The Hero's Journey vs. Into the Wild

In the text Into the Wild, a man with the name of Chris McCandless leaves his life of money, family, and security for the uncertain life of venturing into the wilderness. He experiences things you would expect as a man who just up and leaves with no preparations. As I researched the Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell I came to the realization that it is what Campbell describes as the stages he thinks all “Hero’s” witness while venturing into the wild.

After researching and comparing Chris McCandless’ journey into the wild and Joseph Campbell’s the Hero’s Journey, I found that they go hand in hand. As Chris ventures into the unknown he faces hardships that he was not expecting. Chris left his comfortable life of family, money, and security to start anew. Whether or not Chris was running from something is unclear to me but he definitely was not thinking ahead. While researching the Hero’s Journey I discovered that Campbell outlines that all people who venture into the wilderness experience similar things. You witness the realization that you are not happy with how your life is and you experience the hardships of wilderness and even face death. Some people do not overcome this and Chris was one of those unlucky people.

All people deal with stress in different ways. Was this what Chris was doing? Or was there no deeper meaning for his extreme change in lifestyle? Whether I think what Chris did is wrong or right, he follows up with the Hero’s Journey almost perfectly. There is an outline of twelve things of what makes a story the Hero’s Journey. Campbell, J. (n.d.). The Hero’s Journey Outline. Retrieved February 19, 2015 from thewritersjourney.com. These stages are: 1. The Ordinary World which is about how the “hero” decides to take on this adventure because of personal issues causing stress. 2. The Call of Adventure which is about how the “hero” experiences change within his journey. 3. Refusal of the Call which describes how the “hero” goes through a time where he feels fear in his journey. 4. Meeting with the Mentor that states that the “hero’’ finds a certain someone who helps with his journey. 5. Crossing the Threshold is about when the “hero” decides to leave the known world to go into the wilderness. 6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies is exactly what it states: the “hero” is tested and finds alliances in the new world. 7. Approach is when the “hero” and his allies prepare for the challenges they may face with this journey. 8. The Ordeal is during the middle of the story, and the “hero” may face his greatest fear or even death. 9. The Reward is what the “hero” receives from facing death and also realizes that he can lose this. 10. The Road Back is about the “hero” completing his journey and returning home to prove his accomplished his goals. 11. The Resurrection is at the climax of the story and is about how the “hero” faces death more seriously and how he handles things is whether or not the conflicts he faced at the beginning are resolved. 12. Return with the Elixir is whether the “hero” returns home or continues his journey, but has what he was looking for. As not all of these twelve things that Campbell lists coincide with Chris’s journey, a few do.

Number one which is labeled, “The Ordinary World” states,”The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma.  The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history.  Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress.” This has to do with Chris because he is described as a sad and lonely soul that has all these things going for him but chooses to live this wild life. Chris has a college degree and chooses to not look for a job. Money does not mean anything to him because in chapter three of Into the Wild, Chris gives $24,000 to charity and he burns the rest of his money before embarking on his journey. As for being lonely, he has a family but feels as if they do not understand his way of thinking. His parents try to buy him a new car but this gesture upsets Chris because he does not care for material things.  Number two on the list, “The Call to Adventure”, the author says “Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change.” This is relevant to Chris when he faces death and realizes that this is not as easy as he thought. If you take into consideration that Chris does not prepare for his journey, you realize he does not think ahead. If I would have been in his place I know I would have made sure I had the necessities at the very least. As Chris faces death he states, “S.O.S. I need your help.  I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening.”  This statement makes me believe that he finally breaks down and realizes what is going on around him.

I found that the Joseph Campbell was the one who came up with the concept of “The Hero’s Journey” and that Christopher Vogler reinvented the idea. The Hero’s Journey. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2015, from tvtropes.org.  It breaks the outline down into three stages: Departure, Initiation, and Return. The departure is about how the “hero” decided to leave his previous life and venture into a new world. The initiation is the actual journey he partakes in and all the experiences he goes through. The return is whether or not the “hero” makes it out. In Chris McCandless’ case he does not survive his journey, so the return does not apply to him.

Although there are many names for the stages in the Hero’s Journey, they all mean the same. The Hero’s Journey. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2015, from mythologyteacher.com. Campbell calls the structure he built to describe the Hero’s Journeys steps “the monomyth”. As Campbell describes the stages, he states that a hero has to be called from the ordinary world to begin his journey. Chris experiences this when he decides to leave his life and go into the wild. Chris does not take any precautions before embarking on his journey nor does he tell his family where he is going.

Chris’s journey and Campbell’s the Hero’s Journey coincide with each other to some degree. Even though it is not exactly the same, some things are spot on. While researching this concept I found that most all people go through some sort of confusion as to where their lives are going and need to go through something tragic to realize what they have. Even though Chris did not live to tell his story, I believe he learned a lot about himself. But mainly because the people he met while on his journey he would never forget and they would never forget him. He says himself, “Happiness is only real when shared.” This stands out to me because before his journey he seems to be a loner because he leaves his family without telling them where he is going. He learns that love does not have to come from your biological family, but the people who need you. Chris learns about himself and finally gets love from others.