Sarah Eldert English 106 A:2 October 23, 2011

Man Vs. Nature

“Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness…give me truth

-Henry David Thoreau.” By leaving society and all of the stigmas placed on us, you can

find your true meaning and real bliss. Two men, Timothy Treadwell, born Timothy

Dexter and Alexander Supertramp, born Christopher Johnson McCandless are on the

search of finding themselves and their true meaning in life. By surviving on their own in

the wild, both men were put to the ultimate challenge of testing their optimum strengths

and weaknesses. Through this, they discovered the unnecessary need of materialistic

goods and how a simple life is a happy life. A major theme portrayed in both “Grizzly

Man” and “Into the Wild” is the idea that society is bad. Society is the fuel behind

wanting to escape to Alaska for both men. Both men had felt the constant pressures

placed on themselves and their families growing up and found a way to escape these

feelings by leaving everything behind and going to Alaska. Chris’ hatred stemming from

his homelife and Timothy’s dark past with substance abuse provoked their individual

reasons for escaping their comfortable lives in Long Island, New York and Virginia to

live secluded in the wild. To many, Timothy and Chris’ adventuresome attitude was

debated. Many questioned if these men were on a spiritual quest or if they were careless

thrill seekers who threw away their lives. In order for these men to reconcile with their

pasts, escaping to the wild was extremely important. Although Timothy and Chris were

crazy for doing what they did, both of these men chose the ultimate escape from the

pressures of society in order to find themselves and their true meanings. Both coming

Sarah Eldert English 106 A:2 October 23, 2011 from different backgrounds, each of these men connected with the wild for different

reasons and interacted with society in different ways. Both Timothy and Chris used their

dark pasts to fuel their desire to find themselves.

Growing up in Long Island, New York, Timothy Treadwell was one of five

children born to Val and Carol Dexter (Timothy Treadwell). As a child, Treadwell was

happy and drawn to animals of all kinds at a very young age. He and his mother often

bonded over their mutual love of nature and their pet squirrel. It wasn’t until he received

his first teddy bear that he realized his passion for Grizzly’s. Treadwell led a pretty

normal life up until he went off to college. As Treadwell entered this new stage in his

life his parents began to notice a difference in his behavior. It was here that he began to

take on the personality of a different person whom was completely made up in his head.

After injuring himself while diving and failing to gain a role in the sitcom Cheers,

Treadwell turned to drugs to cope with his pain (Timothy Treadwell). After a near fatal

overdose, Treadwell had an epiphany of why he was put here. Over the next thirteen

summers Treadwell took on the title of protector of the Grizzly’s in the Alaskan

wilderness. Now you will see how Treadwell’s sudden desire to escape to Alaska is

dissimilar to Christopher’s story in that his desire to escape resulted from a near fatal

drug overdose and Chris had multiple events occur throughout his adolescence which

resulted in his hostility towards society.

Johnson points out that Christopher Johnson McCandless was born to two parents

whose marriage was illegitimate. Both his mother and father were highly concerned with

how people viewed their family. This constant need to look perfect and live what was

virtually a lie is what drove Chris to abandon his life in search of who he really was as an

Sarah Eldert English 106 A:2 October 23, 2011 individual (Johnson 72). Chris’ sister Corrine is often heard doing voice over

commentary throughout the movie. From this along with other scenes we can see that

she and Chris had a very close relationship and often comforted each other during times

of abuse and arguments between their parents. Corrine provides us with insight about the

family and comments on Chris’ decision to escape to Alaska—“Which saddens her, but

which she, also champions” (Vineberg 49). When Chris decided to leave home, his

decision was based off of anger and hatred towards society and his own parents. This

reasoning varied greatly from Treadwell’s justification of doing what he did which is

ultimately why Timothy and Christopher are dissimilar in many ways. Now that you

know how each mans childhood affected them I will explain the reasoning behind

escaping into the wild.

Timothy Treadwell was nothing more than a lost soul who found comfort and

meaning in protecting the Grizzlies. Although Timothy found comfort in the Alaskan

National Park he also found joy in educating young children all over. “ In 1995

Treadwell and Jewel Palovak started Grizzly People. This was an advocacy group for

people who cared for Grizzly’s just as much as they did (Jerome 90). Treadwell and

Palovaks organization, Grizzly People, is committed to preserving bears and their habitat.

