Into the Wild Compared to Cold Mountain Essay

Cold Mountain and Into the Wild

Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier, and Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, tell tales of three people trying to survive the harsh conditions of nature. The two main characters in Cold Mountain, Inman and Ada, are destined to be together, but they need to endure hard circumstances to find each other. The main character in Into the Wild, Chris McCandless, is a young man who is trying to find himself in nature, but struggles with keeping himself alive.

In Cold Mountain, Inmans dream is to leave the military for good to find his previous love Ada, hoping that she will feel the same way and rekindle their love. Adas dream is to be able to live off the land that her father, who has passed, gave her. But that dream is hard for Ada to achieve since she lacks the knowledge necessary to run a farm. In Into the Wild, Chris sought the raw wilds and dangers of living alone in the Alaska bush. But unfortunately Chris didnt understand how physically and mentally grueling it would be to face Alaska.

Even though Chris was looking for a life of isolation without much human contact, he had many helpers along the way. While Chris hitchhiked across the country, many people gave him rides, food, and a place to stay for a couple of days. These people ultimately helped Chris get to his final destination. Inman was in a similar circumstance as Chris. Throughout his entire journey, people were always there to help him along the way. Ada didnt have many helpers, but she had one important one; Ruby. Ruby was hired by Ada to help with the farm, and she helped keep Ada alive.

The obstacles that all of these characters experience are varied. Chris had to go through the Alaskan wilderness with a lack of food and proper clothing so his lack of knowledge about the wilderness made his journey difficult. Inman had to deal with the Home Guard chasing him, wanting to imprison or kill him. Also, Inmans background in war probably made it difficult because of wounds and of the things he has seen. He had grown so used to seeing death . . . that it seemed no longer dark and mysterious. He feared his heart had been touched by the fire so often he might never make a civilian again. Ada had to first deal with her father dying, which made it difficult for her to go on without him there. Secondly, she didnt know anything about running a piece of land and how it could provide for her.

Ada ultimately reached her goal. She was able to live off the land by turning it into a sustainable farm. Inman didnt fully reach his goal. He made it out of the military and back to Ada, but the flame that was once between them wasnt rekindled yet when he died. Chris dream might have been reached. No one exactly knows what his real dream was. People can say that it was being able to survive in the Alaskan wilderness, while others might say it is coming out alive. If his dream was to survive in Alaska, then it has been reached, but if it was something more personal, something more emotional, it will never be known.

Inman and Chris journeys were very much alike. They had to survive in the wilderness unprepared to their goals. Adas journey was similar to that of both Inman and Chris, as natures brutality played huge roles in all of their lives. These books can teach people how to live life completely. It doesnt need to be as big as Chris but his journey shows that people should appreciate nature and all that it gives you, but always be wary of what it can do. Inmans story shows that love conquers everything. Adas story shows that if someone puts their mind to something and if they really want to reach their goal, that goal can be reached.