Examples Of Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

Although romantic and appealing, the transcendental values of self-reliance and nature, are far too unrealistic to adopt into our everyday lives. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that has been widely debated throughout history. Philosophers like Henry David Thoreau promoted its ideals in various works and showcased transcendentalism, more specifically living alone in nature, as a freeing and model way of life. In reality, however, even though this lifestyle is admirable, it is unrealistic, dangerous, and lonely and the achievability of it must be questioned when appreciating the literature concerning transcendentalism. The actualities of Christopher McCandless’s life depicted through the film Into the Wild, highlight that when trying to adopt

While the intentions behind this philosophy are worthy of respect, actually living a “self-reliant life” is nearly impossible and is likely to backfire. Christopher McCandless, for example, although attempting to embody the ideas of Thoreau in the purest form, is assisted by others countless times throughout his journey. Chris is given much-needed rides, food, advice, and supplies by other people during his adventure (Penn). It is incredibly difficult to live truly on your own because oftentimes, in order to succeed we need the help of other people. In addition, once he is isolated in the Alaskan wilderness, he struggled to provide for himself and eventually died due to starvation (Penn). This highlights how unrealistic it is to live the successful self-reliant life that Thoreau was trying to encourage. In addition, despite how romantic Thoreau’s “solitude” sounds, in reality, living life isolated from society is incredibly lonely. When Christopher McCandless tried to incorporate the value of self-reliance into his life by taking an adventure to Alaska alone, he was left feeling incredibly lonely. At the end of his journey, he realized the flaws of this lifestyle. McCandless writes, “happiness only real when shared” (Penn). He left his family, friends, and loved ones all behind to try and achieve the lifestyle he saw reflected in transcendental philosophies just to realize that life can only be truly happy

While we should appreciate nature, it is difficult to live in it to the extent that Thoreau intended and encouraged. Christopher McCandless’ life is a great example of why living a life in nature is so dangerous. He not only had several near-death experiences while living in nature but he also died from its effects while trying to live a transcendentalist life. At the beginning of Chris’ journey ‘into the wild’, he gets stuck in a very intense flash flood, which leaves him stranded in the desert. In addition, while in the Alaskan wilderness, he has dangerous encounters with a bear and a roaring river. To top it all off, during the final days of his life, Chris consumes the seed of a wild potato which greatly impairs his physical abilities and digestion. This leads to his starvation-induced death a few days later (Penn). All of these treacherous circumstances Chris faces while living in nature highlight the true dangers that nature brings to the table. While it is something to be appreciated and valued, we must think twice before trying to live immersed in it. If we attempt to live a life alone in nature like Christopher McCandless did, we will only be met with peril and failure. Although we should spend time in nature to an extent, transcendental intentions are far too romantic and unrealistic to work for us