Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found - Literature Analysis Report

This report offers a critical analysis of Cheryl Strayed's memoir, 'Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found.' The analysis examines the book's central theme of self-discovery and redemption through the author's solo journey on the Pacific Crest Trail. It explores Strayed's personal struggles with loss, her past experiences, and the challenges she faced during her hike. The report delves into the narrative structure, character development, and the author's use of symbolism and imagery to convey her emotional and physical transformation. It also discusses the book's portrayal of the wilderness, the impact of solitude, and the author's reflections on her past and present. The analysis highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the book, providing insights into the author's journey and the literary merit of the memoir. Furthermore, the report discusses the book's reception and its place in contemporary literature, considering its impact on readers and its contribution to the genre of travel writing.

Running head: WILD: A JOURNEY FROM LOST TO FOUND
Critical Analysis of Literature
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed- A critical analysis
The book, Wild: a Journey from Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed takes ito account the
redemptive nature that is associated with travelling. This is an old theme in the grounds of
literature which has been given a personal touch by the author. The recounts her journey for
three months through which she hiked 1100 miles along the trail of the Pacific Crest all alone
through the wilderness that stretched from Mexico to Canada and included 9 mountain ranges
starting from Laguna to the Cascades. She mentions that she took on this journey to rescue
herself.
The book is a result of the author’s background and the young days of socialization which
caused her to take on the adventurous journey in the first place. The author was raised in rural
Minnesota and was under the torment of a father who had abusive tendencies. In her early
ears he abandoned her mother and the entire family. She lost her mother at the age of 22. She
was alone to take care of her siblings after her step father took off soon after her mother’s
demise. In order to pay the debt of her student degree, she started waitressing which was a
failed attempt as she was unable to complete her degree. In her mid-age, she landed on to
planet Heroin. The happy and peaceful life of Strayed came to a standstill for a reason she
was oblivious from. As she began ti grow, her sense of doubt towards her husband, and
developed a notion that he may have a different sexual preference, puts her in bad temper and
heart-wrench. The grievance of her divorce pushed her to adopt a new name, Strayed. This
combination of the distress in her personal life pushed her to stuff her backpack and run away
to California. Strayed connects her voyage to the Pacific Crest Trail as a dying necessity to
find herself back in the lost world.
The book is solely concentrated on the absolute personal experiences of the author which is
closely interlinked to her past experiences which was personally discomforting. Under this

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context, although the book gives an entertaining picture to the concept of traveling, and the
trill of solitary living, it has failed to circumscribe the holistic experience that hiking may
bring along on a general perspective. The book is like a fantasy of a woman who has no
experience in hiking and is succumbed with emotions simply packs a bag in search of a
direction.
Strayed expresses her trek as an epic one considering the factor that she was an amateur hiker
and had to face extreme temperature along with wild animals and water holes. She also
admits to the fact that the trek route was fairly difficult and her steep ascent was never-
ending. There were times when her shoes gave up and she had to use odd means such as
wrapping duct tapes and trek with sandals before she could avail new pair of boots. The
authors used self encouraging instances while she was lonely inside her tent. The normative
changes in the seasons along with that of the terrain also had a profound impact on the
experiences of the author. This however was not taken into account in the book although
there are instances in the chapters where the topography and the geography of the terrain
greatly had an impact on her behavior and plans ahead. In the lieu of describing the inner
changes within the author, there is a neglecting of the external features that her journey met.
There is a repetition of the author’s history especially the grieving death of her mother which
she relates to the skin irritation and blisters she had while she was carrying the heavy
backpack. The character of Strayed’s mother never leaves the book and lingers around like an
extraordinary figure. It is however very vague as to whether the author relates to her mother
as a figure which gives her inspiration to get up from her low times and walk ahead or she is
like an apparition who constantly reminds her of the turmoil of her life. Despite the constant
presence of her mother in the story, the contextual ensue of this character is missing from the
story.

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The Story Wild describes the gradual journey that begins with a painful nine miles walk a day
and using the gears to merrymaking weeks of muscle building, weight reduction and hairy
legs. While she was walking beyond civilization, she picked up the mails which she
addressed to herself from the posts. It is important to note that her mail contained $20, packed
food, a tee shirt and some books. All of these packing was done considering her long period
of hike and her growing necessitates. This shows that although in the beginning of the story,
the author rationalizes the journey as a spark of a moment to seek for self-help without any
prior planning, the ingredient of the mail mentioned by the author signifies otherwise.
There is a lack of human encounter in Strayed’s journey. She associates more with strange
intimacies such as noodles, fresh snowfalls and campfires. She also presents a fascination
with relationship with books and how it assists in solo traveling. Talking about her evenings,
she mentions the noodles and the hot pot that she placed between her knees for warmth.
There’s great details in this particular snippet as she carefully mentions how she would hold
the light on one hand and a book on the other. Books, as the author implies was a medium of
strength and revelation towards herself. The book can be criticized on the account that the
gradual emotional and psychological changes that the author has gone through is precisely on
experiences that lacks the Factor of socialization and communication with other beings. Her
perspective towards growth and changes would have been completely different if there were
encounters with another responsive figure and not inanimate objects.
The book also tackles the changes in the physiology that Strayed undergoes over the period
of three months The author connects her homecoming towards sanity with the transformation
of the body. There are several moments in the book when she talks about how her weight
issue shve been a problem in the past. One of the instances when she looks at herself on a
broken mirror at the PCT campsite he marvels if she was ‘a babe or a gargoyle’. The body

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image forms a huge attribution to the changes that Strayed feels in the last phase of her
journey.
The stance the Strayed takes of having a packed of condoms and having a sense of pride
towards the act is starkly contradictory because this has not been given significance in her
book keeping it aloof from the taboos of sex involved in travel writing by women. The entire
book holds a very direct speech and generates a feeling among the readers that it has been
written as the author passes each day. The book therefore lacks an in depth analysis that the
traveler might consider to take after the fulfillment of the journey. This is especially required
as Strayed takes a very personal phase of life and expresses the activity of travelling. There is
a lack of introspection towards the conclusion of the story.
Towards the end, Strayed mentions how the snowfall of California made her feel lost and her
interaction with Christine slowly dragged her memories about her husband and the tattoos
that they got as a memory for the parting. Strayed stresses on the sense of happiness she got
when she met her first female tourists. There are instances when Strayed mentions how she
fills up her bottle from water tanks and sometimes added purifiers to dirty water. Strayed on
one hand describes that this voyage has taught her to go with the flow of nature, but on the
other hand, uses synthetic safety measures, for her health. Her mother again appears towards
the end of the book, when she recollects her birthday the day she touches the volcano of
Mount Mazama. Even here, there is a clear indication of confusion as to how Strayed feels
about her mother. On one hand, she shows anger and frustration because her mother left her
very early without a shade over her head and the huge responsibilities of her siblings. On the
other ha d the symbol of the author consuming part of her dead mother’s ashes is closely
connected to how she forever embedded her mother’s presence within herself. Crossing a
number of hurdles and dangers, the author finally reaches The Bridge of Gods which is the
connection point between Oregon and Washington. The story abruptly ends on a happy note

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where all of a sudden Strayed, a protagonist filled with disappointment, fear and confusion,
suddenly feels all relieved right after a journey of three months. Her notion that the world has
positive signs and she should embrace it comes too early considering the amount of effort the
author has taken to describe and discuss the personal turbulences that she has gone through
and Wild being the result of it.

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Bibliography:
Lifton, B. J. (2009). Lost & found: The adoption experience. University of Michigan Press.
Strayed, C. (2012). Wild: From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Vintage.