Comparing Characters of Ellen Foster and Into the Wild
The raging cold screams against his back at night. Her father's drunken jeers make her shiver as she cowers in the corner of her room. Both have natural families, yet both have been driven to flee from these families. She flees because her life amongst family is terrifying, loveless, and oppressive. He flees because he believes that his family has grown arrogant and materialistic, and is thus oppressive as well.
She is the title character of Kaye Gibbons' Ellen Foster, and he is Chris McCandless, a real young man portrayed by Jon Krakauer in Into the Wild. In their respective stories, Ellen and Chris both find themselves on their own, each taking a journey farther and farther away from his or her family as each searches for truth and personal satisfaction. Neither Chris nor Ellen seems to regret leaving home, but their reasons for fleeing are quite different. Ellen is attempting to escape from her family because she desires love and a stable setting in which there are people to nurture her, while Chris is trying to avoid just that. Ellen's code of ethics places strong value upon family and friends; Chris's, however, spurns human companionship because he seems to feel that it pollutes his relationship with nature and with the one upon whom the course of his life depends the most: that is, himself.
Upon first glance at the character of Ellen Foster,...
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.... He seemed more at home with the harsh elements of nature, which disciplined and taught him like dutiful parents. Even though he died as a result of his journey toward truth and freedom from the fetters of society, Chris was alone with nature, which was his idea of true family.
The nurturing bodies that aid the growth of Ellen Foster and Chris McCandless are complete opposites. Ellen thrives on human love and acceptance, eating it like the sweetest fruit of the shadiest tree, while Chris bathes in snowstorms and nestles into the elements as if he sleeps in a home-sewn quilt. Each character endures a long journey to attain security, but in the end, they both arrive home, where they are free at last.
In Into the Wild, Chris McCandless was a young man from Virginia who loved living his life on his own. On an adventure to Alaska, Chris ran into the some trouble and perished. While Chris’s death is a horrible event that will burn in the memory of his family and friends, it could have been easily prevented. If Chris was smarter he would have thought about his preparation, his motivation, and the possibility that he was mentally ill. He could have been able to live out in the Alaskan Wilderness and survive his adventure and return home safely.
He chose to live deliberately to find real happiness. While living in college, Chris lived off campus in a spartan like apartment, with a couple of crates, electricity and water. After graduating college, he left behind a middle class life full of education and materialistic items to set out on a adventure that would allow him to go into the wild to find his true self. What most people in society would call crazy. A quote from Henry David Thoreau says, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!” (Walden) Thoreau is saying that people should live a simple life, with out the material possessions controlling their happiness. Chris understood that materialism doesn’t create real happiness and satisfaction. He gave up the comfort of his home to go out to the wild. He gives away his possessions, something society values too much . He gives his money to charity and burns the money he has left in his wallet. He began a simply life hitchhiking, finding food and shelter in the wild and being adventurous with the land and sights around him. In this way making a statement that he rejects the social views and values of property in the search of a higher purpose within
Chris McCandless, the main character of “Into the wild” was angered by his father’s infidelity and bigamy. As a result, Chris McCandless wanted to separate himself from his family and he begins a spiritual adventure to search for his identity. Chris McCandless isolates himself physically and emotionally to find freedom and peace by adventuring into the wild. Therefore, McCandless escapes from Emory University and immediately flees his dull and predictable life, heading west without a word to his family. Although, McCandless journey ends in a tragic ending, he fulfilled his ambition by pursuing his ambition and inner peace. In conclusion, McCandless journey was both a search for inner peace and transition to maturity.
2. On page 107, “He could be alone without being lonely.” Chris adored being alone, away from other people. It seems rational that this attitude was a basis of his later journey where he was unaccompanied for months. On page 109 “Chris was fearless even when he was little.” Chris wouldn’t have lived alone in the Alaskan wilderness for that long if he was frightened. At
Throughout his journey, Chris devotes himself to nature, discovering the spiritual aspects of an unknown, cold, bleak world. However, when Chris finally
Being free of social restrictions allows Chris to act in the most uninhibited and arguably the purest manner. In the wild, no law matters, no person matters. McCandless enjoyed what few people have: total sovereignty over oneself. Congress passed new laws and societal norms shifted but Chris was blissfully detached from what he viewed as distractions from real living. No one could tell him how to act or punish him if he refused. In this sense McCandless did achieve what he set out to do, even if it ended in his demise. His last message read: “I have had a happy life and thank the lord. Goodbye and may God bless all” (199). Even in the face of death, Chris felt content with the path he set down and knew that he would become the ultimate testament to the transcendental philosophy. Some may argue that from Thoreau’s view, Chris failed in his goal: “I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours” “Walden,” but seeing how he felt about his life when the end finally came shows that Chris did not necessarily desert his mission. Who else can decide if a life was well-lived other than the one living it? He made his choices and found solace in the complete unchangeability of his past. Alone in the wild, a man becomes equal to animals and plants and whatever else resides in nature. It can be humbling to live not as a conqueror of Earth but as a child nourished by it. This viewpoint, no doubt influenced by Emerson and Thoreau, allowed McCandless to feel a great awe of the world around him. One of Emerson’s most famous lines from his “Nature”, was a clear exposure of mankind's shunning of the very things our ancestors worshipped: “If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and
“Into the Wild” is a thought-provoking yet tragic film that depicts Sean Penn’s adaptation of the nonfiction novel by Jon Krakauer. The film portrays the gruesome fate of Christopher Johnson McCandless, a brave, charming, and troubled 22-year-old college graduate who set out into the natural world on a path of self-discovery and true happiness. In the beginning of the film Chris McCandless is introduced as a dreamer. His literary heroes included transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Jack London. The thinking behind McCandless’ rash decision stems from his anger with his parents for the lies and infidelities he witnessed as a child. Another contribution included his affinity for nature as it symbolized freedom and his desire to escape civilization. Following in the footsteps of his heroes, McCandless donated his $24,000 funding for law school to charity, gave away all of his material possessions, and left his family and friends with vague letters of his whereabouts. For 2 years, Chris adopted an alias as Alexander
...tic things. He sacrificed so much and put himself in danger to follow what he wanted to do. Chris was a smart cookie, and maybe that was what kept him going was the knowledge flooding through his body and the inspiration that reading gave him.
