" Unlike Muir and Thoreau, McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large but rather; to explore the inner country of his own soul. He soon discovered, however, what Muir and Thoreau already knew: An extended stay in the wilderness inevitably directs one's attention outward as much as inward, and it is impossible to live off the land without developing both a subtle understanding of, and a strong emotional bond with, that land and all it holds."
-Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, page 183
Muir, and Thoreau are the two adventurers that were very similar to McCandless. However, it is possible to say that they were wiser than McCandless, and That is how Krakauer feels about him. Krakauer says that at first, McCandless wanted to go very into himself,wanted it to be just him, and the nature, and thought that it would be possible to live the way he wants, be by himself, observing the surrounds of nature, be peaceful, and happy. However, he says that later McCandless realizes that his thoughts were wrong. That is when Krakauer shows his thoughts of McCandless as someone that is not as wise as the two adventures, but someone who just did whatever that his mind told him to do.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Tiffany, we see this in McCandles' famous remark towards the end of his life: "Happiness only real when shared".
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