Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild: An Unbalanced Self-Reflection and Community

In the life of Chris McCandless, the book Into the Wild reveals an unbalanced relationship between community and introspection. It is clear from McCandless’s trip that he spends a lot of time alone thinking about and weighing his life decisions. In the end, McCandless achieves self-actualization. The irony is that McCandless discovers the association between happiness and interpersonal connections too late since he dies while making his way back to civilisation. I was challenged by this book and am now motivated to achieve a better balance in my own life.

The hierarchy of needs described by Maslow demonstrates how specific requirements drive human behavior. What drives human behavior is a persistent issue in psychology. Five degrees of needs are included in Maslow’s hierarchy: physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and ultimately self-actualization. McCandless challenges Maslow’s hierarchy from the beginning to the conclusion. McCandless threw up all of his stuff and set off on a solo adventure, disregarding the physiological (such as food and water) and safety necessities (such as financial stability and protection against accidents and harm). The highest degree of Maslow’s requirements is self-actualization. This level is reached when a person is aware of their limits and makes use of their skills. To determine the validity of Maslow’s hierarchy, researchers ran a study. The results of the study demonstrated a strong correlation between happiness and the satisfaction of demands. People from all different ethnic backgrounds said that even when fundamental necessities weren’t addressed, self-actualization was still essential. Maslow’s Hierarchy is disregarded by McCandless since he exhibits all of the characteristics of a self-actualized person that Maslow defined (until the end of the story).

It is well recognized that stress is often associated with ailments and diseases. We may refuel our physical, emotional, and spiritual selves by spending time alone. McCandless goes above and above with this idea. McCandless ponders and dwells on his life by disengaging from society and driving everyone away. I believe it’s crucial to briefly unwind and relieve tension after a hard day at work or school. McCandless lacks balance, while I attempt to strike a balance between my social activities and my alone time. He regards this way of life as the only viable option.

It’s crucial to have family and friends in your life, no matter who you are. We feel better and have greater personal satisfaction in our life when we are linked to the individuals we like or adore. Our wellbeing is influenced by the relationships we develop and the feeling of community we have with our classmates, neighbors, and families. The individuals that support you and assist you overcome challenges are your friends and family. All partnerships are rejected by McCandless, who believes that his independence is the secret to his success. He was relieved to have once again avoided the looming danger of friendship and the heavy emotional baggage that goes along with it (Krakauer 55). McCandless seeks alone to reflect on his life, but he also wants to demonstrate his independence by refusing assistance from others. When given money to help him live, he declines the gift since he believes he can make it on his own. … She remembers that when she attempted to offer him some money for helping out at a swap fair, he got really upset and wouldn’t accept it (46). McCandless spends his last hours alone in the wilderness, reflecting on his life and rejecting the group of people who have gathered around him.

Family and friends have an essentially nonexistent role in McCandless’ life. Family and friends gave him a lot of support and comfort, but he declined all of it. He turned down his parents’ offers to purchase him a new automobile and cover the cost of law school in order to demonstrate his independence. He stopped making or accepting presents. In fact, Chris had just reprimanded Walt and Billie for saying they wanted to give him a new automobile for graduation (20). McCandless was able to escape reality, demonstrate his independence, and flee a miserable family situation by entering the outdoors. McCandless believed that leaving his horrible upbringing and terrible parents was his best course of action.

After finishing this book, I came to the conclusion that community and personal thought and contemplation are both crucial aspects of life. Having friends and family that you care about is vital because we learn from and are supported by others. To balance these two in my life is quite challenging. My close friends and family are extremely essential to me. My family and friends occupy the bulk of my time. They provide me comfort and enjoyment, and I feel at ease when I am around them. I don’t spend much time in self-reflection since I am very much a people person. I sometimes overlook the importance of me time.

It’s important to strike a balance between time spent with your community and time spent thinking and pondering. Although they are in direct opposition to one another, both are necessary for leading a healthy lifestyle. McCandless and I are complete opposites; he has no community in his life, while I have a large sense of community. Into the Wild made it clear that McCandless and I both had trouble juggling two crucial competing demands in our lives, albeit in very different ways.