Into the Wild
Matthew Nguyen
H GHI American Lit. (2)
Mr. Wolf
7 December 2012
Family: Blood is More Complicated than Water Family is not only what brings one into the world but is much, much more. Family has an immense power in the life of an individual, they shape, mold, and influence the way in which an individual grows into an adult. There is the saying that ‘blood is thicker than water’ meaning that blood relatives: parents, brothers or sisters, aunt or uncles will be there when friends or acquaintances will not. This idea that family is the only real and reliable source in one’s life also ties into the fact these people should be held close and respected. Even so, in the book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the main character, Chris McCandless and his father Walt have a seriously strained relationship. Neither is their relationship one of simple issues, it is a relationship based off of complications, misunderstandings and secrecy to some degree. Another example of this strained relationship with parents comes with the punk rockers, such as Jim Lindberg, who were featured in the film, The Other “F” Word. In this film men of the punk sub-culture discuss their relationships with their fathers, or lack of for that matter, and in turn connect their complicated father-son relationships to their need to find movement like that of the punks to fit into. Walt and Chris did not have the best relationship; in fact, the two regularly held clashing views on subjects such as the idea of success. The strained and complicated relationship between Chris and his father led him to live a life of non-conformity in an attempt to fill a void in his understanding of himself that was left by the lack of mutual growth with his father and the silent rejection of his father’s influence and molding. Similarly, Lindberg was drawn towards his respective non-conformist subculture, the Punks, in order to fill in the missing experiences of acceptance and family in his life. Fathers and sons
H GHI American Lit. (2)
Mr. Wolf
7 December 2012
Family: Blood is More Complicated than Water Family is not only what brings one into the world but is much, much more. Family has an immense power in the life of an individual, they shape, mold, and influence the way in which an individual grows into an adult. There is the saying that ‘blood is thicker than water’ meaning that blood relatives: parents, brothers or sisters, aunt or uncles will be there when friends or acquaintances will not. This idea that family is the only real and reliable source in one’s life also ties into the fact these people should be held close and respected. Even so, in the book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the main character, Chris McCandless and his father Walt have a seriously strained relationship. Neither is their relationship one of simple issues, it is a relationship based off of complications, misunderstandings and secrecy to some degree. Another example of this strained relationship with parents comes with the punk rockers, such as Jim Lindberg, who were featured in the film, The Other “F” Word. In this film men of the punk sub-culture discuss their relationships with their fathers, or lack of for that matter, and in turn connect their complicated father-son relationships to their need to find movement like that of the punks to fit into. Walt and Chris did not have the best relationship; in fact, the two regularly held clashing views on subjects such as the idea of success. The strained and complicated relationship between Chris and his father led him to live a life of non-conformity in an attempt to fill a void in his understanding of himself that was left by the lack of mutual growth with his father and the silent rejection of his father’s influence and molding. Similarly, Lindberg was drawn towards his respective non-conformist subculture, the Punks, in order to fill in the missing experiences of acceptance and family in his life. Fathers and sons
Cited: Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor, 1997. Print. The Other "F" Word. Dir. Andrea B. Nevins. Perf. Jim Lindberg and Art Alexakis. Rare Bird Films, 2011. DVD.