English Into The Wild
Finn Lundy
Long Nights in Alaska
An analysis of Chris McCandless’s transformation during his long nights in the Alaskan wild. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” - Henry David Thoreau
Starvation is not a pleasant way to perish. There is no way to dignify the description of death by starvation. It is neither quick nor painless. Not long after food intake stops, an individual resorts to the fuel resources in fatty tissues and the liver. Once the fat is gone the patient starts experiencing loss of hair, extreme sensitivity to cold, exhaustion and discoloration of the skin. In the absence of vital nutrients, the mind begins to experience inducing convulsions and hallucinations. Despite all this, it is often reported that near the end of the victim’s life the pain dissolves, the hunger vanishes, replaced by a supreme sense of euphoria, accompanied by nonpareil mental clarity. It was in the last days of Christopher Johnson McCandless’s life that he felt all these symptoms. In the movie adaption of the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the soundtrack was performed by Eddie Vedder. Music has an uncanny ability to expose characters’ feelings, actions, and the film’s tensions. The song “Long Nights,” by Eddie Vedder, exemplifies McCandless’s Thoreau-inspired desire to exile himself from the evils of the world, and his aspiration to prove to himself that he could survive alone in the Alaskan wilderness. Through lyrics, melodies and literary devices Eddie Vedder is able to convey all this in a song that spans less than three minutes.
“Long Nights,” is a song of growth and humility. Although these themes are not quite directly spelled out in the composition, they are implied with the use of phrases, such as “I'll be around to grow” and “falling safely to the ground.” Vedder
Long Nights in Alaska
An analysis of Chris McCandless’s transformation during his long nights in the Alaskan wild. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” - Henry David Thoreau
Starvation is not a pleasant way to perish. There is no way to dignify the description of death by starvation. It is neither quick nor painless. Not long after food intake stops, an individual resorts to the fuel resources in fatty tissues and the liver. Once the fat is gone the patient starts experiencing loss of hair, extreme sensitivity to cold, exhaustion and discoloration of the skin. In the absence of vital nutrients, the mind begins to experience inducing convulsions and hallucinations. Despite all this, it is often reported that near the end of the victim’s life the pain dissolves, the hunger vanishes, replaced by a supreme sense of euphoria, accompanied by nonpareil mental clarity. It was in the last days of Christopher Johnson McCandless’s life that he felt all these symptoms. In the movie adaption of the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the soundtrack was performed by Eddie Vedder. Music has an uncanny ability to expose characters’ feelings, actions, and the film’s tensions. The song “Long Nights,” by Eddie Vedder, exemplifies McCandless’s Thoreau-inspired desire to exile himself from the evils of the world, and his aspiration to prove to himself that he could survive alone in the Alaskan wilderness. Through lyrics, melodies and literary devices Eddie Vedder is able to convey all this in a song that spans less than three minutes.
“Long Nights,” is a song of growth and humility. Although these themes are not quite directly spelled out in the composition, they are implied with the use of phrases, such as “I'll be around to grow” and “falling safely to the ground.” Vedder