The Impressions Of Timothy Treadwell's Grizzly Man

The young, Chris McCandless brought to life in Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild is admired immensely for his courage and noble ideas carried out his dream of living in Alaska for as long as he could. Some would say that he was a reckless idiot, a wacko, or a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity, others would say that he was an admirable hero. The truth lies in his motives which were to face the raw challenges of life on his own. Chris McCandless was a brave soul who chose to challenge life in real terms in order to test his personal boundaries against nature.

Following are excerpts of statements/interviews from Derek Randles, a friend known as “The Bear Hunter”, and Justin Smeja. The blogger Robert Lindsay conducted the interviews of “The Bear Hunter” and Justin

We should learn to respect wilderness by how it is. In the article, “The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature” by William Cronon, it says that we should learn to honor and respect the wild. This concept relates with the Yellowstone National Park. It talked about how people had different views and values towards Yellowstone. Cronon mentions that we should think about nature in a sustainable way also. That means to consider it in non-use. So bears should not be fed by humans, especially since they cannot tell the difference between natural and unnatural food sources. Also, fires should not be caused intentionally because human lives and homes are at stake. Causing intentional fires can also significantly change the landscape.

The novel “Into the Wild”, by Jon Krakauer, is an excruciating story about a young man facing off against the dangers of nature. The main protagonist, Chris McCandless faced off against many internal and external obstacles that stood in his way of achieving his goal of successfully surviving on his own in the wilderness of North America. McCandless clashed with many lethal and perilous obstacles as he travelled all the way across the continent. The challenges he faced varied from surviving in the harsh wilderness, the difficulties of young manhood, and also the challenge of person versus society.

By using Pathos, Carter makes a strong emotional argument for the preservation of the wildlife refuge. Carter first uses fear of loss to motivate his audience. Carter even says, “I was saddened to think of the tragedy that might occur if this great wilderness was consumed by a web of roads and pipelines… ” (Carter 4). Carter uses imagery and speaks of the tragedy of a world where the wildlife refuge was lost. However, Carter also makes an emotional argument for the promise of gain. Throughout the article Carter refers to the refuge in many ways such as a “special birthplace” (Carter 3), “America’s Serengeti” (Carter 3), and “America’s last truly great wilderness” (Carter 1). Jimmy Carter explains, “It would be a grand triumph for America if we can preserve the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge… To leave this extraordinary land alone would be the greatest gift we can pass on to future generations.” Carter clearly aims to instill a sense that much will be gained emotionally by keeping the refuge

“Wilderness appealed to those bored or disgusted with man and his works” (Roderick Nash). Chris McCandless, a modern transcendentalist, sent out on an adventure to find his true self in the wilderness of the North American continent. In the two years he was away, he met many individuals he called his friends and explored the extent of the American West. However, Chris was found dead in an abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail in the deep wilderness of Alaska in early September 1992. Chris believed he could live his life without the disruption of others. Henry David Thoreau believed that individuals can strive for themselves without government interruption. Chris McCandless, in Jon Krakauer’s documentary Into the Wild, believes that living off the land and life to its fullest without help from others compares to Henry David Thoreau’s beliefs in his writing “Civil Disobedience.”

Award winning journalist and author, Jon Krakauer, in his book, Into the Wild, analyzes the life of Chris McCandless as well as the events that ensued his death. Krakauer’s purpose is to inform the reader about how and why Chris McCandless decided to embark on a journey into the wilderness of Alaska. He adopts an empathetic tone in order to impart to his readers that Chris McCandless was a very misunderstood young adult.

Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, narrates the life of adventurer and free spirit Christopher McCandless, who died August 1992 in the Alaskan wilderness; however, his journey still remains relevant in today’s pop culture due to the unresolved controversy of whether he is a saintly role model or hubristic fool. Krakauer openly states that he “won’t claim to be an impartial biographer” (Author’s Note) due to the parallels he struck with McCandless, and provides a more idealistic approach to the biography. By having this biased point of view, Krakauer readily attracts many critics such as Craig Medred, who wrote the article The Beatification of Chris McCandless: From Thieving Poacher into Saint, which discredits Krakauer’s legitimacy and emphasizes McCandless’s narcissistic personality and naïve nature. He has also sparked many questions including why McCandless’s story is so significant, which writer Laura Moss tries to answer in Why Are We Still Talking about Chris McCandless?. While it is clear that McCandless’s story has affected every reader due to its many interpretations, two distinct sides form: the avid romantics and their counterpart, the pessimistic realists, which provokes the question of which argument is more valid.

Jimmy Carter, Former US President, uses descriptive imagery to capture the audience and draw their attention to the bigger picture of how The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should be saved. Carter's tone reflects the excitement that can be expreienced within the Arctic Refuge, while creating a saddened tone when mentioning what could happen if the Arctic Refuge was overthrown by an industrial economy. The Former US President conveys personification by creating life-like portrayals of his encounters with the wildlife in the Arctic Refuge.

Chris McCandless, subject of Jon Krakauer’s successful novel, Into the Wild, met his fate in the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless donated all his money to OXFAM America after double majoring in anthropology and history at Emory University, then walked away from his old life. He took on the name Alexander Supertramp, and the next time his family would see him would be as a corpse, brought to his knees by nature’s unforgiving presence.

Former president,Jimmy Carter expresses his opinion about the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and how it should be conserved . With his use of ethos, pathos, and lagos; tone of speech, and choice of diction, he attempts to persuade his audience to not only notice the importance of the Arctic Refuge,but to actually preserve it for the enjoyment of future generations.

Throughout the book “Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer, the reader is exposed to Transcendentalist themes, motifs, and elements that were present in Chris McCandless’ journey to live in the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless’ independence established that self-reliance leads to a recurring pattern of physical and emotional hardship for both the individual and who they interact with.

President Jimmy Carter uses facts, personal experiences, and appeals to the readers’ emotions to effectively persuade the citizens of the United states to preserve the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Mr. Carter is not just writing to make himself look better in the people’s eye, but simply to protect what he believes is an important asset to America and its residents. Through his essay, he takes the reader on a journey around the refuge describing the land’s flora and fauna.

Werner Herzog directed a documentary film called Grizzly Man to show viewers how much interest Timothy Treadwell demonstrated towards human nature and how he demonstrates human nature through himself. Timothy Treadwell spent thirteen long summers in Alaskan Peninsula. He went to go portray his love and protection to the wild life and grizzly bears, which lead him to his miserable death. Herzog creates a sequence of scenes, comments, and interviews from people who is well connected directly or indirectly with Treadwell. His purpose of directing the Grizzly Man documentary through Treadwell’s own film was to convey the viewers the difference of human beings and the wild life animals. Herzog’s main effective argument was to convey how courageous and how insane Treadwell was to spend thirteen summers in the wild life of grizzly bears.

Aldo Leopold’s “Thinking Like a Mountain” (1949), was intended to convince the public, through beautiful and eloquent language, that wildlife conservation is an important implementation and that people should not be trying to make the world a human-centric ecosystem.