Good morning.
Discoveries help us interpret our world; They can offer insight into the human condition that in turn helps us to interpret concepts like isolation in our world. Isolation seemingly defines the character’s lives in the poems 'The Tuft of Flowers' and ‘Home Burial’ from Robert Frost’s ‘The Collected Poems’ and Sean Penn's film 'Into the Wild'. More importantly, it is through the way they overcome their isolation or lack, thereof, that we discover the importance of human relationships in our world.
Robert Frost’s poem ‘The Tuft of Flowers’ opens with a pessimistic tone that encompasses his perception that he’s inherently “alone… as all must be… whether they work together or apart.” However, there is an abrupt tonal shift in the
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The film tracks Chris’ journey as he escapes the oppressing entrapment of society and the grief of his parent’s abusive relationship to “kill the false being within.” The slow motion tracking shots and wide-angle vistas of Chris in the wilderness create a sense of liberation and enlightenment. Ironically, however, as his supplies become scarce, he discovers he has become trapped by the harsh and uncaring wilderness, a mirror of the modern world entrapment: “in weakest condition of life… literally become trapped in the wild.” Moments before his death, Chris finds the line in a book “and that unshared happiness is not happiness”; only to discover that his happiness in the wild was only ever experienced in glimpses. He scribbles underneath, “Happiness only real when shared.” In Chris’ final moments, he experiences flashbacks to memories with his family, heightened by the empathetic music. This scene conveys his regret in choosing to isolate himself and forsake companionship, which ultimately would have led him to the real happiness he pursued. Both ‘The Tuft of Flowers’ and ‘Into the Wild’ reveal the importance of human relationships on our internal and external worlds. However, while the poet finds peace in communion with mankind, Chris finds only despair when his shunning of the social world cements his
The film tracks Chris’ journey as he escapes the oppressing entrapment of society and the grief of his parent’s abusive relationship to “kill the false being within.” The slow motion tracking shots and wide-angle vistas of Chris in the wilderness create a sense of liberation and enlightenment. Ironically, however, as his supplies become scarce, he discovers he has become trapped by the harsh and uncaring wilderness, a mirror of the modern world entrapment: “in weakest condition of life… literally become trapped in the wild.” Moments before his death, Chris finds the line in a book “and that unshared happiness is not happiness”; only to discover that his happiness in the wild was only ever experienced in glimpses. He scribbles underneath, “Happiness only real when shared.” In Chris’ final moments, he experiences flashbacks to memories with his family, heightened by the empathetic music. This scene conveys his regret in choosing to isolate himself and forsake companionship, which ultimately would have led him to the real happiness he pursued. Both ‘The Tuft of Flowers’ and ‘Into the Wild’ reveal the importance of human relationships on our internal and external worlds. However, while the poet finds peace in communion with mankind, Chris finds only despair when his shunning of the social world cements his