Chris And The Chief Analysis

Page 1 Self-discovery is defined as the act or process of achieving understanding or knowledge of oneself. To understand ourselves sometimes we have to step outside our own world. In doing this we start to discover new one. Chris and the Chief had to do just that in their journeys of self-discovery. But what they discovered in the end was the most important lesson they would ever learn. Some of the most significant similarities between these two texts are how Chris and the Chief seclude themselves from society, they recreation of their identities, and how people assume they must be crazy. Both Chris and the Chief secluded themselves from society by choice. Chris chose to because he was feed up with our society and its effect on people. Like he states in a letter he sent to his friend Ron: “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 conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to a man than a secured future” (Into the Wild, pg57) .The Chief was too scared to be part of society. He felt that he wouldn’t be
able to survive in it. Even though he didn’t admit himself into the mental institution he didn’t try to leave it either. So he more or less hides himself from society whereas Chris escaped society by rejoining humanities roots by going into the wild. To feel comfortable in their new ways of life they both felt the need to re-invent themselves. Chris changed his name to Alexander Supertramp so that way he could almost feel as though he was born again. He could leave his past behind him and start fresh and become the man that he’s always wanted to be. He wouldn’t have to live that predictable life he always dreaded having. The Chief on the other hand didn’t change his name but made everyone in the hospital believe that he was something he wasn’t. He pretended to be deaf and dumb. He did this so people would
Page 2 leave him alone and give him no trouble. He let people believe this lie because it made his life easier. He got to overhear things about the hospital and the patients because people didn’t see him as a threat. The other similarity is that everyone who came in contact with either the Chief or Chris though that they were crazy. People though Chris was crazy for wanting to go on this great Alaskan adventure of his. He had no training, no plan, or the proper tools he would need in Alaska. But he was determined to get there one way or another. Another thing that struck people as odd about him was that even though he was college educated he chose to live his life like this. People assumed that the Chief was crazy only because he was in a mental institution. I guess you could say that it didn’t help the matter that he would talk to anyone to tell them otherwise. The most specific differences in the two texts are that the Chief escaped from the mental institution and Chris didn’t escape the wild, Chris didn’t emotionally attach himself to anyone and the Chief did attach himself to someone, Mc Murphy.
He and Mc Murphy made plans to escape. Mc Murphy says he’s going to help to the Chief become big again. The Chief was finally able to escape the mental institution because Mc Murphy helped him to discover that he could survive in the world. He believed that he was small and insignificant but Mc Murphy tells him that he’s as big as a mountain and that he was string too he just didn’t know it. When Mc Murphy was gone (due to the lobotomy) it gave the Chief the courage and strength he needed to finally rejoin the
world. With Chris things were different. He didn’t want to become attached to anyone because of the “emotional baggage that comes with it” (Into the Wild, pg 55). Attachment made his feel claustrophobic and he wanted to feel wild and free. That’s why he wanted to go to Alaska. He
Page 3 felt that there is where he would truly be free. That rejoining nature would help him feel more alive. The world had become too much for him to handle. He thought he would be better off disconnecting himself from everyone and everything. In the end he realized that all he did was lead himself into a trap that he couldn’t escape from. A trap that eventually lead to the factors causing his death. It wasn’t until the end that he realized just how much he wanted to rejoin society and missed being attached to people. Their journeys may have ended differently but they both learn the same valuable lesson. They learned that you can’t disconnect yourself from the world. Life and love only mean something when you share it with others. If you don’t allow yourself to be part of people life then you’re going to live and die alone. The Chief learned that lesson early enough to change his life but Chris didn’t.

Journey’s of Self Discovery
Megan Yorke
990395

Mr. J. Muise English1006E
April 9, 2010