A Soon to Be Transcendentalist What is a transcendentalist? How is Chris “Alexander” McCandless a “true” transcendentalist? A transcendentalist is someone who believes in a philosophy that consists of being a non-conformist, being one with nature, and rejecting materialism. Throughout Krakauer’s novel, Into the Wild, it just occurs that McCandless achieves all of the above. “Whoso would be a man, must be a non-conformist” (Emerson). McCandless defied society by, living in the wild and rarely cared about possessions. Chris McCandless is a true transcendentalist because he existed off the land in Alaska, the west coast, Mexico and he did not want to have any else but happiness in life; he found this through his experiences in wilderness. In Emerson’s Self-Reliance it states, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of ever on its members.” To conform to …show more content…
Nobody knew Chris had plans like these. During Chris’s time working at McDonalds, …show more content…
Chris’s experiences with not wearing socks, living in slabs where there were a lot of so called rejects. Then leaving Slabs to go worshipped/ live in nature, which lead to his downfall. Everything offered to Chris during his Transcendentalist state he rejected all of it. “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth, I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, an obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not; and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board. The hospitality was as cold as the ices” (Krakuer 117). Chris left his family on a journey to find the truth. Chris just wanted happiness, and wanted everything to be safe and sound. Chris was a transcendentalist, he wished to be happy, free’ d of all things and in the