Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Within Cheryl

Cheryl found the gun and liquor in the truck
of who she was hitchhiking with

Scared to get murdered

He was going to drive under the
influence

He had an aggressive personality

His home may not have been safe

She was scared of those 2 men she came
across while getting water

Making comments about her body

Sexual
Harassment

The Assault

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Ani Chopourian vs. Catholic Healthcare West (2012)

Gretchen Carlson vs. Roger Ailes (2016)

Makes Cheryl
feel uncomfortable

They were going to hurt her
as they had guns and appeared to be
a little "rough around the edges"

Flashbacks

Dreams

Cheryl has dreams of
Bobbi begging Cheryl to kill her

Cheryl and her mom's relationship is
super strong, making the thought of killing her mom
so much more traumatizing

Guilt

Had reoccurring dreams of Bigfoot
kidnapping her

Abusive/alcoholic father

Unhappy times in her life

Brings back bad, fearful memories

Bobbi's death

Brought sadness

"I can't do this. I can't live without Mom. I can't.
I can't. I can't." -Leif Strayed (Strayed, 26)

Brought loneliness

"I howled and howled and howled, rooting my
face into her body like an animal." -Cheryl (Strayed, 26)

Hike VS Cheryl

Loliness

No support from

Family

Ex

Friends

Individuals also hiking the PCT

"I was a pebble. I was a leaf. I was the jagged branch of a tree. I was nothing to them and they were nothing to me." -Cheryl (Strayed 83)

Weather conditions

Extreme heat

Dehydration

Makes Cheryl want to give up

"I was going to quit. Quit, quit, quit, I chanted to
myself as I moaned and hiked and rested." -Cheryl
(Strayed, 84)

Can't think straight

Tiredness

Length

1100 miles for a new hiker

Tiring

New experiences

Struggles

Little food

Starvation

Barely any water

Blisters due to her boots
being too small

Pain

Urges to call Paul

"I can do this, I thought. I can be Paul's wife."
-Cheryl (Strayed 35)

Debates about being sexual along her hike

Her morals VS the point of the hike

Flashbacks

Mom's death

Wildlife

Strangers

Rattle Snake

Frogs

Bears

"BEAR! I yelped and reached for my whistle the moment
after he turned and ran, his thick rump rippling in the sun
as my whistle peeped its murderously loud peep. It took
me a few minutes to work up the courage to continue on."
-Cheryl (Strayed, 90-91)

Courage is gained
through fear

Paul VS Cheryl

Infidelity

Cheryl cheats on Paul

3 "hook ups" in 5 days

Divorce

Paul left Cheryl behind

Subtopic

Relationship struggles

Fighting

Makes Cheryl feel worthless

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian

Morals/Beliefs VS Cheryl

Cheating

Lying

Games

Unloyal

Drugs

Heroine

Addiction

Morals are created through parents
at a young age according to Freund

Although Cheryl's mom was
supportive, Cheryl's Dad was not a
good role model

This led to Cheryl's risky and impulsive
decisions later in her life

"Mistakes are always unforgivable,
if one has the courage to admit them."
-Bruce Lee

Cheryl's step dad was re-married and
created children with his new wife, a year
after Bobbi's death

Made his love for Cheryl's mom seem
fake

Portrayed love as something
useless to Cheryl

Possible reasoning for
why Cheryl cheated on
her husband

This idea relates to the movie Forest Gump as
Jenny, had an abusive father and as she grew up
she became very sexually active and got AIDS/HIV

However, Cheryl was a sweet girl at
a young age

Was accepting of her Mom being
in high school the same time as her

Was caring and visited her Mom often
as she was dying

Tried to maintain a close relationship
with her brother

Got him to visit their mom in the hospital

Has to control the id's impulsiness

The hike was one of those ways
Cheryl controlled her past issues

Realtes to the show/programs Intervention
where people who have let their drug habits get out
of hand, seek help

Change her life around

Cheating

Heroine

Depression

Pregnancy/abortion

The hike

To reflect on past choices

In honor of her mom

Bobbi and Cheryl had a very strong bond, Cheryl
is constantly looking to replace her mother figure by
adding other people in her

Cheryl believed her mom would not approve
of her life choices, she wanted to make her
mother proud

Showed personal character development

Quit her bad habits

Becomes happier

Even though her mom has passed away,
she made her proud

Cheryl became helpful along her hike
as she helped people who did not have water,
inspired multiple individuals walking the PCT, shared
her past experiences with others (especially near the end
of the story)

Cheryl realized she needed help after
she got pregnant and had to get an abortion

She thought her problems were
too difficult for a therapist which
led to the hike

Realization her life was
out of control

It requires strength to
acknowledge one has a
problem

"As I saw myself then in front of that tarnished
mirror what came was the women with the hole in her heart.
That was me." -Cheryl (Stryaed 38)

Shows initiative to move past
her problems

Quote: "I’m a free spirit who never had the balls to be free.”
-Cheryl Strayed

Unrealistic decision

Realistic aspect

Problem solving

Cheryl lost one of her boots
and created new shoes out of
duct tape

Embarrassment as shoes
made her look inexperienced
and homeless

Example: while hitchhiking she
was stopped by a reporter who tried to
interview Cheryl for being a homeless
female

Shows her creativity and her
fast thinking

Fast thinking relates to shows such as
Jeopardy, The Amazing Race, Chopped

Past Cheryl would have given up and
discontinue the hike, however Cheryl's
determination pushed her to be original
to finish the hike

The water pipe wasn't connected,
therefore she filtered dirty water by
adding iodine pills

Relation to the show "Survivorman" when
he boils his pee for hydration as he did not
have water

Both individuals had
to use survivor skills

Impulsiveness

Impulsive decision to begin the hike
with no previous experience

Shows Cheryl is ambitious
enter and up for the challenge

"Strength and growth come
only though continuous effort
and struggles" -Napolean Hill

Poor decisions

Hitchhiking with strangers

Puts herself in dangerous situations

Sex life

Sexually active

With multiple men

Selfish

Not with reality as
she had a husband

With ex-husband

Flirtatious

Freud claims we need pleasure
in our lives

The unconscious mind

Cheryl has always struggled with her
past, however it came apparent when
her decisions in life started to grow in
the category of stupidity

Cheryl did not realize who
she was hurting until the beginning
her hike