A Comparison of Edward Abbey of Desert Solitaire, and Chris McCandless of Into the Wild

1289 Words3 Pages

With a wish to forsake industrial living Edward Abby of Desert Solitaire, and Chris McCandless of Into the Wild, immerse themselves in wilderness. While rejecting notions of industrial life, their defection is not absolute. Despite McCandless’ stated wish to live off the land (Krakauer163), he delights in finding an industrial bus in the Alaskan wilderness for his base camp (Krakauer163). Likewise Abbey, from his comfortable trailer in the Utah desert, states he is there to “confront…the bare bones of existence” (6). Utilization of industry in their escape from it seems like a contradiction at first glance, but this conflict indicates that they are not rejecting industry, only separating themselves by the degrees necessary to accommodate what they want to experience. Abbey’s Industrial dependency accommodates his need to have a philosophical dialogue with nature without separating himself from it, while McCandless’ primitive approach accommodates his need for self-reliance. This separation by degrees allows rejection and usage to co-exist within their individual paradigms. The removal of absolutes allows both men to explore outside of defined parameters. Subscribing to neither total rejection of a notion, nor adherence to rigidly defined ideas, both men can incorporate evolving discoveries relative to their need without contradiction. Abbey and McCandless experience different degrees of separation from industrial living, but neither wholly rejects it. Abbey, a National Park Service employee in Utah, states “I am here not only to evade for a while the clamor and filth and confusion of the cultural apparatus but also to confront immediately and directly if it’s possible, the bare bones of existence” (6). While Abbey surround... ... middle of paper ... ...f the natural” (Abbey 6) then proceeds to personify everything around him from ravens that “croak harsh clanking sounds of smug satisfaction” (Abbey 16), to a Juniper tree that might be mad, or simply suffering “an internal effort at liberation” (Abbey 27). While Abbey explores the contradiction of man and nature merged, yet separate, McCandless frequently re-shapes his paradigm to incorporate discovery. Non-adherence to predetermined configurations allows both men to have the relationships they seek with wilderness and industrial society. We see on close inspection that what at first appears to be a contradiction is actually a purposeful non-conformity that allows each man to tailor his experience. Works Cited 1. Abbey, Edward. Desert Solitaire. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1968. Print. 2. Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: DOUBLEDAY, 1997. Print.

Open Document