Robyn's English Blog

“Wild”: Cheryl Strayed Overcoming Addiction

A section of the Pacific Crest Trail, California

Cheryl Strayed’s novel “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” was a really good book and I quite enjoyed reading it. I think nature played a major role in Cheryl being able to heal from her past. Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail helped her to clear her mind and realize what kind of life she deserves.

One aspect of Cheryl’s life that I feel she was able to overcome while hiking the PCT was her heroin addiction.

After Cheryl’s mother’s death and her divorce, she went out to Montana to visit a close friend and while there, she met a man named Joe. Joe had recently got hooked on heroin and Cheryl, being the free spirit she was, agreed to try some when he offered. This was the beginning of a deadly habit and dark chapter of Cheryl’s life. According to “camh,” heroin is highly addictive and severely dangerous because of the high chance of overdose meaning Cheryl was lucky to get out of that situation pretty much unharmed.

I believe her addiction is underrated because, although she has a few minor relapses, she is able to clean herself up and give that up. Cheryl’s last relapse was days before beginning her journey on the PCT: “i’d intended to stay away from Joe in the two days I’d spent in Portland before catching my flight to LA, but hadn’t.” She felt awful about it but she told herself that would be the last time and she kept her word.

During her three month hike, Cheryl never thinks I really need a hit or I miss Joe and heroin. This shows the reader a lot about her character. She was not a fein. She did not give up every good thing in her life for heroin. She was simply lost and upset when she met Joe and heroin seemed like a sweet escape. The real sweet escape, she sound learned though, was hiking the PCT. She loved it and wanted “to go back, to make it stay.” She didn’t need Joe or heroin to be happy, it was simply a distraction, a way to forget about all her suffering. The PCT was the opposite of that. It was something she was fully engaged in 24/7 and was a way of coping with her suffering. While on the trail, Cheryl was able to look back on her time with Joe, realize the mistakes, and move on. Being able to wake up to the sound of birds singing and the smell of fresh air gave Cheryl the strength she needed to keep moving and to put every bad decision behind her.

For more information, visit:

https://psychcentral.com/blog/10-ways-nature-helps-your-well-being/

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jan/06/wild-cheryl-strayed-review

Sources

Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Publisher Not Identified, 2016.

https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/heroin

Wild Using Archetypal Literary Theory

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.

pictured above: Cheryl and Greg hiking the PCT

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

Adnan Syed: is he really. guilty?

At the age of 18, Adnan Syed was convinced of kidnapping and murdering an 18 year old girl, Hae Min Lee. But did he really do it?

On the left, Adnan Syed, age 18. On the right, Hae Min Lee, age 18

In my opinion no, but let me tell you why.

Leakin Park, Baltimore: Hae Min’s body was discovered here

On January 13, 1999, Hae Min Lee was reported missing. One month later, her body was found in Leakin Park, Baltimore, MD. She had been strangled. After an investigation in which one of Adnan’s friends, Jay Wilds, confessed to helping Adnan bury Hae Min’s body, authorities arrested Adnan Syed for the kidnapping and murder of his ex-girlfriend. During the trial, the prosecutors could not bring forth any physical evidence to prove Adnan to be the killer. All they had was Jay’s confession but for the court, this was enough.

While listening to the Serial podcast, one thing that stuck out to me was that Adnan’s first lawyer, Cristina Gutierrez, had not focused on the right evidence (she was also disbarred a year after Adnan’s trial for the mismanagement of client money). For example, a girl named Asia who Adnan attended school with, claimed to have seen Adnan at the time of the murder (they allegedly talked for 15 minutes or so at around 2:40 pm on January 13, 1999). Asia wrote two letters to Adnan, one on March 1, 1999 and another on March 2, 1999, asking why he didn’t tell the police about them talking in the library that afternoon and that she believed he was innocent. These letters, and Asia’s story were Adnan’s only alibi, but Cristina Gutierrez, who even wrote a note about them in her notebook, never made the effort to contact Asia or bring the letters into evidence. For more information about Asia’s letters, click here. This alone shows that Adnan was not given the ability to properly defend himself. Had Cristina used the letters and brought Asia to the stand, Adnan may have never been convicted.

