Foolish Hero

I finally got to see Into The Wild last night, it was driving me crazy knowing that was in theatres but hadn't come to Tallahassee yet. I have to say the movie exceeded the high expectations I already had for it. It is very powerful to watch this kid wander the States penniless seeking adventure and enlightenment. Not only that watching the impact he made on people's lives on his way.

The original story about McCandless, followed by the book and now the movie were all accompied by an incredible amount of controversy. Many people felt like the book and the movie make him into a hero when they say he was just a foolish kid who set out into nature and got eaten alive. They bemoan the fact that if he were more prepared he could have survived and avoided the tragedy which led to him starving in the wild.

I'm not sure why critics of this kid's life immediatly flock towards hero or fool labels. Why is it a question of hero or fool? Further, since when are our heroes without flaw? I think throughout history and literature many are not, or at least have a fatal flaw(s).

What made McCandless impressive was the very thing his critics bemoan, his willingness to jump into danger without abandon. While it was his lack of preparedness that led to his demise it was also what led him towards hero status, in that he was able to find out who he truly was, it was learning how to survive that gave him that lesson. Was he equipped to survive the Alaskan wilderness? No. Is this what the story is about? No. So what is the problem?

Most of us would never do what he did, we'd be held back by our lack of survival knowledge. We've been conditioned to avoid all risk and in turn have lost our knowledge of how to survive. Sure he ended up dead for it but at the same time I think it was still heroic. I think the story would not have been had he survived-at that point it is just another guy.

You can say what he did was dumb but at the same time remember Macbeth was overly ambitious, Othello was jealous, Hamlet was insane and Willy Loman struggled for the American Dream that McCandless spurned.

I need a permit to paddle down this river? Forget it, keep your permit.