October 18, 2015 - 10:46
Cheryl Strayed decided to go hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail from Mojave, Los Angeles to Portland and the backpack she would carry is her only property on the way. The backpack appears throughout the whole book can seems really important. At the same time, readers can see how she changed the weight of her backpack on her way. The things in backpack are just like the things that she carried on her mind, tormenting her at first; when she took something out of the backpack and throw them away, it is like she threw the painful thoughts out of her mind.
Having no experience of hiking such long distance, Strayed prepared two large bags of things she thought she needed. And when she finally installed all the things in the backpack, a difficulty comes out. The backpack was too heavy to carry:
“I squatted and grasped its frame more robustly and tried to lift it again. Again it did not move. Not even an inch. I tried to lift it with both hands, with my legs braced beneath me, while attempting to wrap it in a bear hug, with all of my breath and my might and my will, with everything in me. And still it would not come. It was exactly like attempting to lift a Volkswagen Beetle. It looked so cute, so ready to be lifted—and yet it was impossible to do.” (42)
She used all her strength to lift the backpack but still did not success. Although she tried all the methods and use her strongest power, she still suffered pains when lifting it. When she finally succeeded, she had to “hunch in a remotely upright position” to only lift it up by back (43). Absolutely, she carried too much on her back, but she could not give up anything; she thought all the things she carried are necessary. However, because those things made her painful and obstruct her walking, she should take out something unnecessary to help her moving forward easily. As the simile of Volkswagen Beetle she used, sometimes people just wrongly estimate our ability and disappointedly find that they can not approach their goal.
Although backpack means “a bag you wear on your back, with straps over your shoulders” (“backpack”). A hiker carries a heavy backpack with food and a folded tent inside when hiking. However, what I want to mention is the word “backpack” can have metaphor which means anything people carry on themselves.
Except her food, tent and other things she thought she needed, Strayed carried her sadness of her mother’s death, the regret of betraying her husband and the remorse of taking heroine. These memories and experiences existed in her mind for a long time and they are just like the heavy “backpack” in her mind. Strayed carried them painfully because they pressed her too much like the backpack did. The backpack was too heavy to make her “rock back and forth” and on her trip, it rubbed her skin which brought her hurt and scars (43). Her memories of those upset things are like the weight on her back, tormenting her every time she picked them up. She definitely felt how they hurt herself and how they affected her; she knew the bad result those “weight” brought her, but she just could not escape from them. She always thought of the pain she suffered just like she carried on the weighty backpack again and again. She hurt her self by living indulgently and hurt her friends by making them disappoint. What she needed to do at that time is to lose weight of her “package”, both physically and mentally.
Fortunately, she met friendly people on her trip and they helped her lightened her package. She met Albert, a man who had been Eagle Scouts, and Albert helped her took out most things she should give up when hiking. When she lifted the backpack again, she felt it was incredibly lighter (107). Mentally, actually, she alleviated her pain mostly by herself. She generated thoughts when she was walking alone: she forgave her father, release from the death of her mother and lay down the mistakes she had made before. She came out a way to start a new life which would make her feel happier just like she found out how to keep her backpack light.
Furthermore, “backpack” comes from the words “back” and “pack”, so it emphasizes it is something on people’s back and when it is heavy, it would give pressure to people’s back. Also, it is something that should be packed up. Thus, when people choose to carry a backpack on our shoulders, they should make sure it does not hurt their back and does not give them pain. People should consider carefully what things they should pack into the bag. They need to estimate how much weight they could suffer in order to make themselves easy.
Each one has a “backpack” to carry during life time. Sometimes, it is unavoidable to feel pain and stress, just like something is pressing your back and trying to knock you down. However, what people should do is to throw those painful things out of their mind and lighten their “backpack”.
Works cited
Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. New York: Vintage, 2013. Print.
“Backpack.” Vocabulary.com http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/backpack