Similarities arise when one looks at Aaron Ralston and Chris McCandless, that not only define who they are but also are what led them to do what they did. These People were both adventurous and highly over confident, thinking that they could overcome any obstacle that came their way. Being over confident has helped them in a way; they kept on believing and managed to try and achieve their goal even when there was no hope.
Was Chris was more prepared though as he knew exactly what he was getting himself into? Danger, loneliness, harsh conditions and constant travelling, all the attributes of his journey. If you were to ask me, I would say both of them made mistakes and took risks they shouldn't have. Aaron's first and foremost mistake was not telling anyone where he was going, this was followed by a series of chain reactions that in turn caused their consequences to unfold . Some of these include the neglectfulness of better equipment such as the Swiss army knife, the scarcity of supplies as well as the limitation of Communication.
In the end Chris died and Aaron escaped but why exactly? A reason to escape; one of most important factors in Aaron's survive. Chris was at a feud with his family and did not want to go back, Aaron later realized that he longed for his family and friends."Once you begin to go crazy, sooner or later you will get bored of that and start to learn." This is exactly what happened to Aaron. At first his mind played tricks on him and he began to hallucinate, but then when he got a hold of himself, he used all of his mental capacity to break free. He drank his urine, reduced his chances of Hypothermia by kept himself warm and eventually broke his arm then cut it free. "All you need is will power, commonsense, determination and hope. If used correctly, they become the ingredients to your eternal freedom."
If one moves away from the personalities just a little, and focuses on how prepared they were, it doesn't take much effort to see that Aaron was more prepared and more conscientious. On the other hand, some people could argue that Chris lived in a time period much before that of Aaron. This would have Aaron to benefit from the technological advances that occurred during the almost 11-13 year time difference. even though there was a time difference, both people recorded their journey using a digital camera, but Aaron also had a video camera. Another difference ,was that Aaron wanted to tell people what happened and where he was, so his entries were of more detail. Although this is correct, one must go deeper into their minds as well their subconscience to find the real answer.
Aaron went on his expeditions as a leisure activity and did not take it that seriously; he would have never expected himself to be put into some kind of danger. Chris on the other hand, put himself in harms way to 'cleanse himself '. This spiritual undertaking, allowed him to connect with nature and the cosmos, however, bringing his personal affairs into the equation was not a good idea. When something enters an equation, something else must leave to balance it; it seems that Chris lost his common sense in the process. Chris also became addicted to proving himself, but to Who? That's the real question.
Aaron went on his expeditions as a leisure activity and did not take it that seriously; he would have never expected himself to be put into some kind of danger. Chris on the other hand, put himself in harms way to 'cleanse himself '. This spiritual undertaking, allowed him to connect with nature and the cosmos, however, bringing his personal affairs into the equation was not a good idea. When something enters an equation, something else must leave to balance it; it seems that Chris lost his common sense in the process. Chris also became addicted to proving himself, but to Who? That's the real question.
Was Chris was more prepared though as he knew exactly what he was getting himself into? Danger, loneliness, harsh conditions and constant travelling, all the attributes of his journey. If you were to ask me, I would say both of them made mistakes and took risks they shouldn't have. Aaron's first and foremost mistake was not telling anyone where he was going, this was followed by a series of chain reactions that in turn caused their consequences to unfold . Some of these include the neglectfulness of better equipment such as the Swiss army knife, the scarcity of supplies as well as the limitation of Communication.
In the end Chris died and Aaron escaped but why exactly? A reason to escape; one of most important factors in Aaron's survive. Chris was at a feud with his family and did not want to go back, Aaron later realized that he longed for his family and friends."Once you begin to go crazy, sooner or later you will get bored of that and start to learn." This is exactly what happened to Aaron. At first his mind played tricks on him and he began to hallucinate, but then when he got a hold of himself, he used all of his mental capacity to break free. He drank his urine, reduced his chances of Hypothermia by kept himself warm and eventually broke his arm then cut it free. "All you need is will power, commonsense, determination and hope. If used correctly, they become the ingredients to your eternal freedom."
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