Kindred Spirits: Donald Miller and Christopher McCandless

Those who have read any of Donald Miller's books, namely Through Painted Deserts, know he is a passionate, introspective man with an incredible amount of depth and insight. Those who have seen the film or read John Krakauer's book Into the Wild, know that the story's subject, Christopher McCandless, was not far off from Miller. Interestingly, I have noticed a strong parallel between not so much the lives of these two men, one of which (McCandless) is deceased, but between their idealisms.

McCandless:
Christopher Johnson McCandless was a young man from a well-to-do family. His father worked for NASA, and was the breadwinner of the family. His job earned him decent wealth, which he put towards his family. Christopher had a very damaged relationship with his father after news broke out of a long-term affair. Mr. McCandless had fathered a child with another woman, and he kept this a secret from the family for many years. The revelation of this news had a devastating affect on Christopher. It played a large role in his decision to leave his former life and spend the rest of it on the road. While on the road, Chris met a number of people from a number of places, and kept up a staggered journal. He spent his last two months in an abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail in central Alaska, and died there of starvation.

Miller:
Much like McCandless, Donald Miller is a free, honest spirit. As of 2009, he has authored four books and is working on a fifth. Miller grew up without a father, but with a religious (Christian) background. This background played a large role in his life, as he wavered between whether or not to accept Christianity as truth. He tends to write about Christianity from a non-religious perspective, quoting life experience rather than Biblical citations. When Miller was 21 years old, before he began writing and before his faith was completely grounded, he took a long road trip in which he contemplated the complexities of life, God, and Christian idealism. He captured this experience in his first book, Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance, which was later more successfully re-written as Through Painted Deserts.

The fascinating thing about these two characters is how little they differ in their idealisms. Sadly, McCandless died at age 24, stranded in the Alaskan wilderness, a situation that many critics say he walked right into, almost as if he was trying to kill himself. Because his life was cut short, we will never know what kind of man he could have been. Journal records indicate that if had made it out of the brush alive, he would have possibly settled down and begun writing. If this had happened, it is very possible his work may have ended up being a primary inspiration for Miller's work. But this is not the case.

McCandless and Miller both have very strong critiques on human nature and modern society. They both, in their own separate ways, acknowledge that humans have forgotten what lies outside of their suburban shells. Miller, in Through Painted Deserts, writes, "In all our technology, we have lost touch with the earth, our heaters and air conditioners robbing us of the drama of seasons, our cars keeping our feet from pacing the land, our concrete and our shoes and our carpet delivering us from the feel of unprocessed earth. We live on top of the created world...not in it" (pg. 64). McCandless, evinced through letters to people he met during his years on the road, shares similar disdain for conventional lifestyle: "Tramping is too easy with all this money. My days were more exciting when I was penniless and had to forage around for my next meal...I've decided that I'm going to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and simple beauty of it is just too good to pass up" (Into the Wild, 33).

Both men, through their adventures, also share a common foundational inspiration: God. Although it should be noted that McCandless's specific denomination of faith is never revealed, whereas Donald Miller is openly a Christian, both men believe in and reference a God who created this world and surrounded it with beauty. Both McCandless and Miller also share a strong commitment to discovering that beauty, and communicating these discoveries to the rest of the world. McCandless, in a letter to an old man he stayed with for some time right before he ventured into Alaska, wrote, "The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun...I fear [that if you continue living a life of solitude] you will...fail to discover all the wonderful things that God has placed around us to discover" (Into The Wild, 57). Miller's passion for discovery radiates through his writing as well. Nearing the end of his long road trip, Miller sits back and reflects: "I think we are supposed to stand in deserts and marvel at how the sun rises. I think we are supposed to sleep in meadows and watch stars dart across space and time. I think we are supposed to love our friends and introduce people to the story, to the peaceful, calming why of life. I think life is spirituality" (Through Painted Deserts, 245)

Other than the tie-ins to Christianity that Miller makes, only one other major thing separates the ideals of these two characters, and for McCandless, this separation ended up being quite tragic. McCandless had long denounced the importance of having other people around. He believed that being independent was of the utmost importance, and he often gave up opportunities to be with other people so he could have time in solitude. This longing for solitude was inspired most specifically by the writings of Henry David Thoreau, and consequently inspired his "Great Alaskan Adventure", as he called it. Tragically, McCandless' adventure was cut short due to some fatal mistakes on his part that led to his starvation. And even more tragically, it seems from McCandless' journal entries that he had discovered his principle error just before he died. McCandless had been reading Tolstoy's "Family Happiness" during his time in the wilderness, and had marked the passages that impacted him most: "He was right in saying that the only certain happiness in life is to live for others..." (Into the Wild, 169) Upon reading Doctor Zhivago, McCandless had made perhaps his final, tragic discovery, and marked it down in the margin of one of the pages: "HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED" (Into the Wild, 189).

Miller takes his cues from Thoreau, as well. However, Miller's analysis on life seems to have always had a more balanced view on the notion of friendship and companionship. Miller concludes that he has always felt that God has made us so that we usurp our comfort, joy, and happiness not only from the earth's natural beauty, but from the company of others traveling the journey with us. Miller states, "If a man's senses are either sharpened or dulled by the way he rubs against time, mine have become increasingly sharp over these last three weeks. I am hungry, so I appreciate food and thank God for it whenever I find [it]. I appreciate friendship and don't need a television to keep me company. I appreciate birds chirping, as there is no radio to seduce my ears. I appreciate God, because I live in the house He has made, as opposed to a house I purchased by my own means...The real life, the life where I am finding faith and friendship and peace, is out in the woods." (Through Painted Deserts, 244)

Many critics have had a hard time with Christopher McCandless' character. This is understandable. He was incredibly selfish and selfless at the same time. While he cared immensely about the people he came in contact with, as well as the people who aren't given a fair chance in this world, he seemed to care more about himself and his own endeavors. He could preach a series of sermons based off of his idealistic discoveries, yet he was someone who perhaps never learned the value of forgiveness, per his relationship with his father. Miller, however, seems to be the kind of man McCandless would have become had he not perished. There seemed to be a glimmer of change in McCandless' character by the end of his journey. He had indeed lived and learned. But the tragedy of his fate cut short his opportunity to develop further. Thanks to John Krakauer, though, we now have a nearly full account of a man's uniquely genuine journey of self-discovery. And thanks to Miller, we have another beautiful account of self-discovery that is perhaps a little more complete and fulfilling then McCandless' story.

This kind of thing makes you wonder what would have happened had McCandless walked out of that brush alive and began writing. It makes you wonder what kind of friends these men could have been had they ever met. In the end, I'm most fascinated by our ability to live, learn, and tell, and for these accounts of human accomplishment and achievement to soar into the ears of others, only to inspire more individuals and generations to live similarly, learn differently, and tell again.

"Every human being has a work to carry on within, duties to perform abroad, influence to exert, which are peculiarly his, and which no conscience but his own can teach." -William Ellery Channing