Into the Wild and Grizzly Man free essay sample

A person’s life is full of tragedies and experiences. As Don Herold once stated, â€Å"Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it. † This appalling quote perfectly represents the lives and the tragic ending of the lives of Timothy Treadwell and of Christopher McCandless. The insightful documentary â€Å"Grizzly Man† and the book â€Å"Into the Wild† are both about two men who are unhappy in the world they live in and believe they can make a difference in their lives by finding some peace and solitude in nature. I disagree with Callarman’s argument that Chris McCandless and Timothy Treadwell were ignorant people, these people were brave and cunning, and in reality they were not jeopardizing anyone’s lives but they’re own when they went into â€Å"the wild†, they were passionate on what they did, they were admirable souls trying to get away from society, the real â€Å"wilderness†. Timothy Treadwell was a weird and yet an interesting person. He had great ideas, but not the greatest ways of putting those ideas into use. Timothy Treadwell gave up his life to live with the Alaskan Grizzly bears for 13 summers doing what he loved while collecting over 100 hours of valuable educational footage. I have a high regard for what he did. Most people have a different opinion of Timothy Treadwell. They say his video footage was not worth his life. Erik Nelson said this after reviewing some of Treadwell’s footage, He was filming this Joseph Conrad-like epic of a man under pressure, coming apart in the middle of nature. (Herzog). Timothy showed cunning bravery when he set out to interact with the grizzlies so he can educate the U. S. about these magnificent beasts. Like Treadwell, McCandless too set out to build a new life in the wilderness away from the fiery arms of today’s society, his bravery is shown when he enters the â€Å"Alaskan odyssey† which no other man was willing to try but he stood up to the challenge and took it up, unprepared, not sure of the unknown that lied within the land. Chris McCandless was a well-educated, respectful, young man. Ever since he was a young boy he lived by his parent’s rule, went to school, and got good grades. He stayed out of trouble and he was a good student. Chris was adventurous, did whatever he set his mind to, and he succeeded in many things. He was of bright, adventurous, estimable spirit. â€Å"I now walk out to live amongst the wild (Krakauer, 1955, Pg. 69). † He had conviction, he followed his heart, two rare things, a man who has strong beliefs, and who will act on their beliefs. Those two things pretty much say it all. He had courage and determination which are very inspiring to many of our youth today. He might have died, but it is not always about the years in your life, but about the life in your years. He embodied that. No one would suspect that he would give everything away and disappear, but that is why he is an admirable person. Timothy Treadwell is best-known as a man who lived among bears. â€Å"Grizzly Man† as the documentary of his life claims. Many assumed him mentally insane, others saw him simply as strange. A controversial character, Timothy is rarely remembered for what he lived for, for what he died for; the safety and education of brown bears in Alaska. A troubled young man, Timothy found peace and sobriety through nature and bears. He replaced his love of alcohol and drugs with a love of grizzlies and conserving their land. Timothy protected his bears and became territorial of them. In one scene in the movie â€Å"Grizzly Man†, a documentary of Treadwells life, Tim filmed visitors of the park throwing rocks at the bears. This angers Timothy bringing him close to tears. Although this may seem odd to many, his passion for protecting his beloved bears is admirable. He was able to recover from his drug problems simply by knowing that he could not be with the bears in an intoxicated state. Treadwell was so passionate about his work with the bears that he left his old life behind and dedicated himself to educating others. He often gave lectures to children in local schools, free of charge. His close friends describe him as one of the most poverty-ridden men they knew. He gave up his life, in more than one sense, for these grizzly bears. I will die for these animals. I will die for these animals. I will die for these animals. (Treadwell). Unfortunately, on October 5-6, 2003 Timothy and his girlfriend Amie were mauled to death on their last night in the Grizzly Maze. â€Å"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and cons ervatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a mans living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. † (Krakauer, 1955, Pg. 56). Chris McCandless is a very admirable person because he had ideas about the world and he acted upon his beliefs, ludicrous in the eyes of many. Nevertheless, Chris did something that many people never have the courage (or time, money, and all the other excuses) to really do. He wasnt arrogant, but more humble in the presence of a bigger world in which he tried to find a place that sat right within himself. As these fallen heroes are seen by reader’s eyes as ignorant, stupid, crazy people, I myself see beyond that I see them as two souls that are just trying to find â€Å"salvation† for themselves in a world where people only see what meets the eye and not may or may not lie beyond it. These two men were dedicated and passionate with the adventures and choices they took and I respect that and that is why I see them as not only two very admirable individuals but heroes who will be judged upon the choices they took. One can say that both Timothy and Chris believed that, â€Å"the very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure.