American Identity Vs Nature

America is commonly characterized as the greatest country in the world, the glorious “land of the free and the home of the brave”, “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. This idealization of the American identity conveniently focuses on what people want to hear and blurs out most everything else. In reality, Americans do not live up to the dreamscape created by our views, and we never really have. America is no longer characterized by its freedom and democracy, nearly every first world country can afford that luxury. Nor are we set apart by the great opportunities given to our people, for those are far from universal. We aren’t equal, we aren’t unified, we aren’t kinder or smarter or richer than any other country across the board. It’s easy to find the shortcomings of American culture, all the things we aren’t, but the things we are have proven to be more elusive. First, let’s examine the nots.

The story of Chris McCandless has become a pop culture phenomenon. Many are fascinated by his desire to abandon his family and society and “walk into the wild” (Krakauer 69). Newscasts, magazine articles, movies, and books have tried to define what motivated him to give up everything for his Alaskan odyssey; however, the answers died with McCandless. People make assumptions about him without knowing his entire story. McCandless chose to do the unconventional, making people think he was either foolish or brave and determined, but ultimately he was selfish for doing what he did.

Lastly Chris McCandless wanted to break from the normal life of obeying laws and paying taxes. He wanted to become his own entity, one that had control over itself and that is it. He didn’t need laws or taxes where he was going. He was going to live off the land and never go back to the stressful life that most adults in America live. Chris also did not like the government at all. (Krakauer 06). “Hell, no. How I feed myself is

In 1992, when Chris McCandless abandoned modern society and fled to Alaska to find himself and, in the long run, lose his life, Americans from all over saw his death as a tragic downfall, and his story as a relatable and moving tale of a young man simply trying to make a difference. On the other hand, others looked at his journey to be an inevitable suicide-trip, considering his lack of supplies and overall experience. However, despite the fact that he was unprepared, McCandless, because of his ideas and motivation for a better world, was justified in shunning society in order to pursue his dream life on the Alaskan frontier.

Thesis: Chris McCandless has found the meaning of his life with inspiration of Emerson's quote, “The foregoing generations beheld God and the nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe (“Nature” ). He has found this by trusting his decisions, living alone in Alaska, and seeing life through his own eyes rather than the eyes of others.

“Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave. O'er the land and of the free, and the home of the brave.” These words from our beloved national anthem, are words that this country chooses to live by. Ladies and gentlemen will remove their caps, and then all rise for the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. Most Americans have become comfortable about this right and pleasure that we have. To be able to show respect for the ones who aren’t here, and can’t even stand to do so. One professional American football player had another agenda for this time. He decided to kneel instead of stand like we have all become accustomed to. In my generation, we take our freedom and rights for granted. We do this, because we never had

First things first, Chris Mccandless followed his dream to escape society and live in nature. Once he got out of society and was on the road he delighted, "McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well—relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy” (Krakauer, 55). Chris had the capability of escaping the society where he could go off on a journey to find himself. Chris is one of the few people out there that has the mindset of doing whatever it is to achieve his dream. Not many people in this world are able to do that especially if it is going out into the wild to fulfill your dream, maybe they will swim 50 miles in an ocean

Throughout the novel, it is evident that McCandless promotes becoming one with nature by talking about it with other employees when working at McDonald’s, writing about it in a letter to Ronald Franz, and writing about it in other letters as well. For example, in a letter McCandless wrote to Ronald Franz, he talks about becoming one with nature. He pressures how Franz should life his life. McCandless states, “you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of...Don’t settle down and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon” (57). McCandless not only wants a life in the wild, he is also trying to spread the wilderness lifestyle to Franz. Likewise, while McCandless was employed at Bullhead’s McDonalds, he tends to talk about becoming one with nature. Other employees could tell that he loved nature by spending very little time with him. Lori Zarza, the second assistant manager of the McDonald’s, states that, “he was always going on about trees and nature and weird stuff like that” (40). McCandless was infatuated over the idea of living in the wild. Moreover, in another letter that McCandless wrote, he talks about how nature has transformed him. McCandless states, “The beauty of this country is becoming part of me” (91). He is absorbing the country; it is changing the way he looks at life. McCandless can only fixate on becoming one with nature

In Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction book, Into the Wild, we follow how humans love the wilderness, the strain of father son relationships, and for the majority of the book a young adult named Chris McCandless. We see mostly through Chris’ eyes just how much the wilderness can entice young adults as well as how important crushing news of one’s father can change your life. McCandless was an angry pseudo adult who couldn’t handle a sizeable change in his life. He was too stuck on it being his way that he rarely could bring himself to accept help and improve his ability to actually survive. However, there was some good about McCandless. His search for himself and the truth were great intentions despite the flawed approach.

Freedom and Nature. These are both things Chris McCandless longed to dwell in. He took his steps into becoming everying thing he had hoped. But were his dreams and aspirations worth the ‘’Betrayal” of everyone who had ever cared about him? Do we owe our families anything in the first place? By looking at McCandless’s actions and reasonings we can see that he is justified solely on his passion and courage. People would like to say that he was irresponsible, ignorant and careless in his actions. However, all he wanted was complete freedom. He didn’t have to be sorry for anyone just because he was letting his heart guide the way.

Although precisely on target in his assessment of Chris McCandless being "in touch with the bare-bones essence of nature", Gordon Young's preceding description of Chris should be rephrased: A profoundly Un-American figure, uncompromising in his approach and thoroughly optimistic about the future. For Chris McCandless did not set out to show or prove his American character. Neither does he approve or want to exemplify a true modern American character, because true American character does not seek solitude, preferring "the saddle to the streetcar", or "the star-sprinkled sky to a roof", or, especially, "the obscure and difficult trail, leading into the unknown, to any paved highway and the deep place of

Americans have not only defined themselves by their religious, ethnic and racial identity, but also by their individual freedom and common values. America has become a nation where its people can fight for what they believe in. Our founding fathers have formed America to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Being apart of the American culture and living on the land founded by our leaders specifies the meaning of the American Identity.

Is the American Identity still alive? Has it died? The issue concerning the American identity is has it died. Many claim that new cultures, new races, and new traditions have degraded the American identity. Although some people that the American identity has been lost because of new cultures and traditions, the American identity is still alive because those factors have not changed any original American traditions or the way they are celebrated.

In today’s society, people are praised for being selfless individuals. On the other hand, selfish individuals are looked down upon. This standard makes it quite difficult for many to understand why Chris McCandless is considered a hero. Throughout his life, he made decisions that would benefit him and only him. He caused the pain of heartbreak wherever he went. He did not leave the positive impact that he sought to accomplish. In Jon Krakauer 's book, Into the Wild, Chris McCandless was selfish because he put himself in front of others, as seen through his relationships with his parents, Ronald Franz, and Wayne Westerberg.

American identity has been created by many events throughout the course of history. This country was founded on the clashing and mixing of many different cultures and lifestyles. One of the most important periods of time for this country was during the period of conflict between Americans and Native Americans over land rights. Americans had an idea of manifest destiny and that this land was theirs for the taking. The Americans were going to walk through anyone who opposed them in this quest for land. The treatment of the Indians during this time period was harsh, cruel, and violent to say the least. It is in this treatment that Americans came to view the Indians as a ?racialized other? and