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.
Into the Wild is a book about a young adventurer named Chris McCandless. He is the main character of the book and usually goes by the pseudonym Alex Supertramp. The author also includes other stories about people who had similar experiences to Chris McCandless. McCandless was a very smart, independent person who hitch hikes around the United States.
Into the WIld Transcendental Connections Ralph Waldo EMrson founded the idea of transcendentalism which gained popularity from the eighteen-thirties though the eighteen-sixties. Into the Wild ,written by John Krakauer, is a biography about the infamous Chris McCandless who in April of 1992 hitchhiked to Alaska and traveled into the western wilderness in an attempt to construct a new life for himself. Unfortunately after one hundred and thirteen days Chris sadly passed away from eating unsafe food and later died inside of the bus they occupied. In this story Krackauer clearly displays how Chris McCandless’ actions during his time in Alaska followed the four transcendental ideals of importance in nature, self-reliance, simplified life, and
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.
In my opinion, Chris McCandless is an example of a modern-day transcendentalist -- someone who believes in nature, confidence, free thinking, self-reliance, and non-conformity. Because transcendentalists are typically people who live in the wilderness with no contact with society, transcendentalism usually relies on a more spiritual thinking rather than a certain scientific-like thinking based on materialistic things. This way of life can prove fatal if carried to an extent exceeding the person’s capabilities, knowledge, and/or experience. “There are no fixtures in nature. The universe is fluid and volatile.
“So many people live in unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation” (57). Chris McCandless was determined to not be one of those men, he strived for a life in solitude, away from the demands of society. For that reason he went on an epic transcendental experience that took him from Mexico to Alaska. Along the way, he met and made an impact on peoples’ lives, people like Wayne Westenberg and Ronald Franz. Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild discusses Chris’s journey, and makes the reader question Chris’s reasons for going out into the wild.
Transcendentalism is to find your inner self and deepest intuitions in nature. Out of John Krakauer the author of Into the Wild and Christopher McCandless, who has more transcendentalist ideas? I believe Mcandless has far more transcendentalist ideas than Krakauer, due to Mcandless’s hate for society, his self-reliance, and his true connection with nature. First of all, McCandless has a hatred towards society and as a result stays away from it as much as he can, while on the other hand, Krakauer fully supports and relies on society. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-Reliance, he mentions, “Society everywhere is in a conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members.
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.
The characteristics of transcendentalism is individual vs society and the connection between human and nature. A subject of Into the Wild is individual vs society because Chris McCandless tends to desire to chase freedom and be alone rather than with people. In the last letter ever received from Everett Ruess, to his brother Waldo on November 11th, 1934. He explains that he wants to live in isolation.
Transcendentalism is a belief in a higher reality, knowledge, and an experience that is only achieved by humans. Also, it suggests that every individual is capable of discovering their higher truth. One way to figure this is by non-conformity which means that they fail or refuse to follow the rules as while as with established customs, attitudes or ideas. In “Into the Wild”, “Stride Toward Freedom” and Monster Inc we can all see the trait non-conformity. “Into the Wild” is about a 24-year-old man named Christopher Johnson McCandless and how one day he decided that he had enough with society.
In 2006 famous zookeeper and environmentalist Robert Steve Irwin died of a stingray sting while doing what he loved; being with nature. While many mourned his death, he was immortalized for his deep appreciation of nature and his connection with animals. The 2007 film Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn, details the real life experiences and death of Chris Mccandless and his journey to Alaska. Chris, inspired by the transcendentalist movement, wanted to live and survive with nature alone and so, he did until his untimely death at the hand of food poisoning and starvation. Although many argue that Chris was rash and impulsive, ultimately, Chris Mccandless is a transcendentalist because he lived independently, learned and observed nature, and
The concept of transcendentalism has been displayed in American literature since the establishment of the notion came about by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the late 1830s. Since the idea’s formation, authors, such as Jon Krakauer, have used their writing to hint at their application of spiritual ideology. In his story, Into the Wild, krakauer uses protagonist, Alex McCandless, to physically represent the embodiment of transcendentalism. The philosophy of transcendentalism is thoroughly apparent in Christopher McCandless’s personal philosophy because of his non-conformity to societal standards of living and his strategies of self-reliance. To begin, McCandless’s refusal to conform to society’s ‘’norms” connects to Emerson’s idea of not conforming to normal civilization.
Transcendentalism is an idealistic philosophical and social movement that was developed by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. It taught that spirituality permeates all nature and humanity, and its members held progressive views on feminism and communal living. It taught people to view the objects in the world as small versions of the universe and to trust and follow their individual intuitions. Transcendentalists believe that society and its establishments, particularly organized religion and political parties; took away from the pureness of the individual. They have faith that people are at their best when truly "self-reliant" and independent.
Transcendentalism is a school of thought that began in the early 19th century and advocates spiritual, intuitive thinking over materialistic, scientific thinking. 2 stories that show transcendentalism in them are Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Earthbound on solid ground by Bell Hooks. When people spend time in the natural environment, they learn about their connectedness to the world. Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Around 1840 to 1855, transcendentalism, a movement encouraging and emphasizing the uniqueness of the individual and importance of their opinions, arose in New England. transcendentalists were confident that everyone was born intrinsically good with the tools to a successful life. American literature’s Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were instrumental in the promotion and documentation of transcendentalism. One key trait included in transcendentalism was the importance of uniting oneself with nature. Both important figures were supporters of learning all that can be learned through nature in order to live a more full and happy life.
