Pain

Pain is integral to the human experience. Though not always welcome, it is inevitable and in its wake leaves us broken and devastated with an urge to heal. However, it could also result in stripping an individual of all positive emotions, with them having little or no hope of ever learning how it was to live without that pain in their life. In her memoir, Cheryl Strayed explores this notion of pain, constantly juxtaposing mental agony with physical pain, focusing on the transformative nature of this element that simply by its presence instills in us an appreciation for the good things in life. Moreover, she demonstrates how physical pain may shift one's focus from the mental manifestation of this concept, not necessarily eliminating it, but enabling us to come to terms with it and at the very least, turn our attentions elsewhere. Analyzing "Wild" through the lens of this keyword, I have realized the snowball effect of this phenomenon, and how its infliction upon one person affects not only that individual, but also others.  

In various places, Strayed describes how she "would suffer (27)", after her mother's death, an event that caused her life to split in two(35). Although she did not follow the path taken by "people who cut themselves on purpose", her reckless lifestyles and irresponsible decisions provided her a similar leeway from the main cause of her pain. On the trail, she goes at great lengths to describe the physical torture inflicted upon her by hiking on the trail, her "throbbing and blistered feet (197)" and how her "arms shook with fatigue (195)". To me, this excessive mention of the physical aspect of pain and rare reference to the mental one, serve as keys for understanding how Strayed channeled the physical hardships resulting from the trail, to divert her attention from her mental demons. In other situations she developed this new found appreciation for all those things she used to and the majority of people take for granted, but which she was deprived of, on the trail. Whether it was the heady pleasure from drinking Snapple (198), or the sweet sensation derived from intimacy (256), the author's constant physical agony, enabled her to take greater pleasure in things. Going to her session tonight, I was able to comprehend that this effect was not only temporary, but an aspect that still remains a part of Strayed's life today.  

Another characteristic of pain, that I developed an understanding of while going through memoir, is how fluidly it passes from one person to the other. Strayed's mother was in so much pain (19) due to the cancer that would later take her life, that Strayed herself gleaned vicarious torment from the condition of her mother. Subsequently, it was this second hand pain that metamorphosed into one that was deeply rooted in Strayed's own despair on having lost her mother; this experience spiraled the author in to the extramarital affairs which in turn inflicted pain upon her husband. I believe it is only when she owns her pain and realizes that sleeping with strangers would not be the agent of her recovery, but her own self that would heal her, that Cheryl Strayed breaches this transfer of pain. Indeed, she does subject her own self to more physical pain by undertaking this journey, but in the end, she prevents there being more recipients of this cruelly contagious pain that had hurt so many people in her life. I am a strong proponent of the notion that being in pain never gives us the right to inflict it upon others, no matter how  deeply we think we do not care about anything anymore or how profoundly we have been wounded. 

Surely, I have found pain to be a central theme of this book, an element that resulted in Strayed losing her true sense of being and ultimately going on this journey that gradually aided her in rediscovering herself. It is also something everyone can relate to, and not necessarily those who have suffered from the loss of a loved one. As most people said in class on Tuesday, I also believe that everyone has their own mechanisms of coping with pain, and it is our own self which can effectively heal us. However, we should aim at developing a deeper understanding of this emotion, its causes and its effects, before delving into ridding ourselves from it. 

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