Chris McCandless and the Prophet Muhammad - Essay Example

?Aaml Al-Kathiri Dr. Newman English 101 13 November, Chris McCandless and the Prophet Muhammad Jon Krakauer heard the story of a young man who had been found dead inside a motor vehicle. Following the information, Krakauer put down an article on the matter. This article triggered a chain of information that helped to compile the book. Krakauer was able to meet and interview many people that had seen McCandless. The movie and novel, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer depicts McCandless’ adventurous journey and experiences in the wilderness. In the summer of 1990, adventurer Christopher Johnson McCandless left for an unknown destination. The Story of Chris McCandless as narrated by Jon Krakauer reflects a personal journey whose justifications may never be known. He had donated all his savings, spent his cash and deserted his car to re-invent a new life for himself. In 1992, his decayed body was located in the Alaskan mountains. Donner insinuates that the experiences and journey of McCandless compare largely with the experiences of the Prophet Muhammad in his early life (22). This is because both characters underwent similar experiences of inner motivations that led them to engage in audacious acts that were challenging and extraordinary in their respective societies. I believe that McCandless and Muhammad focused on attaining knowledge, lived in precarious environments, and valued the need to study societal processes. Similarities John Krakauer believes that inner obsession and youthful desires led McCandless to undertake that journey (1). He reconstructs a clear prism through which he brings together the unsettling facts of Christopher McClandess’ life. By digging deeply, Krakauer unfolds the secrets that the life of McCandless depicts. He integrates the reflective pull of the American jungle on the reader’s imagination as well as the fascination of the high-risk activities in the wilderness performed by young people. Evidences reveal that McCandless had acquired a normal childhood and had graduated from college. After graduating, he took a personal journey by roaming through the wilderness areas of Alaska. He abandoned his car in the Mojave Desert, destroyed the license plates, threw away his maps, and burned his money. He later named himself Alexander Supertramp. With that, he liberated himself to indulge in nature freely with new experiences. The surprise of the story is that McCandless had grown in the wealthy neighbourhood of Washington, D. C., and had graduated with an honours degree from Emory University. Nonetheless, these factors did not fulfil him. His ultimate desire was to undertake an Alaskan odyssey in the wild for a whole summer. He was probably harrowing with the desire to make an extraordinary step in his life. McCandless shocked the world by leaving a nearly perfect life. Interestingly, he had left a full trail of travails documents, photos and diaries. In his diaries, he depicts a journey of a hunger experience driven by a kind of immortal grandeur. He contemplated in the emptiness of the material world. He had planned to attend law school in the future. Supertramp (1) disagrees that McCandless was still naive and experimental. He traversed the country using meagre means. In few times he sought employment and in hard times refused help from strangers. He can be defined as an idealist whose life was cut down before he could realise its full benefits. He had made an impact on nearly all the people he had met along his journey. His journey was quickly prepared without plans. He did not have a rifle, an axe, a compass, or a map. This was an arrogant decision because the environment that he was going to face was harsh and dangerous. The life of Prophet Muhammad closely relates to the experiences of McCandless. Mohammad grew up in a society that was blemished by violence, hunger and warfare. However, he had received a normal upbringing even following the loss of his parents at a young age. His father passed before he was born, while the mother passed when he was six years old. His influential uncle Quraysh adopted him and gave him an ideal family life. However, he did not study in a formal school. His story reflects a personal journey that is relatable to many people’s life experiences. Just like McCandless, the young Mohammed had longed for the desire for more knowledge and fulfilment. In his middle life, he would retreat to the Arabian wilderness to meditate. It is in his passion for meditation that he met Angel Gabriel who gave him religious tenets that formed the basis of the Islam religion. As he was meditating in the caves of Mount Hira, a revelation that transformed his life and the entire society struck him. He began to recite religious words through what is believed to be the power of God. The scholars evaluated the messages and accepted them as credible due to their