For someone who has not been tempted to leave the civilized world for life in the wild, it is extremely difficult to understand why someone would prefer living all-alone in a dangerous and secluded space, even for a short period of time. However, the stories of those who did choose to experience life in the middle of nature can provide important clues in this respect. While nobody will ever be able to understand completely what happens into the minds and souls of those who leave their families and friends behind and venture into the unknown with the sole purpose of abandoning civilization, trying to analyze their motivations is still a fascinating process. McCandless and Franklin are separated by a century, but they were still united by the same fatal attraction, and the same romantic ideas about nature. Explorers like McCandless and Franklin drawn to nature in search for an idealized way to live, far from all the shallowness of the civilized world, but they often succumb to their own arrogance, because nature proves to be harsher and more unwelcoming for the civilized man than they typically expect it to be.
The motivation for leaving the civilized world is perhaps the first sign that many of these explorers are not necessarily high risk adventurers, but rather, they are searching for their origins, or for a more idyllic way of life, in the middle of nature. For example, McCandless was decided to break all contact with the civilized world, and to start a new life, living off the land, as humans’ ancestors must have done. Krakauer (2007) explained in this respect that McCandless was not insane or a sociopath, but rather, “McCandless was something else—although precisely what is hard to say. A pilgrim,perhaps” (85). In naming McCandless a pilgrim, Krakauer (2007) suggested a kind of spiritual search which may have motivated McCandless and others like him, in starting this journey. Many of the pagan religions of the world are related to nature, as the quintessential provider and giver of life. In his decision to leave civilization for an attempted return to nature, perhaps McCandless was also motivated by a spiritual quest as well as a fascination with returning to origins. As a male, this return to origins had a very special signification, because men were initially hunters, and then farmers, thus constantly being concerned about taming the wilderness, and dominating it. The yearning for life in the wild may have been determined by a need to reconnect with nature, but also, an arrogant desire to subdue nature, as human ancestors used to do.
However, while may people may feel the call of nature, very few actually answer it so radically. This may be related to a feeling of repulsion for civilization, but also, great arrogance regarding their power to dominate and tame the wilderness. As Krakauer explains, “by design McCandless came into the country with insufficient provisions, and he lacked certain pieces of equipment deemed essential by many Alaskans This has been regarded as evidence not just of stupidity but of the even greater sin of arrogance” (179). Therefore, while being genuinely decided to abandon civilization in favor of life in the wild, McCandless may have not understood properly how harsh, unpredictable and fierce nature can be. While human ancestors did live in the wild, and many people continue to do so, their lives are not idyllic, and many of them die very young, despite having the support of their communities. Believing that they could live off the land on their own, regardless of their reasons was a sign of extreme and misdirected self-confidence.
Both McCandless and Franklin, as many other explorers before them, allowed the yearning for nature in their souls to cloud their judgement, or their inexperience with actual nature and its harshness, may have caused them to underestimate the problems they would have to face. However, even if they wanted to escape civilization or to start a spiritual quest, this does not explain the decision to adventure in such remote areas, that they could not be found even by mistake, until after it was too late. The decision to go so deep into the wild may have come not only from an attraction to nature, but also, from the adventurous and arrogant desire to dominate an entirely wild territory. This decision, as Krakauer argued, was not a good one. Thus, the author stated that “when McCandless turned up dead, he was likened to Franklin not simply because both men starved but also because both were perceived to have lacked a requisite humility; both were thought to have possessed insufficient respect for the land” (180). Having respect for the land means being aware of the difficulties that living in nature entails.
Preparing intensely and taking the necessary means of protection, such as preserving a line of communication with someone, for example, is essential to making sure that one has a way to get out of the wilderness in case of an emergency. While these men were truly determined to live in the wild in order to escape the temptations and stress of the civilized world, civilization is nevertheless a necessarily evil, because living alone and exclusively in the wild is almost impossible for the civilized man.
All the men who willingly give up civilization in order to live a secluded life in the wild have an adventurous side in lack of which they would be satisfied with the dream of an exotic life. However, more importantly, these people are genuinely attracted to nature to the extent that they cannot resist its call any longer. They may feel disappointed with life in the contemporary world, and they may want to start a journey of self-discovery and spiritual rebirth. Regardless of their motivations, their arrogance and their exaggerated confidence in their own capacities to tame the wilderness, led many such adventurers to a painful death.
References
Krakauer, J. (2007). Into the Wild. New York: Random House.
