Into the Wild

I am currently reading Jon Krakauer's novel Into the Wild. It's about a man in his early twenties who rejects society because of what he sees as its flaws. He decides to go out alone, change his name, and travel all around North America by walking and hitchhiking. He lives an ascetic lifestyle and so far in my reading, I have noticed many similarities between Siddhartha, and Chris McCandless, the main character of Krakauer's book. They are both seeking a deeper understanding of the world, a more intense closeness with nature, and seeking an understanding of where they fit into the world as a whole. Siddhartha tries to understand the world to a fuller extent by gaining knowledge, having experiences, and depriving himself. Chris does almost the exact same. He gives all of his savings to charity and goes penniless, he wanders in hopes of having enlightening experiences, and he reads a lot in search of knowledge. In terms of gaining a closer relationship with nature, Siddhartha goes into the woods and listens to the river. Chris goes into the woods too, and attempts to live off the land and come to peace with himself through nature. It doesn't work out so well in the end; some hikers find him dead and rotting in a van. Finally, they are both trying to find where they fit in the world as a whole. Siddhartha looks for a very long time and doesn't find it unil he meets Vasudeva. Although we can never be sure if Chris had a realization of where he fit in to the world, it is certain that through his wanderings and ascetic lifestyle his ultimate goal was to know where and how he fit into the larger scheme of things, despite his unconventional ways of finding this out.