Chapter fourteen of Into the Wild is very interesting because it does not mention McCandless at all. The entire chapter was about Jon Krakauer and his own way that he could relate to McCandless. This chapter also gives Krakauer credibility as an author of a biography of a climber and wilderness adventurer. Krakauer’s solo ascent of the Devils Thumb does not seem to be getting off to a very healthy start. Already Krakauer has to consider abandoning this ascent, when he hits rock instead of the ice that he has been hooking into and climbing with. How disappointing. I can understand the intense focus he discusses on page 142. The way the intensity makes you forget the pain your body is feeling, and the way the intensity forces you onward because you are just living in the moment. I am a ballet dancer, and I dance in point shoes, which can be extremely painful at times, because you are basically dancing on your tippy- toes for two hours, or however long the performance is. I have gotten blisters on my toes over and over again, now they are just permanent scars. During those lengthy performances, when my legs feel like they could just give out from underneath me, and my toes are screaming for freedom, I get that intense focus that allows me to ignore the signals my body is sending me to just stop dancing and it really does help me get through the performance without having to stop mid-stage. This is just another way I can relate to this biography that I thought I could never have anything in common with.
No comments:
Post a Comment