depth and richness of information. Like McCandless, Prophet Muhammad disliked the materialist lifestyle of the society. According to McCandless’s mother, his son detested the material world and saw it as shameful and evil. Prophet Muhammad saw the increasing number of poor persons and the vigour with which materialism was overhauling the society. Donner is insisting that these concerns were the probable inspirations that interconnected Mohammad to the spiritual revelations (11). McCandless burned his money, abandoned his car and literally walked out of his rich lifestyle. It is not clear if he planned to come back into the material world after the trip. Donner is wrong when she says both men had witnessed practices of deprivation, immorality, unfairness and corruption imposed on the local people by those in authority. Mohammad’s messages preached peace, charity and the worship of one God. Like McCandles, his desire was to see a fair society that is free of bias and selfishness. Both men were socially privileged. McCandless was raised in a good family that afforded him good education. He even had a car at his age. Prophet Muhammad was raised in wealth because a wealthy uncle who pulled him in business that raised him. He later married a wealth woman, Khadija. Due to the time luxuries realised by wealth, a free mind and youthfulness, both men had the time and mind frame to wonder away in meditation searching for something more ultimate. Prophet Muhammad died in 632 at the mature age of 63. Unfortunately, McCandless did not live to tell his story; he died from starvation or mould poisoning from the wild diet of berries and potatoes. The life and experiences of the Prophet Muhammad and Christopher McCandless reveal the youthful desires of attaining something super natural and ultimate. Both men were in their prime years and they were on the course of searching for more fulfilling options in life. Along their life, they encountered challenges that would leave a permanent impact to those who acknowledge them. They did not write down their stories but because of their extra ordinary decisions and experiences, their stories were written down for the world to see. Their lives reflect an inner desire to explore the superficial limits of self, abandon civilization and seek illumination through solitude and contact with the natural environment. Differences or Counterargument Despite the similarities between the two characters, McCandless began his journey in the Alaskan wastelands at the age of 24. In comparison, Mohammad began his journey at late 30s. Both men went to search for solitude and a place for deeper contemplation. McCandless journey took only two years then he died. The Arabian Peninsula where Mohammad experienced harsh climatic conditions compared to the Alaskan wilderness. The Arabian wilderness was a barren and uninhabited region with weather extremes of hot days and cold nights. There is little vegetation and the residents shifted with the sand dunes. The Alaska Peninsula is cold and lifeless. It is nearly impossible to survive in both locations without an outside contact. The sensational reports that followed McCandless’ fatal end dismissed his journey as one driven by naivety. It is claimed that he had a death wish and that was the reason that compelled him to undertake his risky path. Krakauer concedes that McCandless’ adamant pilgrimage out of the fogginess and peril of the misunderstandings and sensational conclusions. Critics of Prophet Mohammad assert that idleness, excess time and youthfulness compelled him to visit the Arabian deserts in search for self-awareness and knowledge. McCandless and the Prophet Muhammad had lived in normal stable lifestyles, a factor that must have led the two men to desire the open spaces, freedom, and more meaning to life (Donner 22). They had nearly everything in life but probably wish for something noble and spiritually rewarding to define them separately from the rest of the world. If McCandless had survived, he might have lived to tell a wonderful story to the world about his advantrous journey. However, his short sightedness led to his death. However, it is not clear if he died having accomplished all his desires. Although they both died after their long journey, still there is a significant difference between their deaths. Chris McCandless had been found dead poorly inside a motor vehicle while the Prophet Muhammad had a peaceful death after he fulfilled all his missions. Works Cited Donner, Fred M. G. Muhammad and the Believers: At the Origins of Islam. Cambridge, Mass: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2010. Print. Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. 2007. [Motion Picture] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/ Supertramp. Christopher McCandless, Into the World. 2011. Web. 20th Feb 2012 http://www.christophermccandless.info/# (Donner 11) (Donner 22) (Donner 36) Read More