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Transcendentalism In Into The Wild By Chris Jakauer

587 Words3 Pages

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”. Nature and its surroundings is what catches Chris’s attention and where he is able to find himself. Living off the land and not having to rely on others or technology is his plan after he graduates school. All two years that Chris is exploring and taking in the beauty of nature and learning new experiences of how to survive, he is not in contact with his family saying they did not care about him. Billie, Chris’s mom, finally realizes why Chris did this, she states “What a pretty place…Chris must of loved it here…I can see what appealed to Chris”(Eplilogue.202). To McCandles …show more content…

Experiencing new things and meeting all sorts of different people helps make his experience worthwhile. Towards his last couple days of life, Chris expresses his happiness and states, “I have had a happy life and thank the Lord. Goodbye and may god bless all”(17.199). Learning and experiencing new things is what makes Chris so happy to be exploring Alaska on his own and doing what he always wanted to. Just as Thoreau says everything one accomplishes out of their own interest, “that is your success”. No one can stop Chris from doing what he wants, and because he has always dreamed of going to Alaska, this is his one chance at finally being

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Numerous People state that Chris McCandless was a very thoughtless individual who made crazy decisions after graduating college. Yet many people found his actions to be inspiring as he risked his life to flee the hectic world that surrounded him. As Chris was raised in a perfect environment, living in wealthy middle-class, His relationship with his parents was very degenerating especially towards his father after he found out his dad cheated on his mother when he was younger. This ultimately led Chris to begin his trip to Alaska so he can find his true-self and to live life how it's meant to be lived.

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That makes it so when he finally left, he could respect all of the wishes that were taken away from him.. They say that variety is the spice of life. I slightly disagree, but Chris McCandless really disagrees. He wants to enjoy the simplicity of life, and he wants to enjoy the raw beauty that nature is offering him. Chris has always had a fondness for the wilderness, almost as if it’s calling to him.

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When Chris was young, he found peace within nature. Nature made Chris so much happier than his life in society. In a letter to Wayne when traveling through Arizona, he wrote, “There is all kinds of fantastic scenery and the climate is wonderful… My days were more exciting when I had to forage around for my next meal ” (33). Chris felt free and actually like himself when in the

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On the other hand, the reason he chose Alaska might come confounding to some readers, living in Virginia, he would not have been used to the weather, animals, maybe even the people. Despite all of the negative factors, setting a goal and accomplishing it, and eating the obstacles as if they were nothing just once again proves Chris’s intelligence, and seek for

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It is clear that Chris enjoyed nature, but also enjoyed the company of people. “And get himself back to the world of men and women, where he could chug a beer, talk philosophy, enthrall strangers with tales of what he’d done,” Chris goes into detail on aspects of his previous life that he misses. Throughout his journey Chris reads many books written by Transcendentalist authors, when he quotes Tolstoy, saying that happiness is to live for others, it is no little thing. If Chris was a Transcendentalist he would believe that happiness is being connected

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Christopher McCandless, the protagonist of the novel and film Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, is not your average guy. Driven by his minimalist ideals and hate for society, he challenged the status quo and embarked on a journey that eventually lead to his unforeseen demise. A tragic hero, defined by esteemed writer, Arthur Miller, is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on tragedy. Christopher McCandless fulfills the role of Miller’s tragic hero due to the fact that his tragic flaw of minimalism and aversion towards society had lead him to his death.

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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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He wanted to go in there without really anything so that he can make things that were in the nature. “Chris didn’t think twice about risking his own life…”(Carine McCandless 128). I absolutely think that this quote about Chris is very true because he was so into finding new adventures to take, to enjoy and be happy with

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Chris McCandles had many dreams; to get away from his parents, to never end up like his father, to hitchhike around the US, to start his life over. None of those compared to his biggest and most complex dream, ALASKA. Nothing got in the way of Chris’ dreams. Throughout his

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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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I think he just wanted to pursue life in a different way. Chris was not seeing life the way anyone else was, so he decided to brush off into the wild and be free on his own. Though he did not survive, he was still a very bright, arrogant human being. Shaun Callarman states, “He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his Romantic silliness.” Chris knew going into the wild that he did not have much survival skills, but that did not stop him from doing what he wanted to do because he did not care about society and was just completely over everything which was why he made the move to the wilderness.

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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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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.

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Romanticism was a movement during the late 18th century that encouraged imagination, exploration, individualism, and emotion. From it derived Transcendentalism, one of the first movements to originate from America and which bore the first American philosophers. These movements are often present in many pieces of American literature and this is no exception in Jon Krakauer’s novel Into the Wild. The historic account retells the story of a young man named Chris McCandless, who adopts the pseudonym Alexander Supertramp and takes to the road, only to die of starvation in Alaska. On the surface it appears to be cautionary tale, but Krakauer literally retraces McCandless’ steps, talking to the people who Chris spoke with and even traveling to Chris’ final resting place.

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In Penns movie, Into the Wild, He left his parents, and multiple people he met along his journey. People would grow attached to Chris, like the free spirited couple he met on the road and the old man who loved him so much he wanted to adopt him, but Chris was selfish and left. He wanted to go to Alaska so badly that he just wanted to leave his whole life behind. Chris trying to leave society makes his disregard the rules and laws that society put in place. To kayak down a river Chris needed a license but when he applied the waitlist was too long so he disregarded the waitlist and went kayaking down the river.

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