Journeys of "The Bean Trees" and "Into the Wild"
... grew up in a stable environment , with his well-to-do family in Annandale, Virginia. Chris was a very smart person, and he was good at basically everything he did. Since Chris believed that being wealthy was shameful, evil, and corrupting, he was embarrassed when his family bought nice things or went on vacations to such places as Europe, Breckenridge, or on Caribbean cruise. The role of Chris’s journey was to find a simpler life, a life that wasn’t burdened by the complications of material things or modernization. He wanted a life away from civilization in the Alaskan wilderness. These journeys are alike because both Taylor and Chris wanted to see more of the world. Taylor wanted to know what life was like outside of rural Kentucky and Chris wanted to explore and be out in the wild. On these journeys Taylor and Chris meet several people which become good friends. Taylor met Mattie, who owned a tire shop in Tucson, Arizona. When Taylor’s tires on her car wore out she went into Mattie’s place called “Jesus Is Lord Used Tires.” Mattie tells Taylor that she definitely needs new tires. Mattie notices that Taylor has a little girl and she offers her some crackers and juice. Even though Taylor can’t afford new tires, Mattie lets Taylor keep her car there overnight. Taylor decides that she wants to stay in Tucson, and Mattie gives Taylor a job in her tire shop to support herself. While Chris was hitchhiking his way through the Northern part of Montana, he came across a man named Wayne Westerberg. Wayne pulled over to pick Chris up. He took Chris to deliver a package with him, and they had dinner and a beer. When Wayne was supposed to drop Chris off down the road it was raining and dark out, so Wayne decided to let Chris stay with him. When Chris was leaving, Wayne told him if he needed a job to look him up in Carthage, South Dakota. A few weeks later Chris came to Carthage and Wayne gave him a job in a grain elevator and rented him ...