Inner Wild

Through the use of exploration of wilderness, it is realized that there is wilderness inside of each individual that also is in need of exploration. Krakauer affirms this when he says, “an extended stay in the wilderness inevitably directs one’s attention outward as much as inward, and it is impossible to live off the land without developing both a subtle understanding of, and a strong emotional bond with, that land and all it holds” (362). As McCandless ventured alone in the wilderness, there was an affiliation between the natural world and McCandless’s internal world. Inevitably, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), means cannot be avoided. Emotion, defined in the OED, is a mental feeling which can be thought of as internal within a human body. These two words combined indicate that an important pathway forms, through the help of the understanding of the wild, between the brain/senses and soul. This almost spiritual connection, once found, helps show one his or her place in the world. Once one understands the external wilderness, one may begin to delve into his or her inner wilderness. While Krakauer did research on McCandless, which lead to the idea of a connection between the natural world and the human world, Abram did research on the Asian magicians, which eventually lead him to the same idea of a connection. He discloses “the magician’s intelligence is not encompassed within the society; its place is at the edge of the community, mediating between the human community and the larger community of beings…” (4). The healers of Asia live as a part of society but also within the larger community of nature, where they find the intelligence that allows them to connect to both worlds. Intelligence in itself is knowledge. By the magicians having intelligence, they do not see the natural world as an immense unknown wilderness but as a piece of the puzzle in their lives. This intelligence is found through the combination of both wilderness and society. The key to this intelligence is being able to break down the wilderness into ideas that allow for them to be connected to the knowledge that is within human culture. By doing so, one may find how they fit into the complexities of the world. This act is the key to the solution for internal wilderness.