On August 18, 1992, Chris McCandless passed away at the age of 24, while deep in the Alaskan wilderness. The wealthy graduate of Emory University is believed by some to be one of the youngest transcendentalists of all time. He traveled to various places, but his main destination was the Alaskan frontier, where he aspired to live simply off the land. Chris lived a simple life, where he did not depend so much on material goods or society. McCandless did have a bright future as he came from a very financially stable family. He willingly left the life he had and traveled solo to find him self and inner truth. Chris McCandless was a transcendentalist, influenced by the beliefs and actions of Thoreau and Tolstoy, he utilized the theories of non-conformity, appreciation of nature, and the idea of being non-materialistic as he walked into the wild.
Chris’s appreciation for nature grew far deeper than other transcendentalist. He aspired to not only live a simple life but he wanted to see his capability of living solely off the land. Nature played a big role in his life. He believed that beauty was all around, but nobody was paying attention. He admired nature in a way nobody else did
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Chris utilized the theories of non-conformity, appreciation of nature, and the idea of being non-materialistic to set out on his expedition. With his belief in the importance of being self-reliant, McCandless entered the Alaskan wilderness embodying most of the principles that Tolstoy and Thoreau highlighted. Chris didn’t want every thing to be perfect; he wanted everything to be real. To Chris, the most important thing in life was happiness and he believed people could be happy with just the most basic necessities. Much likes a true transcendentalist, Chris McCandless let his individualism flow through his love of nature and adventures while refused to conform to our