Elements of Transcendentalism In the book, “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless is an in-the-closet transcendentalist; all of his ethics match up with those of a transcendentalist, yet he never admits he is one. McCandless agrees with all of the components of transcendentalism and follows them unremittingly as soon as he graduates from college, and he lives by those components to a fault, which ultimately led to his death. Deliberate living, nonconformity, and simplicity are three cardinal elements to transcendentalism. Deliberate living is compatible with this philosophy because directing your life based on desire and inclination is necessary to living a life worth living; simplicity is imperative to this ideology because in order to learn about one’s self, you must sometimes live without distractions. Nonconformity is essential to this philosophy because living deliberately takes nonconforming to society to fulfill your longings in life. Simplicity is imperative to transcendentalism because one has to live in simplicity, without distractions, in order to get know one’s self. Chris McCandless was a firm believer in those three qualities; Hell, he lived in the Alaskan bush for months with only a gun, clothes, and a whit of equipment. Though McCandless did not follow through safely with his desire to live deliberately, simply, and in a nonconformist way, he was a transcendentalist; McCandless advocated those ideas by living by them, and he also agreed that
In Jon Krakauer's novel Into the Wild, the main character, Chris McCandless, seeks nature so that he can find a sense of belonging and the true meaning of who he is. However, it is the essence of nature that eventually takes his life away from him. At the end of his life, he is discovers his purpose and need of other people. After Chris McCandless death in Alaska, Krakauer wrote Into the Wild to reflect on the journey that McCandless makes. Krakauer protrays McCandless as a young man who is reckless, selfish, and arrogant, but at the same time, intelligent, determined, independent, and charismatic. Along with the irony that occurs in nature, these characteristics are the several factors that contribute to McCandless death.
Transcendentalism is a philosophical and literary movement that has major themes of nature and spirituality while going against society and materialistic things. Christopher McCandless is a Transcendentalist in every sense of the word. The young adventurer, who is the main character in Jon Krakauer's nonfiction text Into the Wild, travels throughout North America, following three main Transcendentalist ideals: the disconnection of society, a minimalist lifestyle, and a reverence for both God and nature.
Chris McCandless was just a victim of his own obsession. The novel "Into The Wild" written by John Krakauer revealed the life of a young bright man named Chris McCandless who turned up dead in Alaska in summer 1992. In the novel, John Krakauer approached carefully McCandless's life without putting too much authorial judgment to the readers. Although Chris McCandless remained an elusive figure throughout the novel, I can see Chris McCandless as a dreamy young idealist who tries to follow his dream but failed because of his innocent mistake which prove to be fatal and irreversible. Still, Chris McCandless's courage and passion was something that we should all be proud of.
Throughout his life, Chris McCandless shows multiple examples of transcendental actions. McCandless does what he wants and does not care what people think about him. Chris McCandless would set up tents and live away from society because it was where he was happiest. As a child, McCandless did not like playing with other children. He preferred to be alone and entertain himself. Chris McCandless did not like to wear socks; he felt confined in them. He demonstrated Transcendentalism through reduce dependence on property, self-reliance, and nonconformity.
Speaker:Jon Krakauer, An author and mountaineer. He is well known for his writings about the outdoors. As a young man his primary focus was mountaineering which eventually lead to him becoming a writer
Transcendentalism by definition means to live a rational life with nature and becoming one entity that rules over itself. That seems difficult though because living in this day an age without having to worry about anything or about anyone else is like asking for forever lasting gum. In the book Into The Wild, Chris McCandless tries to do just that and succeeds. While on his journey to Alaska, Chris becomes the embodiment of transcendentalism. He embraces multiply of the qualities of transcendentalism but there were three that were the most prominent throughout the story. He believed in living closer to nature, relied on self trust and self reliance, and also he insists on breaking from traditions like government or paying taxes like most
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India once said, “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if we seek them with our eyes open” (Nehru). In the book Into the Wild Jon Krakauer introduces the reader to Christopher McCandless’s, a young man from California with a heart yearning for adventure and a head beyond his years. The reader learns there is no one quite like Chris McCandless, but many people have sought out to seek the “more” from life. Jon Krakauer uses pathos and quirky but also thrilling anecdotes throughout Into the Wild to separate how Chris McCandless perceived himself and how others perceived him.