Most of you probably already know what anorexia is, however in case you don't anorexia is basically a disease involving self-starvation. Anorexia victims have a very low "ideal" weight. It might begin as a normal diet carried to extremes, reducing their food intake to a bare minimum. Rules are made of how much food they can eat in one day and how much exercise is required after eating certain amounts of food. With anorexia, there is a strong almost overwhelming fear of putting on weight and they are preoccupied with the way that their bodies look. Anorexia sometimes involves use of laxatives, diet pills, or self-induced vomiting to lose or to keep weight off (http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/anorexianervosa.htm). Anorexics may show symptoms such as extreme weight loss for no medical reason. Also, many deny their hunger, chew excessively, choosing low calorie foods and exercising excessively (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health).
Into the wild is a non-fiction book which expanded from the nine-thousand-word article by Jon Krakauer. This article ran in the January 1993 issue of the magazine Outside. Jon Krakauer was very much drawn toward the tale of McCandless and decided to write his story. He spent more than a year tracking down the details of the boy’s tramp. Then he used matter-of-fact tones to narrate what he chased on the path about the boy. The framework presented in this book can be separated into three parts: (1) retracing, including the interview with most of the important people who once kept company with Chris; (2) wildness, presenting mails generated from readers and several idealists that were in the similar situation with Chris; (3) affection, including the memory of parents, sister and friends.
All in all, it is interesting how the trials of life can lead a person into an awakening that inspires millions. Many people believe that walking “into the wild” to live off the land and find himself alone in nature was arrogant, foolish and irresponsible. Chris lacks of knowledge about the wild was a major factor in his death. Chris did not plan how he will survive in the wilderness without proper equipments. He misunderstood that he would have no problem in setting in the wild. Chris immature manner and decisions lead him to starvation and ultimately death. If he planned it out in the beginning he would have saved his life.
When people read a book that they like they cant wait to see the movie that is based on the book. Many people criticize the movie or are not satisfied. While you watch this movie it is visually breathtaking and easily relatable. Chris McCandless is played by Emile Hirsch who does an outstanding job of portraying McCandless. McCandless’s parents are Walt and Billie McCandless. In the book they are portrayed as a little stuck up and snobbish. Sean Penn is a screenwriter and director for the movie adaptation of Into the Wild by John Krakauer. Sean Penn portrays Chris’s parents in a negative way in order to show that they were essentially responsible for him breaking away from society.
As professional athletes remind us on a weekly basis, domestic violence is a social problem which continues to plague the nation. Through stricter law enforcement, improved hospital reporting techniques, and nationwide education and counseling, this problem can be reduced. Domestic violence has many different names such as, family violence, battering, wife beating, and domestic abuse. All these terms refer to the same thing, abuse by marital, common law, or a dating partner in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence is not limited to physical beating. It is any behavior that is intended to overpower and control another human being through the use of humiliation, fear, and physical or verbal assault. Domestic violence is a very important issue in today’s society because it has such a profound negative affect on the abused, mentally and physically. Verbal abuse can be just as damaging as physical abuse. Verbal abuse is words that attack or injure an individual’s self-image, which eventually shatters one’s self-esteem. In this paper, I will discuss the many kinds of abuses against women, the reasons why women stay in these relationships, and possible solutions to diminish or reduce the problems of domestic violence.
“One woman is beaten by her husband or partner every 15 seconds in the United States” (Stewart & Croudep, 1998-2012). Domestic violence can interfere with the husband-wife relationship because one spouse is always in constant fear of the other. This violence could vary from physical abuse to ps...
When a person lives a life with no dreams or wishes accomplished that person would die knowing they lived a dissatisfied life full of regret. In the book, Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, the author conveys an argument of living a life with no regret throughout the literature. The argument presented by Krakauer is conveyed by character relationships, character actions, and references to an images.