Frankenstein and Into the Wild

In both Frankenstein and Into the Wild, the characters abandon the company of society and live in solitude. For Victor Frankenstein, he lives alone building his creation. For Chris McCandless, he lives alone in the wild. At first, this idea has merit. To disassociate yourself from society will leave yourself as your only company. You find yourself on your own, discover who you are, and grow more attuned to the world around you. This is what both characters aimed for. Victor kept to himself for two years, tirelessly working to bring life to his creation, a task that before only belonged to a god. Chris left his perfect life and somewhat stable family to connect with nature on his own, an endeavor he hoped would enlighten him, perhaps even connect him to God in nature. In both instances, our young characters secede from society with the intent of achieving a higher purpose. These intentions were pure.

The end, however, was not. Victor succeeded in giving birth to his creation, but that creation was a monster. It was his dream to give life to a body devoid of it, but once the monster was created, Victor's dream went sour: "I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart" (Shelley, 35). Chris also went into the wild to prove that he could live on his own and to connect with himself. He felt it was important "not to be strong, but feel strong", to be able to live on his own in the wilderness. While he lived in solitude, Chris grew sick because he in fact could not sustain himself. Victor also grew sick once his hiatus from the world took a turn for the worse. Another parallel that can be drawn between both characters and their stories is the universal truth of seeing things differently. Though seeming contradictory, a universal truth is that everyone sees something differently, even though that something may exist on its own. It is all a matter of perspective. Victor at first saw his creation as wondrous and beautiful, but once it opened its eyes, he saw it was a man-made horror. Chris thought to himself as he slowly died, staring into the sky, that if he had run into his parents' arms, would they see the same sky he saw now? Would his parents' perspective be the same as his own? Everyone sees things differently.

The final and most obvious universal truth in both texts is that "Happiness [is] only real when shared", as Chris writes in his book near his death. When they were alone, both characters did not feel happy. Victor was only driven by the completion of his creation, and Chris slowly died because he was alone. Both characters may have thought they were happy at first, but that happiness was not real because there was no one else around to shared in their happiness. We need human contact in our lives, otherwise we can either create a horrific monster or die on our own. Both Frankenstein and Into the Wild talk of the ambitious youth taking on a monumental task with the best of intentions, but encountering death on their solitary journey because they were all alone. Whether it was living death in Victor's creation or actual death in Chris living in the wild, both stories show that a vacation from humanity can only end in inhumanity.