Survival

The survival unit consisted first of reading one of three novels: Into the Wild, Unbroken, or Lord of the Flies. I was assigned to read the book Into the Wild about a man named Chris McCandless who set out on a mission to survive in the harsh conditions of the Alaskan woods. Personally, I didn’t really like the book. I disliked the format in which the book was written; The narrator sometimes inserted himself into the novel, and it seemed more like a really long newspaper article than a book. We then watched three episodes of Survivorman that related to each of the assigned books to learn various methods and tactics of how to survive in strenuous events such as being lost at sea or stranded on a deserted island. Then, we were to create a video of something we can do well that teaches others how to perform the task. The biggest point of the unit was for each of us to identify trait that we thought was most important in surviving any situation. I found that the most important was knowledge because it was the most common in every situation that we read or heard about. Chris McCandless died in Alaska because of his lack of knowledge in what he could and couldn’t eat. Les Stroud from Survivorman was able to make it through every situation because he had pre-existing knowledge of his surroundings and how he can manipulate them to his own benefit. This is a prime example of how even with enough resources, strong adaptability and preparedness, if you don’t know how to use those skills, it really won’t get you far.