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Similarities Between Mccandless And Henry David Thoreau

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Imagine being alone in the wild. This is what Chris McCandless and Henry David
Thoreau purposely put themselves through. But why did they do this? With such an abstract idea as they both had, there should be plenty of comparisons to discuss between the two of these men. Chris McCandless and Henry David Thoreau are comparable in what they learn, the people they affect, the reasons they leave society, and the success/failure that they experience during their lives.
One way that Henry David Thoreau and Chris McCandless are different is that they both left society for different reasons. Chris McCandless runs away from home because he believes that his parents have mistreated him, especially his father. He hates his father for living a double
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This also shows that Henry David Thoreau was inspired more by the
Transcendentalist movement while Chris was not, although he did have some Transcendentalist beliefs. When he was in Alaska, he became extremely upset that he did not make full use of a moose (which we later found out to be a caribou) that he hunted. The caribou was not preserved correctly, and this lead it to spoil (Krakauer 167). One of the main transcendentalist beliefs involves the preservation of nature, and he acknowledges this.
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A similarity between Henry David Thoreau and Chris McCandless is that they both learn and meet new people along their journeys. On Chris’s journey, in the final pages, it is mentioned that he leaves a note that says “HAPPINESS IS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED” (Krakauer
189). This note alludes that although Chris had done everything that he wanted to do, in his final moments, he most likely had no one to share his happiness with. Henry David Thoreau

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Both Thoreau and King rely heavily on ethos to get their points across. The intended audience of both is similar; a group of people with similar morals as the writers, but who have neglected action for various reasons. King also appeals to pathos, describing the plight of the colored man vividly. King’s audience is largely aware of this situation already, but he uses it to drive them to action rather than simple awareness. On the other hand, Thoreau appeals little to pathos, focusing instead on logic and ethics.

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Angry and upset, Thoreau and King thought that the United States government was dealing a great injustice, by not giving every citizen the same rights. Both were so passionate in their beliefs, they were both willing to spend

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One must keep in mind that Thoreau’s government was not Barack Obama’s government. Things were drastically different back then. Chris Mccandless also had a distrust for the government, he was often paranoid and skeptical about the economy. Chris never had to worry about money growing up as a child, being born to affluent has it’s perks. Chris never faced real hunger and he never had to make drastic decisions growing up.

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In my opinion Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. have very similar purposes in their writings. Both author 's are writing to protest unfair laws. But they also have very different audiences. In Civil Disobediance, Thoreau writes how those who break unjust laws should suffer the consequences as a protest to the laws.

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Fredrick Douglas and Henry David Thoreau have the same ideas yet different experiences which shine through their writings. The main idea is that I would have had no idea that Thoreau was an abolitionist from this writing alone. This excerpt from Thoreau is extremely philosophical, as were most of his other writings, and could only loosely be applied to the issue of slavery while Douglas’ writing was strictly an autobiography. This simple difference goes a long way in highlighting their differences as rights activists. Douglas is direct and evokes change through his actions and words while Thoreau is indirect, yet he makes you think about your decisions and how they affect the world around you.

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Thoreau’s use of compare and contrast in his text has an extraordinary impact. Thoreau compares and contrast children “who play life, discern its true law and relations more clearly” to men “who fail to live it worthily, but who think that they are wiser by experience, that is, by failure”. Children understand the meaning of actually living, thus allowing them to be content with life. Adults on the other hand don’t actually live life but seem to have the delusion of living life and being ultimately happy. Thoreau uses compare and contrast to demonstrate and put emphasis on the concept of children understanding what the outcome of life should be unlike the adults, who are expected to know, that fabricated the idea of life being about success

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The main similarity in the writings of Thomas Jefferson and Henry David Thoreau is the idea of revolution against an abusive government. The main difference is the context in which each document was written, the Declaration of Independence as the colonies were rebelling against Great Britain and forming their own government, and Civil Disobedience as criticisms of the government developed within nearly seventy-five years after the signing of the Declaration. Both Jefferson and Thoreau share ideas of revolution, although overthrowing the government is seen in many cases as illegal. Both documents share a common theme of revolution, and both authors believe the best way to move toward a better government is civil disobedience. Jefferson and Thoreau believe that whether it is the struggle for independence or being freed from injustices of the government, civil disobedience and revolution are necessary in order to live in a society based on freedom.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were writers and transcendentalist principal figures. They believed people should focus on their individual judgment rather than social traditions. Emerson was a philosopher and he thought people should discover and believe on their own “definition of freedom” (Foner330). This was a process of one realizing their own definition of freedom and to incorporate it to their lives. Thoreau believed Americans were consuming their lives with building up wealth caused by the market revolution.

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Henry David Thoreau was a philosopher, poet, and a very outspoken person about society. He discusses his opinions on how people should live in his essay “Where I Lived and What I Lived For.” Thoreau's philosophy of simplicity and individualism and self-sufficiency poses many dangers for communities as a whole. Although there are many setbacks, his philosophy is, however, still viable today. Thoreau strongly advocates self-sufficiency and individualism in this essay.

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As evident by this quotation by Thoreau, his motives purely consist of living in the idealistic states of nature rather than that of “civilization”. Thoreau also stated, “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life…”- (taken from Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”). Thoreau, in this statement shows that he is completely self reliant in the sense that he alone went out to nature to reap what he could and survive by his merits alone, sustaining himself only on what nature had to offer. While conversely McCandless could only survive with a

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Henry David Thoreau, a lifetime resident of Concord, Massachusetts and a huge supporter of Transcendentalism has influenced countless lives due to his works of literature and his Transcendentalist values. His growing impact has been reached across the globe, and his writing has allowed Americans to create a style that was individual to themselves, though some of his writing contradicts this idea. Thoreau is a fault for putting numerous examples of Greek and Roman Mythology in his writing, and this directly goes against what the Transcendentalists wanted for themselves. Thoreau incorporated European values and ideas in his work, and these things should have been left back in Europe for the betterment of the American culture. As the main figure

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A big reason different from Gandhi and Thoreau, is Thoreau talks about his opinion on the government and laws. Thoreau mostly talks how he wants to fight back against the laws that are not right. Gandhi is speaking to everyone and how to change things. Gandhi is trying to change by not creating violence. Gandhi believed in peaceful protest to gain access to having freedom.

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McCandless and McCunn's ventures into the wild had similar intentions and strategies. Although, the outcome of their ventures were slightly different. Both men displayed a certain degree of common sense. They were both friendly, curious, responsible, educated and intelligent men. Having fairly average lives, with big aspirations for their future.

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What really drove Chris McCandless into the wild? I believe the top three of the countless reasons that drove McCandless into the wild was the emotional damage from his parents, rebellion of the youth & risk taking tendencies, and his hubris and detestation against authority and/or someone telling him what to do. Some may believe that Chris McCandless went into the wild because of his literary heroes Leo Tolstoy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau , and Jack London but the real reason he left everything was because of those reasons. In this essay I will elaborate on why I believe those are the reasons that drove McCandless into the wild.

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His literature greatly impacted how society views nonconformity today. Gandhi and Thoreau have many similarities and differences about the way things in society should run, and how the government should govern. Gandhi and Thoreau share many similar thoughts

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