Family is non merely what brings one into the universe but is much. much more. Family has an huge power in the life of an person. they shape. cast. and act upon the manner in which an person grows into an grownup. There is the stating that ‘blood is thicker than water’ significance that blood relations: parents. brothers or sisters. aunt or uncles will be at that place when friends or familiarities will non. This thought that household is the lone existent and dependable beginning in one’s life besides ties into the fact these people should be held near and respected. Even so. in the book. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. the chief character. Chris McCandless and his male parent Walt have a earnestly strained relationship. Neither is their relationship one of simple issues. it is a relationship based off of complications. misinterpretations and secretiveness to some grade. Another illustration of this labored relationship with parents comes with the hood bikerss. such as Jim Lindberg. who were featured in the movie. The Other “F” Word.
In this movie work forces of the hood sub-culture discuss their relationships with their male parents. or deficiency of for that affair. and in bend connect their complicated father-son relationships to their demand to happen motion like that of the punks to suit into. Walt and Chris did non hold the best relationship ; in fact. the two on a regular basis held colliding positions on topics such as the thought of success. The labored and complicated relationship between Chris and his male parent led him to populate a life of non-conformity in an effort to make full a nothingness in his apprehension of himself that was left by the deficiency of common growing with his male parent and the soundless rejection of his father’s influence and casting. Similarly. Lindberg was drawn towards his several non-conformist subculture. the Punks. in order to make full in the missing experiences of credence and household in his life.
Fathers and boies normally portion similar positions nevertheless. in the instance of Walt McCandless and his boy. Chris. their life values and personal precedences differed and this became a big factor in the cause of their labored relationship. Towards the center of the narrative. Krakauer begins to dig into Chris’ concluding for resenting his male parent in which he says. “After Chris unearthed the specifics of Walt’s divorce. two old ages passed before his choler began to leak to the surface. but leak it finally did. The male child could non excuse the errors his male parent had made as a immature adult male. and he was even less willing to excuse the effort at privacy. He subsequently declared to Carine and others Walt and Billie’s misrepresentation made his ‘entire childhood seem like a fiction’ “ ( Krakauer 122-123 ) . This is a presentation of the largest complication of the relationship between Walt and his boy. In this case. Walt bore Chris with a 2nd adult female. Billie. whilst still being married to his first married woman.
This caused a boiling choler in Chris and truly radiances light on how there is a possibility that Walt was a spot careless with his kids. Even so. it is besides a possibility that Walt could hold merely been protecting his kid from the truth and this shows the two sides of Walt that are finally revealed in the book. On one manus. Walt is contrasting and hard with others and on the other manus he is understanding and a spot sympathetic towards his household at clip. Another illustration of Walt’s evident conflicting personalities comes as the writer is depicting Walt and his son’s leaving’s affect on him in which he says “Walt is accustomed to naming the shootings. Taking control is something he does unconsciously. reflexively… When Walt negotiations. people listen… After Chris gave everybody the faux pas in 1990. something changed in Walt. His son’s disappearing scared and chastened him. A softer. more tolerant side of his personality came to the fore” ( Krakauer 105 ) . Walt is portrayed as a after part. stubborn. a perchance even hard individual to introduce with.
By demoing his authoritarian nature and so demoing the alteration to the “softer. more tolerant side” of his character it adds even more play to the consequence Chris’ go forthing really had on his male parent. This big and virtually life-changing event for Walt gives the reader an penetration on merely how much Chris might hold meant to his male parent. Based upon his father’s dramatic personality alteration. it is apparent and can easy be deduced that to Walt. his boy really did intend the universe to him even if he was non ever able to show it to Chris. This is a premier illustration of a father-son relationship because of the fact that it demonstrates how Walt really did love his boy. really much but his deficiency of look drove his boy off and finally personally crippled him for making so. This farther portrays a complicated relationship because of the fact that Walt at first seems really cold and austere yet ends up being really vulnerable and sensitive. Even so. Chris ne’er saw the softer side of his male parent. which came out. after his stealing off and it is because of the deficiency of his father’s sensitiveness that pushed Chris into a demand for the wilderness.
Throughout history. there has been legion counter-cultures and non-conformists. Chris McCandless included ; this peculiar Nonconformist believed in the thought that to truly unrecorded. one must go forth society. go forth the norms. and live off the wilderness. Chris’ thought of populating off the natural state and life in the wild comes with an thought he gained through his readings of Henry Davis Thoureau. This thought constituted the fact that one needs to populate off the bare necessities and this is what Chris tried to make every bit shown as he first enters the wilderness and “His cogwheel seemed extremely minimum for the rough conditions of the interior… His rifle was merely. 22 quality. a dullard excessively little to trust on if he expected to kill big animals… he had no ax. no bug pot. no snowshoes. no compass” ( Krakauer 5 ) . To many others. this evident unpreparedness was merely an act of stupidity. but to Chris it was merely what he was looking for. To Chris. holding every bit small as possible and genuinely holding the demand to trust on the natural state is what helps him happen himself. Traveling into the natural state he is looking for himself. looking to make full the losing inspiration and influence of his male parent with that of the natural state.