3. Krakauer argues in Chapter 14 that McCandless’s death was unplanned and was a terrible accident (134). Does the book so far support that position? Do you agree with Krakauer? Why or why not?
Chris McCandless: a man so infatuated with nature, he practically committed suicide to bring himself nearer to it. This extreme liking for nature, along with other ideals, makes up the core tenets of the transcendentalist philosophy. McCandless demonstrates other tenets of transcendentalism as well, most notably the supremacy of the individual, by detaching himself from the mammon of this world. Another way he shows the supremacy of the individual, by the belief that one should not conform to the usual policies of life, causes him great trouble in some cases. As well as the belief that the individual supersedes all else, McCandless received much of his inspiration from nature. Finally, always following what he believes correct, McCandless
What is transcendentalism? How is Christopher J. McCandless a transcendentalist? Transcendentalism is a philosophy, and a way of life. It consists of being a non-conformist, becoming one with nature, and rejecting materialism. Throughout Jon Krakauer’s novel, Into The Wild, McCandless happens to achieve all of the above. “Whoso would be a man, must be a non-conformist” (Emerson). He defied society, lived in the wild, and never cared about “things”. He existed off the land in Alaska, the west coast, and even Mexico. McCandless did not want anything else in life but happiness; he found this in the wilderness.
Occasionally in a person's life, he or she wonders about a certain purpose in life. In extreme cases, when a person attempts to find one's self, he or she may find his or herself in a dangerous or even deadly position. In Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, Chris McCandless goes out into the wilderness of Alaska to find himself, but he never returns. Jon Krakauer organizes his novel in a circular way, which ties the story together well, and he uses long, periodic sentences to detail and emphasize his points about life and death situations in order to create an aspect of imagery and description throughout the novel.
Chris McCandless left all that he had back home to go on this long transcendental trip to the Alaskan wilds that he thought he would find out who he is. He left behind family, friends, college, burned his money, and his life. When he left he did so without saying anything to his family and changes his name so he can truly start over. During his trip he has had many hardships and points where he should have died, but he kept going on in the end to reach his end goal of reaching Alaska and a goal he managed to complete, but it would not last long as in August of 1992 Chris died from starvation, but one question arose from his story. Was he truly transcendental? Some believe he was and other do not, it is sometimes up to opinion to decide whether he was or not, but you must first must understand what transcendentalism is before you can decide whether or not Chris McCandless was a transcendental person or not. The key things to know about transcendentalism is its core beliefs, those who “found” transcendentalism and their differences, and how these beliefs from these founders differed from what McCandless did during his transcendental trip. So, did Chris McCandless leave everything behind to become transcendental and die as a transcendentalist or was he a fool that left home because he was a rebellious person who ended up dying alone in a bus in the middle of the Alaskan wilds?
In the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer portrays a story of Chris McCandless and his journey to create a new life for himself though isolation and self determination. While connecting momentarily with people McCandless meets on his expedition, he is determined to cut off all connection with his family and previous life, to create a new one through his own actions. Krakauer depicts McCandless’ yearn for isolationism in relation to his excursion through specific utilization of rhetorical devices throughout his book.
All people want from life is to find happiness. We have learn that it’s not as easy as it looks, we have to search for it, maybe not literal but learning to love ourselves. Everyone tries hard enough to get what they desire and work hard for it, but we can’t see what the future holds, so no one knows exactly what might happen. Tragedy can sometimes come when we least expect them while searching for what we believe can bring us peace and satisfaction. We see this in the novel, Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer about a young man who is searching for what he believes might give him freedom, he goes on his own journey without knowing the end consequences. The author includes and arranges many features that help better understand why he wrote this
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a well-written non-fiction piece about a seemingly fearless man named Chris McCandless who hitchhikes his way to Alaska in order to find his inner peace. While different people have various ideas upon what makes writing good, most would agree that the basic aspects of "good writing" include having a strong voice, being straightforward, and connecting to the reader. Krakauer's unique tone and voice accomplish these main goals and are major factors in what makes this book a success.