Jinzuo Dai

Emre Koyuncu

English 106,Section 11

28 March 2011

Wilderness and Death

Since the ancient time, The wild always attract human. All the great hero's story

where start with the curious of the wild. Adventure spirit stay in our DNA for

generation and generation. Wilderness is alway the legend and epic happened.

However sharpest sword also the weakest sword, nature is not only full of mystery but

also cruel and danger. We keep hearing the news of death in wild, but it didn't stop us

walking into the wild to discover and to adventure. We got courage to face the danger

but this doesn't means we can get rid of danger, every day every hour every minutes

people dying. We all will face our death somehow, the only thing we can do is how

we are going to dealing our death.

When i watch the two movie,which is into the wild and grizzly man, i found out that

both Timothy treadwell and Christopher McCandless, two man with a totally different

life,were all went to the Alaska wildness and die in here. It keep me wonder why the

wildness so attractive and what the death bring to them. For Timothy

treadwell(grizzly man), wildness provide him a new life which he cant get for our

society,as well as Christopher McCandless(into the wild) the tranquility of wildness

give him peace .While the death is coming Timothy found out the true meaning of

life, Christopher catch up the beauty of life.

In the following paragraph, i will analysis both into the wild and grizzly man to

answer two question, why the wildness is so attractive and what the death will bring

to us.

The movie Grizzly man is produce by Werner Herzog, who being attract by Timothy

Treadwell's story and make decision making a movie about Timothy's life and his

death. This movie is base on the original tape shoot by Timothy himself and the

interview of people who is close to Timothy OR involved with Timothy,

The early life of Timothy is totally mess up or in the public vision he is a

"loser".College life to Timothy is bad, he didn't focus on his study on the contrary he

made a friends with some bad kids and become abuse alcohol and drugs. As u can see,

Timothy drop his college and starting working around. One day, Timothy is traveling

in to the grizzly maze in Alaska, he was attracted by the grizzly bear with their great

power and beauty. In this beautiful grizzly maze he made the most important decision

in his life, the one make he spent 13 summer in the grizzly bear and losing his own

life. Like i said before every summer after that day, Timothy will get into the wild

grizzly maze, camp there be the guardian of the grizzly bear. But the things he do

were not been recognize by the public. Hunter's laugh at him, Company keep destory

the grizzly maze etc. At the 13th summer, the new season is beginning, Timothy as

usual get into the grizzly maze. But this season is cruel than any other season, bears

don't have enough food they even eat their own baby. One night a hungry bear come

to his camp eat him alive. The only thing people found in his camp is nothing but

pieces of bone and a watch.

When i watch this movie, i found interest that Timothy has such love to the wildness,

he even spent years of time to stay in wildness. Therefore i will discuss why wildness

is attractive to Timothy/

Wild,on the other words the world without mankind or we could say "nature", is equal

to everything, when talking about the nature Charles Darwin make his famous

statement about the nature that is nature always pick the one that most adapt to it

survive(Jhon van Wyhe 1). The nature compare to our society is totally equal, the only

rule of it is adapt the nature then the whole species will survive. Without mankind's

interfere, nature use his own rule to keep it working well. To Timothy, he is life been

mark as a loser in the society because his history. On the other words, consider the

society is give him a mark that he can't get rid of it. No matter what he do ,when

talking to his history in college he is a loser. Unlike the human society, in the wild

nobody will care Timothy's past(of cause their is no body in wild.), Timothy been

attract by this equal of nature. That's why when he saw the grizzly bear. He been

attract by grizzly bear's power. At the Kingdom of this grizzly maze, power means

everything. The grizzly bear is the king of the grizzly maze. Like the interview in the

movie grizzly man, one of the museum's director stated, Timothy's working is not

only be a guardian of grizzly bear, he actually want to be a grizzly bear.

There is no doubt the wild is cruel and danger, but it also provide things that human's

society can't provide. The wild is a place that no one will remember your past, only

the power one the fit one will survive. The cruel of nature give his equal to everyone.

That's why the wild is attractive to Tinothy. To most of people, nature is a danger

place but to Timothy and one like him such a cruel nature is their heaven, the land for

the powerful man no matter where he from no matter what he did in the past.

While the wildness provide a new identity to Timothy attract him get in to the wild, it

also extremely danger to Timothy, no doubt Timothy have to deal the death everyday.

