After reading Into the Wild there were a few thoughts I had about Christopher Johnson McCandless; he was a lost soul searching for something, he is losing his mind trying to find what he's looking for, and he selfishly went on a journey through the physical world; and all these thoughts seemed as though views from the outside.
It seemed - after reading the book - Chris was searching an answer; peace; a reason for life; his purpose. He traveled all across the continent in search of these realizations. It was like he was roaming further and further away from civilization, entering nature hoping to find the Great Divide; the Axis Mundi; the gap between our world in the next, hoping to find these realizations. Chris seems to become more frustrated the more his search goes without success, driving him to Alaska, and his death.
Chris seems very selfish after reading the book; burning his money, leaving without telling his parents goodbye; without telling his parents where he's going. Mr. and Mrs. McCandless never even get to hear a goodbye before Chris dies.
While reading the book, it is next to impossible to relate very closely to Chris - with all his oddities. I could not see how he acted in his environments.
After hearing Chris' parents talking and seeing the pictures my views changed. First and foremost he reminds me of myself; he, like myself, is very connected to the wilderness, doesn't have a tolerance for the unnecessary complexity of society and all its rules. I am also envious of him and his connection to the spiritual world; the spirits flowing through the wild flow through him and give him strength and peace; he drifts with the flow of this "spiritual river" that flows through the Axis Mundi. However, while Chris is carried by the flow, I can feel the flow and find peace, but I cannot be carried by the flow; my soul seems to heavy. I can feel a great energy flowing around me, but I do not drift with the flow towards the enlightenment Chris found. And he surely did find enlightenment; it is apparent in the pictures Chris took of himself. In every picture he is smiling - the closer he gets to death, the more at peace he looks.
He was never searching for anything; he did not spontaneously leave his home. Chris had already found what he was looking for; God. His journey was simply his drifting with the flow of spiritual energy towards the his Axis Mundi; closer to Heaven and God. And is it not apparent that his Axis Mundi was in the Alaskan wilderness; miles away from another soul? What's more, could the Axis Mundi not be the "Magic Bus?" Why was the Bus so important to him? Why did he take so many pictures of it? Why, when he could not cross back over the river back towards civilization did he return to the Bus? Why did his parents feel that his memorium plaque should be placed on the Bus and why is the Bus on the front cover of Into the Wild? When Chris left home, he was letting God guide him, in the end, to the Bus and Him.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment