Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Pilgrim
At the end of chapter eight, Chris is described as a Pilgrim. Krakauer say that he wasn't a nutcase or incompetent but instead a pilgrim. I was caught a little off gaurd by this comparison, and so I decided to research a little into the term "pilgrim," and I agree with his findings. The term pilgrim is another word for a wanderer, or a person who travles to a shrine or holy place. When I saw this definition I have to admit that I was a little puzzled as to why Krakauer had chosen this term to refer to Chris. I then realized that Chris' holy place would be the wild, Alsaka, or whatever it was that he was searching for when he left home. The word wanderer also fits because he traveld to and fro a bit before he actually departed for Alaska. He didn't know where he was going or what he wanted but he just needed to get away. So in essence he did take on a life of a pilgrim.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
When I came upon this passage, I analyzed it such to discover validity in Krakauer's claim. I did, easily. The type of pilgrim with which I, and just about everyone that has passed elementary school, am familiar is the type that came to America from London in the 17th century. These people were fleeing from religious and political persecution done unto them by those in authority.
Why America? Because it was far enough away that it was an unadultered immensity where they could start anew, governed by their own principles. And thus, Chris was correctly deemed a pilgrim.
In his eyes, his parents were the authorities who were imposing their capitalistic ways on him. So he fled to Alaska to chart his own journey, and on the way, he met some helpful, providing friends (the equivalent of Squanto in essence).
Sure, go ahead and think McCandless as crazy. He's a pilgrim, and people thought pilgrims were crazy. The same holds true with Einstein, Newton, Galileo, Shakespeare, even MLK. People destined for greatness, especially when they are different than normal, are often labled crazy. To me, McCandless crazy= crazy-good. Like pop-tarts...
Or Mr. Nguyen.
Post a Comment