As i said befroe living in the wild is like living in the death, wild is dangerous. Nature

is not some kind of fantasy world, like i said before, it cruel. Only the strongest one

shall survive. Even the greatest predator someday will become other's food. Living in

the wild is living with death.In the book Death written by Todd May, he refer to

Human is fragile, death will come any day any moment, once we notice our fragile,

we will thing about ourselves and try to live with it(May 85). We have to accept our

life is fragile, even we claim our the greatest thing nature ever made, everyday we

face the danger from toxic, bacilli, and other unpredictable things. However the

danger we will face in the wild is way more than we could face in the human society.

If death will come no matter how you do, the only thing we can do is try to figure out

how to deal with our death. " i did my best" this phrase been using in a lot of time in

our life. It showing our confident about what we do and we have do in all we can

leave no regrets behind. The same thing to our life, we all try to living a life that we

have no regrets, a meaningful life. Living a meaningful life usually means get a life

goal and achieve it. Live with death means dealing with death everyday, means every

day the fact we all might die today make us try to force ourself try to reach the life

goal as hard as we can. To Timothy, he got his life goal which is to protect the grizzly

bear. But the way to achieve it is hard, in he's camera the last season he stay in the

grizzly maze is hard to all of grizzly bear .he can't take the fact because lack of food

grizzly bear is eating their baby for survive. Obviously, for the survive of how species

this is acceptable. But to Timothy this is too cruel to him As a protector of grizzly

bear. If life will end somehow why not make it meaningful? In the movie when

talking about the death of Timothy record by his camera. He seems not fear of his

death, he didn't even try to escaped just let the hungry bear eat him.

Just as the story in the Buddhism. Monk to sacrifice his own meat his own life to save

the animal. Timothy did the same thing. To showing how he love the grizzly bear, to

finish his life goal protect the grizzly bear with his own life. There is no doubt he

knowing the danger he live with the grizzly bear, the love of the grizzly bear make

him can't leave the grizzly maze. Also because the love to grizzly bear, by knowing

the death is surrounding him, he made a decision to make his life meaningful and to

achieve his goal, be the protector of grizzly bear and be with grizzly bear forever and

ever.

In conclusion, in the movie Grizzly man. Story of Timothy show us that wildness is

such attractive to some of people because it can provide a new identity that they cant

get in human society,. As well as dealing with the death, because the threat of death it

force people find the true meaning of life.

Into the wild is also a movie about death in the wild Alaska, different from Grizzly

man, this movie is not a documental movie. The director of Into the wild is Sean

Penn. This movie's story is base on the non-fiction book which has the same name as

the movie, written by Jon Krakauer.

Christopher McCandless, the main character of Into the wild. grew up in Virginia. His

life,compare to Timothy Treadwell, is successful. Unlike Timothy failed in his college

study. Christopher McCandless was graduate as a top student of Emory Unicersitty

which is a private college locate in the Druid Hills, Georgia. After he graduate, he got

a job. From here we could say Christipher McCandless's life is successful and he is a

"winner" in this society. But Christopher McCandless didn't share the same feeling,

after he saving $25,000. He give all his money to the Oxfam which is a confederation

working in the worldwide to finding solutions help people. Then Christopher

McCandless cease the contact with his parents starting his wildness life. In the year

1990, Chirstopher McCandless walking into the wild never goes back. While

McCandless walking in the wild, he was lack of survive skill in the wild, everyman he

meet were all try to convince him go back but he didn't. Winter he cross a frozen river

and found abandoned bus and starting live in this bus. Unfortunate when Chirstopher

McCandless try to go back the river is no longer frozen, he been trap on the land.

1992 without any food McCandless try to eat some plants, sadly the plant was poison

he die in the car end his 2 years wildness life.

Through out history, we could find a lot of people live out side of human society and

live a life without anybody around. The reason they doing this because they were tired

of the society, they try to live a new life outside, a life with peace.

In the wildness, there is nothing will interrupt you. No more rumor, No more noise the

only thing stay is silence. As the social animal, mankind start the society at the

beginning of the civilization. As mankind grew up the society is become bigger and

bigger. Every people in this society got a lot of role, as a parents , as a son ,as a

employee, as a boss etc. This role keep trap us , make us doing thing.

These year, yoga a traditional physical exercise become more an more popular. No

only because because it good foe health but also it's also a mental exercise while

doing it we could live nothing behind. The wildness provide the same thing yoga

provide, walking through the wild peace is always company with us. And yet it

provide even more, as a way to attract people, wildness not only provide people

peace, since a lot of thing can also do this, it also provide the danger. Yes, danger

people tend to do things like bungee jumping and some other things make them

experience danger and exciting. Therefore, hiking in the wild become popular these

day.

