Science calls a person a biosocial being who, in addition to meeting physiological needs, needs to communicate, socialize, interact with other people and, in general, life in society. That is why the public has always been struck by the cases of “Mowgli children, ” who, having no experience of life among people, could not become full-fledged members of society, even after returning to civilization. However, already formed personalities, on the contrary, are increasingly trying to get away from people.
More than a quarter century ago, twenty-year-old Christopher Knight decided to escape from the real world and live the isolated life of a hermit in the wild.
Christopher, now 53, didn’t tell anyone about his location when he went to a remote forest, claiming that he has no friends and is not interested in being part of society.
On the road to solitude
Longing for adventure, Knight, nicknamed the Hermit of the Northern Pond, in 1986 passed to the life of a nomad, turning his back on everything he knew in life.
Initially descending to the East Bank of America, the man headed north to the state of Maine.
He recalls the last time he listened to the radio, then Ronald Reagan was the president of the United States, and the Chernobyl disaster had just shocked the world - this was his last contact with the outside world.
After reaching Maine, his car began to run out of fuel slowly, so he rode on as long as he could.
Then Knight casually threw the car keys into the glove compartment, having no idea what to expect, because he literally went into the unknown - to the North Pond area of Belgrade Lakes Maine.
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While some choose the life of a hermit for religious reasons, in the name of science or to immerse themselves in self-knowledge - Knight's only goal was simply to get lost in the woods forever.
Forced Crimes
There was little food, and he rarely ate. It is reported that for the first time on his way he ate a raw partridge, which he could kill on the way.
But when the problem with finding food became quite acute, Knight began to stop in unoccupied huts and steal food from gardens.
He made thousands of hacks until he was caught.
During his stay in the wild, Knight lived in a temporary camp created from a piece of tarpaulin stretched between trees.
Despite the fact that Knight was at all times within walking distance of one of the hundreds of summer houses in the area, he remained completely hidden for decades.
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Knight believed that being isolated was better than communicating, and was happy that he was free from the world.
After 27 years, Knight was arrested and charged with robbery and theft.
A real-life book
Writer Michael Finkel wrote a book about Knight, entitled "I Eat Silence with Spoons." He visited Christopher in prison to discuss his extraordinary life in the forest.
Mr Finkel says: "Chris Knight said he feels very uncomfortable among people."
The writer thinks that initially in the life of a hermit there could have been some kind of motivating event. "Have you committed a crime? Or something that you were very ashamed of? Or was it some kind of special action for the sake of self-knowledge?" Finkel asked such questions to Knight.
"And he insisted that none of this was what prompted him to become a hermit. He said that the desire to be alone was like a gravitational force, his whole body said that he feels much better alone."