One of their goals is to raise awareness on grizzlies through education, with hopes that

we can learn to live in peace with the bears, their habitat, and society. Treadwell was not

focused on gaining stardom by doing what he did. Although he made appearances on

T.V, Treadwell’s main concern was that of the bears, and his duty to protect them from

harm. The bears saved Timothy from a life that was spinning out of control from

substance abuse. As we can see Treadwell’s story is one of being saved and finding his

Sarah Eldert English 106 A:2 October 23, 2011 true meaning. In the next section I will examine how McCandless’ journey began out of

disgust for his parents and his overall feelings toward society as a whole. Although many

of us have arguments from time to time with our parents and have views about the

outside world, McCandless took his anger to a whole different level by doing what he

did.

For Chris McCandless, society is filled with judgmental people, fakes, and liars.

After finding out that his father also parented another child with his ex-wife, Chris’ view

of his family diminished. Chris’ family looked like the all-American “cookie-cutter”

family. Both of his parents graduated from an Ivy League university. After leaving their

respectable jobs, Mr. and Mrs. McCandless opened up a consulting firm together. This

clash of work and family caused much tension between his parents, which resulted in a

lot of arguing. This arguing and abuse that McCandless and his sister witnessed first hand

is what drove Chris to do what he did. Wanting to find his own true happiness,

McCandless set out to live as simple as possible, inspired by the great literary works of

Tolstoy and Thoreau. By donating his life savings to Oxfam, ditching his old car, and

changing his legal name, Chris was beginning his new life without the constant pressures

set forth by his parents and society around him. Chris did not dislike all people, as we

can see with the relationships he formed along the way on his Alaskan adventure. Chris

often got along with the various people he met and did not mind having company on his

journey. Treadwell on the other hand wanted to be secluded in the Alaskan national park

with only the Grizzlies. In the next section I will explain how Treadwell connected with

the outside world and his feelings towards others.

Sarah Eldert English 106 A:2 October 23, 2011 According to Treadwell, “Nature is sweet, civilization is nasty.” (Will, “Penguins,

People and a Grisly Bear Tale”). As we can see from the limited relationships he had,

Treadwell loved everything related to nature. Treadwell found friendships in the animals

he encountered, often bonding with them at a deeper level, and going as far as giving

them names. Stated in the article, A Sad And Grizzly End, he was “often likened to Dr.

Doolittle, Treadwell filmed the bears, slept among them, sang to them, took notes on

them and gave them names like Bobble, Squiggle, and Mr. Chocolate” (Jerome 89).

Treadwell’s relationship with animals could be viewed as obsessive. The mere sight of a

bee, dead on a flower, caused great emotion in Treadwell. During his 13 summers in

Alaska, Treadwell chose to spend his time alone with. When Treadwell had the company

of his girlfriend, Amy Huguenard, he chose to keep her identity concealed. Their

relationship was different from many we see. They both shared a love of nature and

animals but we can see that Timothy’s obsession exceeded that of Huguenard’s. At one

point in the documentary, Treadwell confesses to failing at relationships: “I always can’t

understand why girls don’t want to be with me for a long time” (Brinks 309).This

statement helps us to conclude that Treadwell does not know how to sustain relationships

outside of nature. Contrary to this, Christopher McCandles not only made friendships

along his journey, but he also accepted the help of others. Now we will examine how

McCandless’ connection with the outside world differed greatly from that of Treadwell’s.

Chris’ mindset of being able to go on in life without any human connection is

brought out by his bitterness for his parents. “Although McCandless’ main goal was

seclusion in Alaska, he did not hesitate to make friends along the way, often documenting

his experiences in a journal. All of the people McCandless met reassured him that there

Sarah Eldert English 106 A:2 October 23, 2011 are people out there that are genuinely good and selfless (Vineberg 49). The first friends

that had an impact on McCandless’ mindset were Jan and Ron Franz. They helped him

realize that “ his efforts to pull away from other people have been misguided”(Vineberg

49). Written in his diary, “happiness is only real when shared”, is a huge milestone for

McCandless. Unlike Treadwell, McCandless had hopes of returning home after his

journey and to start his new life. Unfortunately he never had the opportunity. Treadwell

and McCandles’s personalities differed greatly with everything from their masculinity to

the way they interacted with others. Although both men seemed to be more emotional

than most, their ability to live in the wilderness proves that their masculinity is still intact.