To Chirstopher McCandless he life is not good as other's view. The reason he cease

contact with his parents is, he live in a broken family. his father betrayed his family,

cheat them and got another family. He was really upset about his family and need a

way out to release his emotion, therefore he choose to walking in the wild, but he not

just want a trip in the wild, he want to live in the wild, he give up all he got in the

human society abandon his role, walking into the wild like the ancient hermit try to

live without human society, stay in the wild got peace in his mind.

It is the tranquility of wildness that give McCandless peace, which attract him get in

to the wildness. However like i said before wildness is alway a dangerous place,

therefore McCandless cant avoid faceing the threat of death.

Death, in literature has a such power. Tragic is always the most touching story. We

like watch tragic story not because it broken the beautiful thing in front of us. But also

it let us thinking of death. While dealing other's death we all feel sad to them. Death,

to all of us means the end of every thing. Sometime we all joking about when we die

the only thing we got is our graveyard. It's funny also it's true. Death is the ending to

every thing, our love one leaving us, our life become part of history and buried by the

ash of time.

We were so afraid of death, yet we have to admire death is such a beautiful thing.

Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, the most famous tragic story worldwide.

Because the death of Hemlet, while we read the whole story it keep play on and on in

our mind. I've been through losing family once, when i hear the message i was shock.

There is nothing left in my mind but the memory of old days.

Christopher McCandless's death affect a lot of people, however at the storm of his

death is his parents. Yes his parents been through a lot of problem, the family is nearly

broken, but it dosen't means they don'y love Christopher McCandless.

When dealling with the close one's death the first thing we do is knowing how much

we love him. More than one time, we can see Chirstopher's parents walking in the

street try everything they could to find him. They cring when they hold his picture.

For a long time ago, love which been lost to long in this family has been bring back

once again.

Life is fragile, like i said before. Because the fragile of life make us knowing the

beauty of our life. The one who has the nearly death experience will become more

value their life. For the normal people like us we might face the same way, imagine

there is something we get a lot of memory on it, one day it lost. When we dealing our

death, we knowing the fragile of our life ,we found out the beauty of our life.

Alaska give Christopher what he want, he get a peace and starting to think about

himself, since he knowing the fragile of life. He knowing the beauty of the life was.

Chirstopher McCandless stae in the movie that "i have lived through much, and now I

think I have found what is needed for happiness. a quiet secluded life in the country,

with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who

are not accustomed to have it done to them. and work which one hopes may be of

some use. then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor such is my idea of

happiness. ". There is no doubt Alaska' wildness change Chirstopher McCandless a lot

but tragic still happened, after knowing the value of life Christopher McCandless

trying to get back in human society, bu the river block him, trap him in the lonely

island. And die in the wild.

Wildness always attract the people, whatever the want find a new life out of human

society or they want get in to the tranquility of wildness bring peace to their mind.

The coin always has two side, there is benefit the wildness give u , there is dangerous

the wildness will bring you. In both movie Grizzly bear and Into the wild, Timothy

and McCandless 's story told us that dealing death is not always depress and terrible.

In fact because of dealing with death it make us can find the true meaning of our life

and how beauty our life is.

Outline

1.THESIS

When i watch the two movie,which is into the wild and grizzly man, i found out that

both Timothy treadwell and Christopher McCandless, two man with a totally different

life,were all went to the Alaska wildness and die in here. It keep me wonder why the

wildness so attractive and what the death bring to them. For Timothy

treadwell(grizzly man), wildness provide him a new life which he cant get for our

society,as well as Christopher McCandless(into the wild) the tranquility of wildness

give him peace.While the death is coming Timothy found out the true meaning of life,

Christopher catch up the beauty of life.

GRIZZLY MAN

1.POINT Wildness provide a new identity which people cant get in human society.

A. It provide a true equal give timothy a 2nd chance.

B. wild has only one rule ,strongest on survive.

2.POINT With the death's approach, it force us find out the true meaning of life.

A. With the death treat, it force timothy review his whole life.

B.Timothy decide use his life to do a meaningful thing.

INTO THE WILD

1. POINT The tranquility of wildness bring peace to us.

A. Like doing yoga hiking in the wild make use have peace

B. McCandless have a family issue make him want get away .

2. POINT Death lead us found out the beauty of life.

A. the Missing of McCandless make his family is aware their true feeling to

McCandless.

B. McCandless found the true meaning of life in his wild life.