Essay Example: How Will You Reach One of Your Ultimate Goals?

Published: 2023-03-15
Essay Example: How Will You Reach One of Your Ultimate Goals?
Type of paper:  Essay
Categories:  Women Discrimination Feminism Books
Pages: 6
Wordcount: 1464 words
13 min read
143 views

In the book "Wild," Cheryl Strayed narrates a woman who has lived a turmoil life entirely. Since the demise of her mother and the divorce of her father, Sharon lists a view of her life. In essence, Cheryl lost her values as one marred with failures and losses. For her to solve the desperation of living a better experience, she decided to go on a journey. Indeed, feminism is real in this book. The feminist perspective can be supported by the experiences of Cheryl and her mother. This paper shall address the feminist perspective.

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The book narrates that Cheryl started her journey by herself toward the Pacific Crest Trail. During this journey, Cheryl begins to change her attitudes and beliefs. She started to believe in herself, forgiveness, and rebirth. Cheryl displays difficulty or losing everything. In her state, she refused to accept reality. At the beginning of the memoir, she deems herself a victim because she had "a father who loved you as a father should be greater than his part." (Cheryl, 133) Cheryl's biological father was not only a father by name but also extraordinarily abusive and vicious to his children and his wife.

The coming of age as a stepfather in the family displayed a different scenario. In Eddie's case, the book reveals that he was not a good father. However, if Eddie is compared to Cheryl's biological father, he outdoes him since he is impressive to some extent. After the demise of his mother, Eddie decides to leave the family. Following Eddie's departure, Cheryl is hungry because she had a lot of expectations from Eddie. Cheryl hardly thought of a good father since all men fell short of an expectation of what could define a father. For that reason, she looked for every possible alternative to run from her painful time.

From this point, the writer explicates the feminist perspective. In this book, Cheryl uses various thoughts, occurrences, and analyses of the event to explain what is happening to the readers. The book narrates that Bobbie, Cheryl's mother died when she was 22. Her demise of lung cancer plays a crucial role in destroying her fragile family. The passage of the matriarch family made the family dysfunctional, causing Eddie the stepfather to disengage from the family.

After Bobbie had departed with her first husband, she begins the full responsibility of taking care of her children. In that regard, she provides education, shelter, food, and clothing. She continues to be the breadwinner of the family even after meeting a second husband. From this experience, the writer aims to educate the readers that some of the insecurities that women develop discourage them and are false. For a parent having three children, raising the children single-handedly is not an easy task. A single parent raising three children faces various challenges. In this book, the writer displays women to be powerful and stronger.

Cheryl's journey to the pacific crest trail, she encounters several people who are astonished that a woman is traveling alone. The book quotes that "so impressed that a woman is doing this hike alone." Even though the comment has meaning and is encouraging, the generational stereotypes have reeked. From this disbelief, it can be concluded that the men performed most of the tasks. In the Pacific Crest Trails is mainly hiked by the men.

The book covers Cheryl spending her summer on the Pacific Crest Trail situated in the Mojave beach through Oregon and California to Washington state. The book reveals the frightening moments. One surprising fact from this book is that nothing transpired by Cheryl amidst these challenges. The writer plucked dangling from the pit edge made a witness to the rapture or buried by an avalanche. Such that, the author seems to be chewed by the bear. Dingo ceases to eat a person's baby.

Cheryl began to hike because her life was in jeopardy. She was left to live in a studio room in Minneapolis. The book records that Cheryl was separated from her husband. As mentioned earlier, her childhood was marred with various challenges. She was not only rendered motherless but also her father vanished along with her early childhood. Based on these mixed-up and hard times at early stages in life, Cheryl's indulged in smoking heroin. She begins to sleep with every man from every corner.

In the book "Wild," the author writes that Cheryl's grief is stemmed from her confusion. The portraits of Cheryl's mother succumbing to cancer were bitter and raw. The writer narrates that, Cheryl's mother was as palpable as her confusion. The mother was reported to have dated some men such as Motorcycle Dan, Doobie, and Killer. However, as reported earlier the mother is strong and could raise the three children. Notably, she raised her three children using powdered milk, government cheese, and food stamps.

The mother was too concerned about her children. For instance, when Children when to go college as a freshman, the author reveals that her mother came along with her and enrolled her. In school, Cheryl was an A student. The book records that Chery's mother's love was full-throated. Also, the book records important traits of Cheryl's mother that cannot be ignored. The author argues that the mother was not only all-encompassing but also unadorned. Cheryl asserts that each day she will blow through her mother's entire reserve. At the time that Cheryl's mother became ill, Chery narrates that she folded her life down to take care of her mother.

As the book "Wild" unfolds, Cheryl was subjected to what is termed in the book as "radical loneliness." In essence, Cheryl lacked crucial things such as credit cards and cell phones. In most instances, as recorded in the book, Cheryl had a few coins to spend in the entire week. The book quotes Cheryl is that she had to do the things she never perceived right to explore. Cheryl narrates to the audience that the few coins she had in her position limited her to perform some intended task rendering her a slave to herself. In this state in life, Cheryl had neither escape nor denial. She narrates that her condition could neither be covered up with a roll in the hay nor numbing it down with a martini.

At the time of her mother's demise, Cheryl was physically unprepared for the nightmare that befell her. The authors recall more significant incidences that exacerbated physical pains to her. The author set the scene off with a ridiculously overstuffed backpack. The author later terms the state as a "monster." Cheryl loses her blackened toenails to "ill-fitting boots." For that reason, Cheryl's feet were like a throbbing mass of pulp. Cheryl asserts that her stench was magnificent (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/books/wild-by-cheryl-strayed-a-walkabout-of-reinvention.html?).

In her journey, the reader quickly notices that Cheryl is tougher not only physically but mentally. As the author writes, the readers see how the story is scary as it evolves. In her journey, Cheryl encounters dangerous animals and leering men, and she almost ran out of water. In her adventure, Cheryl faces wild animals such as carnivorous woodland beasties and bears. She wonders why the animals had to follow the same path she was treading. She admits that she was fearless to go on such a trip without enough money to spare.

In conclusion, the book "Wild" elucidates feminism in a broader perspective. The writer speaks about being raised in a low-income family under the care of a cancer-suffering mother. In spite of her mother's struggle, she could still struggle to take care of the family of three children. In this context, the mother is not only a breadwinner but an example of what women should be. Cheryl, even after her mother's death, is confused but seeks to find solace for herself. She begins to journey towards Pacific Crest Trails, where she hikes. As a woman, she is fearless to journey through even without having sufficient money. Such that, the lack of ease made Cheryl's life more funny and fierce. The book "Wild" seems to act as a response to a rare sight. Cheryl in this book, finds strength and voice to address the reader about her earlier life. The book reveals that some duties, such as hiking, were only meant for men. Based on this concept, women are underestimated in society.

Works Cited

Dwight Garnermarch The Tracks of an Author's, and a Reader's, Tears

'Wild' by Cheryl Strayed, a Walkabout of Reinvention. 2012. From Https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/books/wild-by-cheryl-strayed-a-walkabout-of-reinvention.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=F563B85B781A00AF7EF4929F0AC7E24E&gwt=pay&assetType=REGIWALL.

Strayed, C. Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found. Atlantic Books (UK), 2013.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Vintage, 2014.

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