Throughout any one's life, struggles and hardships occur. Some struggles and decisions are more drastic than others, but even the smallest influence from a person can guide these struggles. In the books "Into the Wild" and "The Things They Carried", two young men, Chris McCandless and Tim O'Brien both experience hardships and share a common guidance. In "The Things They Carried" and "Into the Wild" there are two different boys who are lost and confused on where their life will go and how their decisions are imparting their life. In the Chapters On a Rainy River (The Thing They Carried) and Anxa-Borrego (Into the Wild) both boys meet older men who become father-like figures and supporters in time on need. Ron Franz and Elroy Berdhal are the two older men who influence these boy's decisions
In the book "The Things They Carried", Tim O'Brien talks about his days on the Rainy River. He was torn between facing the war or fleeing off to Canada. In the midst of making his decision he decided to take drive up north and fell upon a Lodge where Elroy Berdhal owned and stayed. Elroy allowed Tim to stay there because somehow he knew that Tim was having a tough time and needed a place to escape to. Taking O'Brien in and supporting him in a tough time was something Tim needed and allowed him to make the decision he though was cowardly but I thought was brave. O'Brien states that "The man that opened the door that day is the hero of my life." Tim did not want to go to the war and fight for something in which he did not support. Chris McCandless's situation relates because he was also taken in and some what guided by an older gentleman, Ron Franz during a period in his life when he was free but lost.
Chris was wondering all over the country, leaving his past behind not because he had to face something he did not wish to do but to do something that he longed to do. He wanted to live off the land and really experience life to the fullest. Along his journey he met a man named Ronald Franz. Franz was an older man who had lost his family. He met Chris and like Elroy, took the boy in. He was there for him and wanted to be apart of his life. He took him in as a son and acted as a protector. McCandless was too much of a free spirit and tried to avoid creating relationships, but Franz wanted to hold on to him. He enjoyed his company. Franz and Elroy both were supporting the boys either by feeding them and providing shelter or how franz gave chris a Machete, an arctic parka and other gear for his trip to alaska. Although they supported the boys they did not pressure them to make certain decisions like most concerned parents would. Elroy didn't even talk to Tim about the draft.
At a crucial part in a young mans life both young men had someone they came across that made an impact on their lives. Neither of these older men knew the boys but they were there for them, they wanted to help even in the slightest ways. Elroy and Ron stood as strength and love in times of hardship.
