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Examples Of Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

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Imagine living one hundred and twelve days alone in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. Try to wrap your brain around the idea of living with no human contact, little food, and no way out. If one has ever heard of Chris McCandless, they simply think he was a crazy man who let himself starve in the Alaskan wilderness. People think he was ignorant for embarking on such a radical expedition with little supplies and scarce knowledge of the land. Others thought he was just a lazy bum who could not handle the stresses of everyday life so, he decided to hide for civilization. Well, the true is he was not crazy or lazy. He was living a transcendental life. Transcendentalism is a simple way of life that helps one better understand nature. Specific examples of transcendentalism will be explained from McCandless’s life and also my personal opinions regarding transcendentalism.
At the beginning of chapter 5 of Into the Wild, McCandless got a full time job working at McDonalds. He spends …show more content…

Franz was a retired army veteran who once had a drinking problem. He becomes good friends with McCandless. The letter warns Franz that living a comfortable life is the most harmful. A man should have an endlessly changing horizon with nothing holding him back from happiness. This letter is basically tells Frank that he has many more years to live and he should make a dramatic change to his everyday life and live nomadically. This action is following the transcendental belief of the importance of self-expression and self-reliance. It is following this belief because, McCandless wants Franz to live on the move and do what he needs to do in order to be happy. This same idea is shown in, “Self-Reliance.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, the author of, “Self-Reliance,” stresses that one should always be their own person on page 394. That is what McCandless is saying in his letter to

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McCandless follows his dreams and does not let anything or anyone come in his way. McCandless embolden Ron Franz to hunt for self-wisdom in a letter to Franz. McCandless says, “I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt’… ‘The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure”

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652 Words | 3 Pages

To go off on an expedition all the way across the country for no other reason than to prove something to him is just insane. Not only did McCandless go all of the way to Alaska, but he also gave away most of the money he had just before he went on the trip. By doing this instead of keeping some of it and buying some decent equipment and food, I think that McCandless was prepared to die in the

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In the short story, “Death of an Innocent” by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless travels into the Alaskan wilderness with the intention of relying completely on himself. In the true spirit of transcendentalism, McCandless travels to escape the bounds of society and to remove himself from a materialistic world. Many argue, however, that Chris McCandless was not a transcendentalist because he travels to exotic lands as a means of avoidance, but actually, Chris McCandless is the epitome of a transcendentalist. Transcendentalists, however, rely on themselves and nature to survive and do not depend on material items. Transcendentalists romanticize individualism and believe that intuition is the best guide through life.

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In the 19th and 20th century transcendentalism was a new and exciting topic that caused tremendous controversy. In the novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless was a man with a very unique character. In more detailed words Chris McCandless was a transcendentalist. His actions and moods played a big part in his life, from beginning to end. He was a transcendentalist because of his self-reliance, confidence and non-conformity.

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"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”- Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalism is an American philosophy that revolves around self-reliance and independence, commonly in nature, a Transcendentalist wants to find the true meaning in life. I believe that Chris McCandless was a Transcendentalist because he was able to leave his whole life behind and take on a minimalist lifestyle while having a strong relationship with god. However, I believe that I am not a Transcendentalist, but simply an adventurer.

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"You don't need to worry about me. I have a college education. I'm not destitute. I'm living like this by choice…” (52). Jon Krakauer writes about McCandless as being a brave and courageous man who does what he wants when he wants.

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One of the many rebellious acts of McCandless is when he went against the standard government. McCandless refused to buy a hunting license because “How [he fed himself was] none of the government's business, fuck their stupid rules”(pg6). McCandless shows a teenager trait because he did not respect the government, which makes him sounds invincible and care free. During his time in the wild he was looking for himself and he felt that isolation was the best way possible to find happiness. In the passage Expert from Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson says ”

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Transcendentalism is a philosophical and literary movement that emphasizes themes of nature and self-reliance while going against society and materialism. Many transcendentalists including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are the creators of this movement impacting many others. Chris McCandles, the young and fearless main character, in Jon Jrakauer’s text Into the Wild, follows these transcendental leaders shown in his actions. Chris finds himself exploring throughout North America and reaching his goal to make it to Alaska. Like Thoreau, McCandles loves nature and finds it his “congratulation”, “greets everyday with joy”, and “follows his genius”.

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Kevin Sun Mrs. Cohen English 2CP --D February 22, 2018 Another Perspective The film Into the Wild is based on the life of Chris McCandless, a young man who rejected the consumerist society of America in order to live a more simple life. Through his travels, Chris carried essays by Transcendentalist philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, suggesting that McCandless is impacted by Transcendentalist ideals. Two key tenets of Transcendentalism that clearly influenced McCandless’ choices are the value of simplicity and the importance of self-reliance.

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Was Chris McCandless a true transcendentalist? Transcendentalism is a system developed by Immanuel Kant, based on the idea that, in order to understand the nature of reality, one must first examine and analyze the reasoning process that governs the nature of experience. Influenced by romanticism, Platonism, and Kantian philosophy, it taught that divinity pervades all nature and humanity, and its members held progressive views on feminism and communal living. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were central figures. In Jon Krakauer’s novel, Into the Wild, McCandless is viewed as a transcendentalist.

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The book “Into the Wild” written by Jon Krakauer, tells McCandless’ story on his jounery. By comparing Christopher McCandless to classic influential transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson, it can be observed that many of their core beliefs and fundamental principles align with each other. These similarities validate that McCandless is in fact a modern day transcendentalist. Throughout his life Christopher McCandless has always been the individual to defy society’s standards and even loathe them to a point, the same characteristic of nonconformity can be found in influential transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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472 Words | 2 Pages

The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” This was written by Chris McCandless in a letter to Ron Franz where he shares his strong opinions about society and how there is great joy and peace to be found in non-conforming to societal rules. Chris McCandless felt that he had found his true connection to nature and

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To begin with, McCandless didn't want to be in the society. It looked like if he was against the society. As the reader can see, he is going to the mountains with himself and rifle. He believed that everyday should be an adventure and if it is not then you should make one. Everyday life for him wasn't an adventure so he decided to go and live on the road.

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The Simplistic Living of Chris McCandless Around the 1830s-1840s, transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson founded an intellectual movement called transcendentalism. Like Emerson, Jon Krakauer writes with detailing transcendentalist keys in his book Into the Wild. In Into the Wild Krakauer shows his similar experiences through the character Chris McCandless. Krakauer uses transcendentalism by detailing the many keys McCandless portraits in the book. These keys are, goodness of humans and respect for other beauty, respect and beauty of nature, the importance of self-expression and self-reliance, non-conformity, and reducing dependence on property.

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783 Words | 4 Pages

This is just one of the many people who comment on McCandless’s small weight. This shows that McCandless was constantly hungry, but he still did not decide to go home. He enjoyed living this way. Also, he encountered many unpleasant events in the wild such as “a crown [falling] off one of his molars” (Krakauer 164) and “fly and mosquito hordes” (Krakauer 166). These events were months before his death, so he could have decided to go home before it was too late, but he does not.

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