A huge difference between the two men is their personalities. How each man went about

everyday life and their personalities that were reflected in each of the films was a clear

difference that I will now talk about.

Timothy Treadwell’s story has a sort of retrograde motion. Although two adults

raised him, he began to revert back to childish manners while living in the wild. From

his obnoxious amount of energy and Prince Valiant haircut, to his high-sugar diet and

tent-mate, Timothy was thought of as a joke by many (Brinks 305). When really looking

at Timothy and what he did many could not argue that he was courageous, maybe a little

crazy, and definitely manly. Weighing in at anywhere from 300-850 lbs and reaching

speeds of 35mph, you have to have a lot of bravery and passion to do what he did

(Grizzly Bear Facts). Not many could camp in the wilderness, let alone interact with

these massive creatures. Although Timothy may seem flamboyant there is no doubt that

he is masculine in the sense of being able to survive in the wilderness. Timothy had to

have had an immense amount of courage and perseverance to not give up and to continue

Sarah Eldert English 106 A:2 October 23, 2011 returning to Alaska for 13 consecutive summers. His personality is conveyed much

through the 100 hours of footage he acquired over the 13 summers he spent in Alaska.

By re-shooting several scenes with different clothing options and referring to the animals

by name we can see that Timothy has a very theatrical and melodramatic personality.

Treadwell was very open with his emotions and feelings about nature and those who

threatened nature. Many would view this as being feminine and overdramatic. Both he

and McCandless were childish in a way in that they both ran to Alaska away from their

problems instead of facing them head on. Now that you know Treadwell’s personality

and characteristics we can compare it to that of McCandless.

McCandless, although extremely educated and bright, chose to leave everything

behind in search of his true meaning. This is very courageous but also idiotic. By

abandoning his car, donating his savings, and changing his name, McCandless left

himself with nothing. On the other side of the argument, by leaving home and the

negativity he felt throughout his youth, many would say he was courageous for doing

what he did. Not many people could leave their whole life and future behind at the drop

of a dime. Living by the simplest means and doing what made him truly happy was

inspirational. In today’s society, not many people can live without the everyday

materialistic things that we feel are imperative to our wellbeing. We can see that through

the relationships he formed and the manner in which he carried himself, McCandless was

very mature for his age. He along with Treadwell were both extremely motivated to

complete what they set out to do and in the end both died doing what made them happy.

Both men feeling hostile towards society chose to escape the everyday pressures

and find their true meaning through the simplest means. Although they came from very

Sarah Eldert English 106 A:2 October 23, 2011 different backgrounds, they used the wilderness, their relationships, and dark pasts, to

assuage their bitterness and feelings towards society. Although Timothy and Chris’

stories differ, we can also see that they were similar in many ways. Timothy and Chris’

stories will live on as a tale of two men finding their true selves through simple and

peaceful measures.

Sarah Eldert English 106 A:2 October 23, 2011

Works Cited

Brinks, Ellen. "Uncovering the Child in Timothy Treadwell's Feral Tale." The Lion and the

Unicorn (2008): 304-23. Proquest. Web. 17 Oct. 2011.

Glacier National Park. "Grizzly Bear Facts." Glacier National Park Travel Guide. Perry

Rosenbloom. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. <http://www.glacier-national-park-travel-

guide.com/grizzly-bear-facts.html>.

Jerome, Richard, and Lyndon Stambler. "A Sad and Grizzly End." People. 60.17 (2003): 89-90.

Web. 17 October. 2011.

Johnson, Brian D. "Making 'Into the Wild' Even Wilder." Maclean’s. 120.38 (2007): 72. Web. 17

Oct. 2007.

"Timothy Treadwell." Wikipedia. Wikipedia Contributors. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Treadwell>.

Vineberg, Steve. "Call of the Wild." Christian Century 124.23 (2007). 49. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.

Will, George F. "Penguins, People and a Grisly Bear Tale." The Washington Post. The

Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2005. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2005/08/26/AR2005082601486.html>.

Sarah Eldert English 106 A:2 October 23, 2011