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  • Essay / The Unlikable Cheryl Strayed

    Cheryl Strayed is an unlikable character but a lovable person; this is not a contradictory statement. In her memoir Wild, she plays a distressed but naive young woman, making her the main (and unlikeable) character of this story. In her podcasts, on the other hand, it's easier to get a sense of who she is as a real person, and in that context, she's lovely, honest, and down-to-earth. At first, it was strange that the description she gave of herself in her memoir differed so much from the way she presented herself in her Dear Sugar podcasts. However, upon closer inspection, it made sense that Wild's character was indeed not the same as Dear Sugar's. Not only was Cheryl a static character in Wild, but she was also constantly complaining despite being in a much more privileged position than she realized. She made life difficult for herself, then focused only on the pain she had inflicted on herself during the journey, leaving little time to reflect on the grievances that had caused her to undertake this trek in the first place. place. Despite these factors, the justifications and admission of his mistakes on his podcast Dear Sugar allow him to become a more approachable person. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay It often seems as if Cheryl Strayed in Wild is a fictional character, a separate entity from her real self. One explanation for this characteristic is that it is completely static throughout the novel. While it is true that "something in [her] was released" at the very end of the novel, up until that point there really hasn't been much emotional development (Strayed 306). She was still primarily focused on her physical pain (her blisters) and being alone in nature, just like she was at the beginning of the memoir. Throughout the book she covers the same topics repetitively, with little to no progress and absolutely no development, or at least until the very end where she feels wilder as a result of her experience. On the other hand, in Dear Sugar, she is much more multifaceted. Although the book and podcasts are different means through which she can express different ideas, there were certainly many opportunities in the book in which she could have discussed her infidelity or drug use in a little more depth, as she did in “The Episodes of Infidelity” in the podcast. In one of the “Infidelity Episodes,” Strayed talks at length about how we hope to find a companion, a lover, a best friend, a supporter in our spouses, and how, more often than not, not all of these roles can be fulfilled by a single person. This is one reason why some people come out of marriage seeking to satisfy their desires that their partners cannot. If she had included this point at the end of her memoir, it would have greatly enhanced her character development as well as the readers' relationship with her. Additionally, although many have claimed that Strayed's work is radical and helps make the case for promoting disadvantaged people's connection to nature, much of what Strayed writes does not mention the privilege she has . Even though she mentions how dangerous it is for a woman to be on the road alone, it seems like she benefits from being a white, able-bodied woman on this type of trail, as many people are more than willing to 'help. (which may not be the case for a person of color or a person with a disability). Furthermore, she is.