All Good Things Are Wild and Free
“All good things are wild and free” is an idea explored by many for better and for worse. This specific quotation coming from Henry David Thoreau’s essay ‘Walking’. It is believed by many to be the main argument representing freedom. Exploring nature, humanity and contrasting them with each other.
‘Into the Wild’ follows the journey of Christopher McCandless, a boy travelling to Alaska. He travels with the belief that freedom and happiness are having new experiences. With this belief he travels into the wilderness of Alaska, alone. McCandless’s beliefs directly relate to what Thoreau was saying. Throughout the film depiction of ‘Into the Wild’ it was made clear that McCandless didn’t want to be held down by anything, starting with him giving away a majority of his money, then burning the last remaining hundreds. After that, whenever he met new people he wouldn’t make a big deal about him moving on, if he wanted to keep on travelling he would write a note then leave straight away. The way he acted and behaved could be described by the exact words ‘wild and free’, which is what he believed was the way to be happy.
Another text that can be connected to Thoreau is William Wordsworth’s poem ‘Lines Written in Early Spring’. In the poem Wordsworth compares the happiness of nature with that of humans, and their underlying sadness. Nature in itself is a wild thing and, in the eyes of Wordsworth, doesn’t have the same constraints that humans put on themselves. Wordsworth repeats twice in his poem the words, “What man has made of man”. He sees man as a very constrained, rigid creature, following rules and laws. Nature is a very pleasant thing, enjoyed by many, a “good thing”, which is “wild and free”. Nature doesn’t need to follow any rules. Wordsworth appears to be saying nature is easily pleased by the simplest things, things that humans take for granted every day.
Someone who almost completely disagreed with this idea was Thomas Hobbes, author of ‘Leviathan’. He
‘Into the Wild’ follows the journey of Christopher McCandless, a boy travelling to Alaska. He travels with the belief that freedom and happiness are having new experiences. With this belief he travels into the wilderness of Alaska, alone. McCandless’s beliefs directly relate to what Thoreau was saying. Throughout the film depiction of ‘Into the Wild’ it was made clear that McCandless didn’t want to be held down by anything, starting with him giving away a majority of his money, then burning the last remaining hundreds. After that, whenever he met new people he wouldn’t make a big deal about him moving on, if he wanted to keep on travelling he would write a note then leave straight away. The way he acted and behaved could be described by the exact words ‘wild and free’, which is what he believed was the way to be happy.
Another text that can be connected to Thoreau is William Wordsworth’s poem ‘Lines Written in Early Spring’. In the poem Wordsworth compares the happiness of nature with that of humans, and their underlying sadness. Nature in itself is a wild thing and, in the eyes of Wordsworth, doesn’t have the same constraints that humans put on themselves. Wordsworth repeats twice in his poem the words, “What man has made of man”. He sees man as a very constrained, rigid creature, following rules and laws. Nature is a very pleasant thing, enjoyed by many, a “good thing”, which is “wild and free”. Nature doesn’t need to follow any rules. Wordsworth appears to be saying nature is easily pleased by the simplest things, things that humans take for granted every day.
Someone who almost completely disagreed with this idea was Thomas Hobbes, author of ‘Leviathan’. He