Tests

Research Question: What are the benefits of creating a new life/identity, including a name change, in a solitude place like Alaska?

Works completed about Alaska’s environment and the benefits of solitude are interesting. The American Wilderness League confirms that Alaska’s public land has unbelievable wildlife habitats, along with amazing scenery. Including many diverse ecosystems of wild places, Alaska is a place for solitude opportunities (“Multimedia,” n.d.). This league is in constant battle to preserve land in Alaska for the many benefits it gives to the animals and the people who visit the public land. What are the benefits of creating a new life, including a name change, in a solitude place like Alaska is the question being addressed here. Is a name change necessary though? According to Benes and Steinbrink (1996), “One’s name, a unique heritage, provides a psychological guidepost for the individual to live up to” (para. 1).  Benes and Steinbrink’s work included activities with children that addressed their names and how a name can impact their lives. With the feeling that one’s name is something their life must be made up of, it only seems helpful for a name change or loss of name to occur when embarking on a new journey, whether it be temporary and experimental or a permanent situation. Take Chrisopher McCandless from Krakauer’s Into the Wild book for example. Chris decided to change his name and embark on a journey north of Mt. McKinley in Alaska. Going on a trip alone to a vast place like Alaska can seem crazy to one person, but according to Chris McCandless, he didn’t need the relationship of another person. Krakauer (1997) expressed from one of Chris’s letters “You are wrong if you think joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is everything and anything we might experience (p.57).” The benefits of solitude outweighed the negatives of being alone for McCandless and others find that solitude is beneficial. Long and Averill (2003) admit that solitude can provide opportunities that are not usually offered in a social environment (p.24).  Thus providing insight that the benefits of solitude and creating a new life are positive and vast.

References

Benes, C., & Steinbrink, J. (1996). Living up to your name. Social Studies, 87(5), 228.

Krakauer, J. (1997). Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books.

Long, C., & Averill, J. (2003). Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being Alone. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 33(1), 21-44.

Multimedia Tour. Alaska Wilderness League. Retrieved February 24, 2010, from http://www.alaskawild.org/experience-alaska/multimedia/