Asia’s first letter to Adnan, dated March 1, 1999

Not only did Asia write two letters to Adnan in March of 1999, but she also wrote an affidavit on March 25, 2000. In this affidavit, Asia outlines that her and Adnan spoke for about 20 minutes at the Woodlawn Public Library and in that time, they talked about Hae Min. Asia writes that Adnan seemed “extremely calm and very caring” as he explained that they had broken up. She also states that no attorney had ever contacted her. The fact that Asia had an alibi for Adnan and no one even bothered to follow up on it is absurd to me.

Asia’s second affidavit (January 13, 2015)

The whole situation with the letters and Cristina Gutierrez not being focused on the right evidence makes me think there is more to the story. Could Gutierrez have purposely thrown the case? Could Adnan have been set up? These are questions I have often asked myself since listening to the podcast.

Another thing I continue to wonder about is Jay Wilds confession. He says that he knew Adnan planned to kill Hae Min and that he actually helped him to bury the body. I personally don’t believe a teenager with their whole life ahead of them would just up and help a friend bury a body, especially if that body is a friends, if he had no reason to be upset with the victim. I also find it extremely strange how much his story changed from his first interview to his second. He adds much more detail, adds that he helped bury the body, and manages to change the timing of these things. I do believe there is a chance he is telling the truth, but when something traumatic and significant happens, like burying a body, you don’t simply forget the fact that you helped to bury it! Click here to view Jay’s interviews and testimony timelines.

I do not, and never did think Adnan Syed was guilty of the murder of Hae Min Lee. I think that the trial was rushed and that Adnan’s first lawyer, Cristina Gutierrez, did not try her best to prove Adnan’s innocence. Although there is some proof to suggest Adnan killed Hae Min, I think that some phone call records and one persons confession is not enough. There was no DNA match, no pictures, no security footage, nothing at all really except one persons story that happened to explain some phone calls. I believe in “innocent until proven guilty” and Adnan was not proven guilty, he was simply guilty.

For More Information:

https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/adnan-syed

https://serialpodcast.org/season-one/maps

https://serialpodcast.org/season-one/posts

Websites Used:

https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a26755765/who-is-cristina-gutierrez-adnan-syed-lawyer/

https://serialpodcast.org/season-one

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a26721305/adnan-syed-case-trial-timeline/

Wild Using Reader’s Response

Image result for Wild books cheryl strayed

Wild by Cheryl Strayed is a novel about Cheryls three month long trek through the Pacific Crest Trail, alone. The first third of the novel is about everything that lead up to Cheryl deciding to hike the trail and the beginning of the trail.

The novel begins with with a short prologue, mid hike. The prologue briefly touches on the struggles Cheryl had encountered in the years prior. The beginning of the novel takes place four years prior, when Cheryl’s mother is diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. The first few chapters go back and forth between Cheryl’s childhood and her mother’s cancer journey. The purpose of these first few chapters is to make the reader understand what brought Cheryl to make the rash decision to hike over one thousand miles by herself.

Cheryl says, “my mother was in me already,” while thinking back to when she was talking care of her. This instantly made me feel for Cheryl because I personally relate to being very close to my mother. However, while reading the first third of my novel, this was surprisingly one of the only moments I related to Cheryl. There were many times while reading when I took pity on her or was sad for her and wished she didn’t have to suffer so much, but I couldn’t personally relate to most of it. I feel this might be because I am younger and haven’t had the same life experience, and also because the life she described doesn’t have much in common with mine.

At the age of six, her mother finally got away from her abusive husband and was left to support three small children by herself. This was the first of many hard she would have to experience. Cheryl’s marriage fell apart after her mothers death, her family drifted away, and she was lost. I think the Pacific Crest Trail was her way of trying to find herself again. I also think that with all she had been through, it’s expected that she be a bit adrift, but, as she says many times, she was completely and utterly lost. Getting out into nature was probably best for her, but she had no idea what was ahead of her. The burning hot days, the lonely nights, the tough terrain. Only minutes into the trail Cheryl says that it “in fact, resembles walking less than it does hell.”

