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How Did Chris Mccandless Share The Transcendental Beliefs

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Henry David Thoreau and Chris McCandless embrace beliefs from the Transcendental philosophy. In the book Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer and the excerpts from Walden by Henry David Thoreau readers can see connections between the beliefs of McCandless and Thoreau. They show that McCandless and Thoreau share the Transcendental beliefs of being one with nature, having self-wisdom, and simplicity. Parallels exist between the Transcendental beliefs of Chris McCandless and Henry David Thoreau. One of the first of the Transcendental beliefs shared by Thoreau and McCandless is being one with nature. In Walden, Thoreau indicates “I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front the simple facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach” (Walden). When Thoreau says this, one can infer that he wanted to be one with nature. Just as in Into The Wild where McCandless indicates that he is “no longer to be imprisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land …show more content…

As an example, McCandless tells his friend Ron Franz “you do not need me or anyone else around to bring this new kind of light in your life. It is simply waiting out there for you to grasp it, and all you have to do is reach for it” (Krakauer 57-58). Through this letter to Franz, McCandless is trying to help Franz find his own inner wisdom. This relates to where Thoreau says “if one advances confidently in the direction of his dream, and endeavors to live the life which he imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours” (Walden). This quote from Walden can relate to McCandless’s belief that in his search for self-wisdom all he has to do is reach out and grab it for himself. McCandless and Thoreau believe that self-wisdom is another step towards a life of Transcendentalism. Yet another of the Transcendental beliefs shared by McCandless and Thoreau is

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Chris McCandless and Henry David Thoreau were two very similar, yet very different men. Thoreau and McCandless both went into nature to experience what living off the land would be like. Chris McCandless once wrote in a letter to Ron Franz, “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” (Krakauer 57).

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After reading Krakauer’s Into the Wild and Henry David Thoreau’s exerts from Walden, we can see a deep connection between Christopher McCandless and Thoreau’s transcendental beliefs. Both Chris McCandless and Thoreau show transcendentalism in their actions of self-wisdom, differences, and liberation. Chris McCandless life choices in Into the wild reflect the transcendental beliefs of Thoreau’s Walden. The first transcendental belief of McCandless is that he marches to the beat of a different drummer.

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Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless, and Henry David Thoreau reveal the philosophy of Transcendentalism. After reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and Henry David Thoreau’s excerpts from Walden, readers see that Transcendentalism plays an important role in Chris McCandless’s and Henry Thoreau’s lives. Chris McCandless and Henry Thoreau have similar beliefs in Transcendentalism. Both men adopt deliberation, individualism, and self-wisdom. Chris McCandless adopts deliberation as a way of life.

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Chris McCandless and Thoreau had a lot in common. Both men had the same intelligent and wise thought and actions. Transcendentalism means to assert the existence of an ideal spiritual reality that empirical. Its scientific reality and is knowable through intuition: (quote- Webster’s Dictionary Online). We all can see that Chris and Thoreau share the same beliefs of individualism, self-wisdom, and self- confidence.

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He wanted to hide from reality from the mistakes his father made so with a surge of recklessness and erroneous optimism he went into the wild. Thoreau went into the wild for a greater purpose to live simply thinking on a higher plane, understanding the human heart, and connecting to nature. Perhaps it could be argued that McCandless lived out Thoreau’s beliefs in terms of living modestly in nature better than Thoreau because McCandless actually ventured into the wilderness rather than living outside of town, he lived in solitude rather than Thoreau who had many guests, and he risked his life to live out his philosophy. This shows the main discrepancy between Thoreau and McCandless – the planning and execution. Thoreau never advocates the need to be reckless but he escapes to the woods for inspiration and discovery.

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McCandless’s self-reliance is a big part of identifying him as transcendentalist. In the short story, “Death of an Innocent”, Chris says, “I've decided that I'm going to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and simple beauty of it is just too good to pass up.” McCandless feels that life should not be wasted doing what you do not love, and shows this by traveling and living off the land every chance he gets. Transcendentalists take in all of what nature has to give them by becoming one with it; like McCandless does throughout the story.

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Both Thoreau and Mccandless took steps to live apart from others to simply free themselves from the limitations of society. As a matter of fact, the most notable similarity these two men shared was their strong disagreement with the attitude of the governments they lived with. Currency and government rule was nothing but an obstacle in their pursuit for more independent lives. Unlike Thoreau, “Mccandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature…but, rather, to explore the inner country of his own soul”(Krakauer 183). He did not know what Thoreau already knew, as a result, Mccandless learned later that “an extended stay in the wilderness inevitably directs one’s attention outward as much as inward, and it is impossible to live off the land without developing both a subtle understanding of, and a strong emotional bond with, that land and all it holds”(Krakauer 183).

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Having been said McCandless related to “I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear…” (Thoreau 4-5). McCandless wanted to live a life that counted not one that was a disappointment. He had dreams that he wanted to accomplish. During his journey he searched deep for what was living.

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A Transcendentalist is someone who wants to rise above society through the use of thought and spirit. Through their journey Transcendentalist typically isolate themselves from society not just physically but materialistically. By Definition Chris McCandless is not only a transcendentalist, but he was one of the greatest. First in Chris McCandless’s list of traits that contributed to him being a transcendentalist is his spiritual rebirthing, inner connection with nature and his divine will power.

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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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Nature Is Real Life Society could stress us with fake desires but, “In the woods, we return to reason and faith.” (Emerson 243) In the book, Into the Wild, John Krakauer documents Chris McCandless, fighting to find truth in the nature away from society. Ralph Waldo Emerson's views of finding truth in nature include leaving society, noticing life around yourself, and understanding that nature is filled with truth. Chris McCandless is driven by the transcendentalist ideal of finding self-truth in nature.

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Emerson and Thoreau’s aphorisms are still used today throughout film characters even after many years after their existence. In the film, “Into the Wild”, Christopher McCandless lived up to the aphorisms of both Emerson and Thoreau. Romanticism is a movement emphasizing interest in nature, the individual’s expression of imagination, and rebellion against established social rules. Transcendentalism is a belief that man can transcend from which he can learn from, but learn and experience through the mind, heart, and soul. Thoreau wanted to live deliberately, learn from the world, and not die without living.

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Living out with nature, being confident in oneself, not conforming to what societies wants, and being able to rely on yourself and speak your thoughts is somewhat of a dream for many people. Although it may be a dream for many people, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were able to live that dream and capture it in their writings. They lived life as transcendentalist. In choosing to do so, they began to adapt different traits of who and what transcendentalist were. Transcendentalist think intuitively and reflect on everything around them.

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Henry David Thoreau is one of the primary promoters of the transcendentalist movement and has been inspiring people to take on the transcendentalist lifestyle ever since the mid 1800’s. Mccandless was an admirer of Henry’s philosophy but he wasn’t as fully immersed in his work and ideals as Thoreau was to his own. His intentions were not as closely aligned to the movement as Thoreau’s and the difference between these icons are clearly visible. Self reliance is one of the most significant components of the transcendentalism movement that Henry David Thoreau contributed to in his literary career. “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.” - (taken from Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”).

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In his essay Walden, Thoreau affirms the Transcendentalist belief of living simply by emphasizing the thought of living with only the essentials and the importance of self reliance. Thoreau supports the ideal of living simply through the emphasis of only living with what one needs. Simplicity exists

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