But then, in the relatively short span of life, he had experienced what others did not.. do not.. or even imagine. And lived life on his own terms.
Christopher McCandless grew up a rebel - against what he perceived as materialistic, manipulative and domineering parents. And then embarks on a wonderful journey... after he graduates from Emory University, he gives away all his savings to charity.. He burns and erases his identity - social security card, driver license, all his credit cards... and travels across the country - Atlanta to Colorado and then, kayaks down the colorado river into Mexico and then comes back on freight trains and hitchhiking to Los Angeles.. and finally he reaches Alaska.
He takes up a new identity along the way - Alexander Supertramp.. meets some unique set of people.. And finally in Alaska, he spends some quality alone-time and without any artificial trapments of consumerism. Well.. he lives in an abandoned bus (used by moose hunters in summer) and uses a gun to hunt... but his needs are to the bare minimum... a shelter.. some warmth.. food - small game or fish cooked in the fire, raw plant edible plants etc... some books (that provide him the inspiration, as also the guide to local vegetation.. and his notebook - where he notes down his experiences and learnings...
But, soon the ice melts and the full-blown river restricts his movement... and he eats a poisonous plant (there are various theories) by mistake.. That leads to nausea, weakness, loss of digestive powers and eventually his death due to starvation... The last few days are tragic - he is alone, helpless and slowly treading to his death.. thats when he feels the need for company.
I think he missed most the need to share his happiness and all his unique experiences with someone.. as if all those things in him (acquired and unique) are going to waste with his death... Like a legacy lost.
This movie is a *Must Watch* - but only when you are ready for it. I took my own time, guess about two months since the time I added it to my watchlist on Netflix..
I do not want to live such a life in the wild.. And definitely not the way he did it - without adequate planning, preparation and supplies (I would call it stupid - setting up for disaster in an unforgiving place)... but I sure would like to visit Denali National Park, Alaska sometime.. preferably with another person... not just any other person.. or many... you know what I mean?
It seems the bus can be seen clearly on Google Earth even to this day but is obscured by clouds in Google Maps and most other mapping programs. I did not try it.. but I found this on one of the links on the wiki..
4 comments:
Thats a good photo...didn't know that the bus is still there at the same location till date...Yes I did watch the movie...I don't like sad endings..but reality should be accepted. The final sequences were touching! The realization that he has in the last few days of his life, and that he could not do anything about it was very sad!
@Eterna
I guess the bus is waiting there for other passengers ;-)
Yeah.. I think I know what ya mean.. abt the last few days...
@Bhaskar
I gues u barely understood what chris Mccandles really was!! He was a successful university graduate and was smart enough to take care of himself .his whole idea of this journey was to discover his inner self n the world that exists in its true nature .he beleived in a more naive n pure form of living .if u accuse him of being reckless ,then u should be frowning when he burned all his money ,destroyed his identity because all of this makes people cautious.Even today the people whom he met on his way to alaskan journey simply cant get the guy out of their mind.the irony about this guy is that the more u come to knw of him, the more preplexed abt life u become and finally come to terms that u simply cant judge emotions of a particular person unless u hav urself been put into that situation.i suggest you read the book "into the wild" and browse through various sources that are related to chris mccandles before u even think u figured out this guy !!! if u hav done al tht n yet said the above things ..then u are simply not meant to understand chris!!!!
//zah
@zah
I like your comment... Thanks! If I am not mistaken, there does seem like a sense of personal bond to Chris in your comment.
Well.. I do not claim to have understood Chris. But these are just my thoughts on what I think he did. May be some day I will read the book. I'm sure that might give a whole new perspective on this guy.
I do get the drift of what you are saying.. but, in my opinion, true nature is not the absence of unnatural things.. it is inspite of it... Well, sure, he can live without the trapments of human creations.. but does that mean that he should throw caution to the wind?
I probably just cannot come to terms with the fact that he died young.. and that he was responsible for it...
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