This is a book I feel many people can relate to but on completely different levels. Some people may relate to the feeling lost and take comfort in her trek, others may relate from losing or having lost a loved one. Others may just feel for Cheryl based off of just the information in the book. This novel has a deep meaning to it and although she has suffered through things I can only imagine, I, in some weird and emotional way, can almost feel the pain she felt.

I’m very excited to finish Wild because so far it has been an endless stream of emotions and intriguing adventures and I can tell this is only the beginning.

For more information: http://www.cherylstrayed.com/wild_108676.htm https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/

Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Publisher Not Identified, 2016.

Listening Strategies for Serial Season 1, Episode 1: The Alibi

There are many strategies to understanding a medium. For a podcast, you are limited to just your hearing. This means you must listen for the speakers tone and key information.

While listening to the Serial podcast, I took notes to better remember the characters and important events/dates. I also kept in mind the question “do I think Adnan is guilty?”

Doing both these things helped me to concentrate on the podcast and better form my opinions. As I wrote down key points and phrases, I updated my opinion on whether or not I thought Adnan was guilty. I am now able to look back and see what affected my opinion, which is great for writing a review or paragraph/essay. I definitely think taking notes was the most helpful strategy I used. Keeping in mind a key question did help me to focus on the podcast, taking notes really kept me engaged and had me listening closely for changes in tones and any implied meanings.

One thing I will definitely do next time listening to a podcast is eliminate distractions. I can do this by not having my phone around me and being in a quite room away from other people. I often found myself being distracted by conversations and things happening around me, causing me to forget what I had just listened to. Being in a quite and clean space with nothing to distract me would definitely help me to absorb more information and maybe pick up on some stuff I didn’t before.

I found listening to the podcast to be somewhat difficult because I had to go back and listen to things again to understand them quite a bit. I probably prefer to read things because I can go at my own pace and being able to see how things are written tends to give me a better understanding. I will say though, it’s nice to hear peoples tones because that does give the listener a lot of information about how the character feels and reacts to things. As Cody Kommers said in his article Why Listening to a Book is Not the Same as Reading It, in Psychology Today, the critical difference between the two is engagement. When reading you are visually and mentally engaged and constantly thinking and processing what you are reading, whereas when listening, you can get distracted by the smallest thing because listening is not something you actively do.

Want some more information on listening strategies? Here are some links:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/friendly-interest/201812/why-listening-book-is-not-the-same-reading-it

https://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2012/11/09/10-steps-to-effective-listening/#312dc7453891

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/listening-skills.html

University Entry Requirements

Should grade 12 University English be a requirement for all University programs?

I don’t necessarily think it should be. I believe it is a useful course for many programs such as English, History, Education, and so on. However, for programs like Computer Science, Programming, and Theoretical Physics, where you’re pretty much using a different language, I don’t think it should be a requirement.

Many people who are gifted or excel in maths and sciences often struggle in essay and writing courses. So by having grade 12 University English as a requirement for all University programs, it can negatively impact the people who tend to do poorly in essay courses. For the people that like programming and computers, when do they really use english except to maybe speak it? Programming is its own language with its own set of grammar rules so a grade 12 english course probably isn’t going to help them (especially when there are websites and programs to help with writing resumes and cover letters and even just emails).

To me, it seems kind of pointless to have to take grade 12 University English for all programs. I know I would be pretty upset if a course that I wouldn’t need, or use, in my future, was affecting my chances of getting into the program I wanted.

However, a pro to making grade 12 University English a requirement is that it ensures a basic level of understanding for all which I think is important. There are many people who’s first language is not english so having english as a requirement can lead to a better understanding. I think a good alternative to the having everyone take ENG4U would be having a mandatory test, like the Literacy Test, as an entry requirement for University and all that is needed is a certain percentage, (maybe 80% or higher), in order to make sure everyone has the same understanding of the language.

I think it’s a bit of a slippery slope because there are so many ways to look at the situation. But overall, I believe grade 12 University English should only be a requirement for certain programs that involve writing and essay courses.