonely shore;
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more…
– Lord Byron
The very core of human existence is the bonds we share with people. Not just with our family and relatives, but with people in general. This co-existence is what ultimately determines our very own existence or who knows! humans might have gone barbaric and slaughtered their own likes for power, money, and fame. Though such toxicity very much resides in the core of countless human hearts yet it is only noteworthy to point out that the good in humanity far surpasses the evil, at least as of now.
Having said that, often this vicious cycle of living the same, old, cliché life takes a toll on our mental health, especially in the current scenario of being stuck in a never-ending loop of repeating the same job over and over again. We feel like quitting everything- responsibilities, relationships, sometimes even life in general. But hey! We cannot really do much about it, can we?
From a very young age, we have been taught that life’s worth living, no matter how adverse the situation gets. Chin up, THIS TOO SHALL PASS. But what if human challenges to break free from this eternal chain of human existence, threatening to defy the SOCIETY and get wholly merged with nature and only nature for survival?
Well, trust me on this, you need not find the answers to these quests on your own because the Emile Hirsch starer INTO THE WILD movie is the perfect guide to ravel, unravel some of the deepest, darkest unquestioned existential queries. But (with a capital B) before we unfurl these classified, confidential theories, almost needless to mention that MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! With all that been said, time to get the show started.
Into the Wild apprises the story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a man who leaves his seemingly perfect life behind to live simply with no restraints among the wild and in the wilderness. He had everything a sane man could possibly desire: health, wealth, a loving family, a college degree, and an almost certain entry pass to Harvard Law School. You cannot ask for anything else, can you?
Except, of course, you are Chris and, all these materialistic earthly possessions mean nothing to you. To be blatantly honest, even the love and affection showered upon him by his loved ones did not flatter him one bit. Let us put it this way- his parents never shared a healthy, happily married life. In fact, the very foundation on which their whole relationship rested was nothing but deceit and lies.
“The fragility of crystal is not a weakness but a fineness.”
His parents understood that a fine crystal glass had to be cared for or it may get shattered. But when it came to him, they did not seem to know or care that their course of secret action brought the kind of devastation that could cut them. Well, that is a story for a later part.
Moving ahead, he felt that he was living in a sheltered bubble where money meant security, and he hated where he pictured his life going from there. McCandless decided to leave everything behind, giving up his home, family, all possessions, even his very own identifications as a human being. In one of the scenes, we can see him burning dollars (thousands of worth) while in another burnt his identity card, credit card, driving license, everything!
“Strong. You can do anything. You can go anywhere. Money, power is an illusion. It’s up here. You can be here. Me and you.”
He left because he believed that nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a steady, secure and stagnant future. This suffocating sense of security made him resent his life as he believed that the core of a man’s spirit comes from new experiences. If he had stayed on the paved path, Christopher McCandless would have been the same as millions and billions of other socially civilized homo sapiens.
“The core of man’s spirit comes from new experiences.”
But aren’t we all Chris, trying to find our own way and validation for existence? This is exactly the reason why ITW is extremely relatable to anyone unsure about the future, in fact, even the present.
Away from the trappings of the modern world, his idea of zenith is to travel into Alaska, into the wild, to spend time with nature, with the only ‘real’ existence. Thus, began his Great Alaskan Adventure, a journey leading him on a path of self-discovery. With a hope to rediscover and rejuvenate himself, he let go of his previous identity as Christopher McCandless and took the name of Alexander Supertramp.
In the 20 months leading up to his wandering in the wilderness, he would go on to meet some beautiful souls who in, more ways than one, helped him reflect on and heal from his troubled childhood and parents’ sordid and abusive relationship.
“Some people feel like they don’t deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past.”
Ron Franz, Jan, Rainey, Wayne, Kevin, and Tracy are few note-worthy figures who stood out in particular among the countless others he met and resonated with. We can see him having some of the most beautiful conversations that might sound impractical and futile to the like of us.
Finally, after almost two years of long, halting wait, Supertramp arrived at his ultimate destination- a remote area of Denali National Park and Preserve in ALASKA. He sets up a campsite in an abandoned bus which he later names “The Magic Bus.” Thus, began his pursuit for true and real existence, hundreds of miles away from SOCIETY and human civilizations, isolated in the clutches of nothing but flora and fauna. At first, Supertramp is content with the isolation, the beauty and exuberance of nature, and the thrill of living off the land. He used to hunt wild animals with his .22-caliber rifle, read books and wrote a diary as he prepared for himself a new life in the wild. Months later at the abandoned Magic bus, life for McCandless became tougher and less discerning. As his supplies began to run out, he finally realizes that nature can be alluring and ruthless at the same time. Even in his wildest dream, he did not expect to see this side of nature, which he always considered being heavenly and forgiving. He began to realize that even though his parents did not have the most perfect of relationships (which sure had its lows more than highs), the fact that the two loved him selflessly and unconditionally still stood. Barring them, he had the most loving and caring of sister one could ask (She also happened to be the narrator of his entire story in the movie). He deduces that true happiness can only be found when shared with others.
Seeking to return from the wild to his friends and family, he finds that the stream he had crossed during the winter has become wide, deep, and violent due to the thaw. Ironical as it may sound, it was almost impossible to cross it without ‘human intervention.’
Saddened and battered, he returns to his so-called Magic Bus, now as a jailbird who is no longer in control of his fate and can only hope for help from SOCIETY. In a desperate act, Supertramp was forced to gather and eat roots and plants. Unfortunately, in the process, he got confused between two similar, not so similar plants- one being edible while the other downright deadly poisonous and becomes ill as a result. Waiting for his eventual, inevitable death, the Supertramp in him began to pave the way back for the McCandless.
“To call each name by its right name. By its right name.”
Slowly dying, he continues to document his process of self-realization and accepts his fate, as he imagines and wishes to see his family for one last time.
He writes one final, culminating farewell to the world and crawls into his sleeping bag, bidding adieu to his beloved nature and society that he once deeply resented. Two weeks later, his body was found by moose hunters. Shortly afterward, his sister Carine returns his ashes by airplane from Alaska to Virginia in her backpack.
The impossibility of total self-reliance, the ruthlessness of nature confounding human intentions and, the difficulty of escaping familial influence are the lessons that this 148-minute-long adventure/ drama teaches us.
Original photograph of Christopher Johnson McCandless (This self-portrait was found undeveloped in his camera)
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