Treadwell Vs Mccandless

Not all who attempt to live in nature survive. In the movie Grizzly Man narrated and directed by Werner Herzog and the novel Into the Wild written by Jon Krakauer, Timothy Treadwell and Chris McCandless both were driven by the idea of removing all traces of the mainstream modern world. Both of them chased a common goal and that was self satisfaction. That said, their need to satisfy themselves was different. McCandless wished to spend his summer cloistered in the remote Alaskan bush collecting and hunting for food. Treadwell was an altruistic hearted man and wished to spend as much of his life with the native Alaskan bears protecting them from poachers and other predators. Rather than live off the land and forage for food, he was flown in
McCandless‘s death was caused by the consumption of moldy roots. McCandless knew the roots weren’t poisonous, however he didn’t realize that the mold on the roots would be toxic. Krakauer states, “The plant that poisoned him wasn’t toxic, per se; McCandless simply had the misfortune to eat moldy seeds. An innocent mistake, it was nevertheless sufficient to end his life” (Krakauer, 194). After an itinerant journey around the country, McCandless lost his life due to the consumption of a plant that wasn’t even know to be poisonous. On May 10, 1991, McCandless writes this in his journal, “It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found. God it’s great to be alive! Thank you. Thank you” (Krakauer 37). His sense of rectitude, and enthusiasm about his journey does not allow him to be weighed down by the insensate world around him. McCandless is attempting to ‘live to the fullest’ and find the ‘real meaning’ of life. McCandless died a young and tragic death, however he lived his life the way he wished too, and always pushed himself, leaving him on his deathbed