The novel Wild by Cheryl Strayed is about her personal journey. Cheryl begins the novel feeling very lost after her mother passes away from stage four lung cancer, her family drifts apart, and she gets a divorce. This brings her to the Pacific Crest Trail.
Throughout the story, Cheryl is really the only main character. Yes, there are other characters who are often mentioned and she thinks about her family and friends from time to time and runs into people on the trail, but they don’t plan a big role (not to say they don’t have big impacts on Cheryl). This being said, when identifying which character would be considered the Hero or the Great Mother or the Wise Man, there are characters who clearly fit these roles. Cheryl being the protagonist, is the Hero and of course the Great Mother is Cheryl’s own mother who she believes is guiding her throughout her journey. Her mother may have died 4 years prior to her journey on the PCT, but Cheryl is positive her mother is watching over her. After stopping to rest on a fallen tree, Cheryl saw a fox and as it walked away she said, “‘Come back,’ […] and then suddenly shouted, ‘MOM! MOM! MOM! MOM!'” She wanted to believe that her mother was checking up on her to make sure she was safe while hiking. I would say the Wise old man is a friend of Cheryl’s whom she meets on the trail, Greg. Greg is a middle aged accountant from Tacoma who helps Cheryl many times. He offers advice and reassurance and is a good friends to Cheryl. One could also argue Paul, Cheryl’s ex-husband is the Wise old man because of how he saved Cheryl from dangerous situations and is always there for her. Paul drives from 17 hours from Minneapolis to bring Cheryl home after learning she was addicted to heroin.
A pattern I noticed throughout the novel is that Cheryl perseveres through everything. After a tough childhood and an upsetting few years, Cheryl still manages to carry on. Through her mothers death, the unsafe parts of the PCT, and her own self doubt, she pushes through. This reminds me of many great hero type people especially Terry Fox. Terry fox struggled through so much physical and emotional pain, but still managed to push as hard as he could in order to run across Canada.
Throughout the novel, there are some archetypal symbols. The animals she comes across in the novel are one and I believe they symbolize that she is braver and stronger than she thinks. In the novel, Cheryl comes across many dangerous animals including a bull, multiple rattlesnake, and a bear. These weren’t just seeing or hearing them in the distance, they were encounters within feet of the animal: “I looked up to see an enormous brown horned animal charging at me.” Cheryl could have stopped her hike. She could have given up out of fright but she didn’t because she simply wanted to keep going. She knew how much danger she was in but she just kept going. These encounters showed her that she is so much stronger than she was before and that she is braver than she thinks. I think the nature in the book symbolizes her mother. Her mom always had a garden and was a very natural person. She believed in home remedies and I think her mother is represented through nature. One example of this would be at the beginning of Cheryl’s journey when she is having second thoughts but then recognizes a sage plant beside her. This makes her think of her mother: “I reached over and picked a handful of the leaves and rubbed them between my palms, then put my face in them and inhaled deeply, the way my mother had taught me to do.” Being in nature was a way for her to reconnect with her late mother without really even realizing.
I would expect that Cheryl continue with the PCT. She may struggle at times, but overall, she succeeds. For a woman hiking alone, with no real experience and not a lot of time to prepare, Cheryl has done an excellent job. I believe she will continue to over come great challenges.
Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Publisher Not Identified, 2016.
For More Information Visit: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/books/review/wild-a-hiking-memoir-by-cheryl-strayed.html https://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/archetypal.crit.html
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