Into the Wild is a favorite epic tale here at Basecamp, if for nothing else it's great story about great adventure. If you don't know the story it chronicles the adventures of a college graduate, Chris McCandless on a roaming trek to seek truth in his life- to discover the essential question: What is real?
I love and hate the story. Partially this tale scares me. I've cried every time I've read it. I go back and forth on what I really think about it: Was he stupid or too smart for his own good? How did he treat people throughout his journey? Is he a personal hero or just some wanderlust filled idiot?
The story scares me because I get it. I understand what McCandless was doing. His parents had held high expectations for him throughout his life and he had done all he could to live up to them. It was finally his time to explore, to walk his own path. I don't think I would ever do something to the extreme, but maybe that's part of my love for the outdoors, that searching/seeking/raw/living thing.I cringe because he breaks hearts along the way. I feel like he disrespects people, using them only to further his own means. McCandless has this unique understanding that humans need other human interaction, and when he has had enough he moves on without any regrets. (i.e. the old man that asks if he can adopt him, if that scene doesn't stir some emotion in you I don't know what will.) I'm never really that upset at what McCandless does because in the moments he shares with people he gives so much of himself.
What truly attracts me to the story McCandless' ability to shake what the world expects of him and find truth.