One of the inspiring factors of Thoreau’s for Chris was the thought that society wasn’t the best facets of life that is describes in an highlighted extract from his book Walden that Chris had with him at his clip of decease which reads “Rather than love. than money. than celebrity. give me truth. I sat at a tabular array where were rich nutrient and vino in copiousness. but earnestness and truth were non. The cordial reception was every bit cold as ices” ( Krakauer 117 ) . In this. Thoreau was fundamentally stating that even with all the material wealth. personal and household values are still more of import. The same applies to Chris. he grew up into nice money. he was a great capitalist himself. he had a college instruction and even so. none of it was genuinely adequate for his spirit. Chris wanted more. He wanted a household that was there for him to back up him. one that was non hostile towards his thoughts and one that loved him indefinitely. Although his male parent did love him really much. he did non demo it and it is this deficiency of love that Chris diverted off from. Chris yearned for a sense of adjustment in and a sense of comfort. which he found finally found. as he walked into the natural state.
Merely as Chris’ complications with his male parent drove him into the wild in hunt of a topographic point of comfort. true followings of the Punk motion likewise used their dissatisfaction with their male parents as support and concluding for get downing a hunt for a topographic point to suit in. In the film. one of the outstanding voices of the Punk motion said the motion was a topographic point where misfits fit together and were accepted no affair what and a topographic point where being different from societies thought of normal was the norm ( Andrea Nevins ) . Coming from a strong advocator of the Punk motion. it is clear to see that this subculture was a topographic point a safe oasis to those who did non see the universe as the multitudes did. Not everyone tantrum in and those who did non were ridiculed in the conformist society of the clip and merely like Walt who assorted times was defeated with Chris and his life picks. society itself was disappointed with the life picks of the Punks. It is this letdown that finally led to their interrupting off into their ain safe oasiss and ain universes.
In add-on. Jim Lindberg. another outstanding voice of the Punk motion stated that people are “promised the American Dream. but given a nightmare” ( Andrea Nevins ) . At this clip. the American Dream consisted of a perfect and orderly household and by saying that people are given a incubus. Lindberg relates back onto his household and takes his ain experiences and shows how he himself and many others like him did non come place to orderly families or households. Like Chris. Lindberg’s parents were non the best or most supportive which becomes apparent as he states that he was given a nightmare alternatively of the ideal household associated with the American Dream. Besides. similar to Chris who was non born into adversity. Lindberg was born into a nice household in a beautiful beachside vicinity and even so. because of his troubles with his parents and his male parent specifically felt the demand to interrupt off and happen a new sense of belonging someplace else. In his instance. Lindberg found that belonging in the signifier of the Punk Rock Movement.
Jim Lindberg was non the lone Punk who diverted off from their households because of household issues. another similarity to Chris is shown through Duane Peters. a band member of the US Bombs. As Peters is depicting his parentage and the parents he had he states that “Our dads weren’t there” ( Andrea Nevins ) . Although this instance is a bit more utmost than that of McCandless’ it still demonstrates how male parents are an immensely of import portion in an individual’s life and that without them and their influence. credence. or support. a kid may happen the demand to seek for those facets in life through other mercantile establishments such as music or nature. Because Peters still opted to fall in a motion to happen a better tantrum because of the absence of his male parent. it is obvious that parents. male parents particularly play a portion in their children’s hereafter and their life picks.
Chris McCandless was non merely a adult male who diverted off from his male parent and foolishly went into the natural state ; he was much. much more. To many he was merely an ill-prepared and excessively idealistic immature adult male who got what was coming to him when he went into the Alaskan wilderness but there is a moral behind his life narrative and picks. To set it briefly. the fact that his father’s actions straight affected his future life picks shows a batch about the relationships between male parents and their boies and the importance of male parents in an individual’s life. In this essay it has non been said that holding a labored relationship with one’s male parent will indefinitely take to non-conformity like that of McCandless or Lindberg. Rather. what truly has been stated is the fact that a male parent plays an of import function in the lives of his kids and that the picks a male parent makes in raising his kids greatly influences their future life picks. Basically. it is of import to be unlike Walt McCandless and the male parents of Jim Lindberg and Duane Peters who did non demo their kids much fondness or were non present at all ; alternatively one should be supportive. loving and show the true attention merely as any other male parent should.
Plants Cited
Krakauer. Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor. 1997. Print.
The Other “F” Word. Dir. Andrea B. Nevins. Perf. Jim Lindberg and Art Alexakis. Rare Bird Films. 2011. DVD.
