Chris Mccandless : A Reflection Of Modern Transcendentalism

This is an aspect of individualism due to Alex’s self reliance of transportation, and trusting his own instincts about which car he should take on his journey. Likewise, Chris was inspired by many other other transcendental writers which gave him a motivation to go on this trip. Christopher McCandless was a strong believer in individualism. His entire journey through North America and eventually up to Alaska was because of his views of individualism. He believed that in order to be happy, you had to know yourself and be your own person. Finally comparing Chris to other men his age, “The stereotype isn’t a good fit. “-McCandless wasn’t some feckless slacker, adrift and confused, racked by existential despair. To the contrary: His life hummed with meaning and purpose. But the meaning he wrested from existence lay beyond the comfortable path: McCandless distrusted the value of things that came easily” (Krakauer 184). This meant that his decisions made him different compared to everyone else, which makes him an individual.

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?

Chris McCandless can be seen as a Transcendentalist hero because of his curiosity for what life could possibly hold and integrity for others. In the eyes of the author Jon Krakauer throughout the book Into The Wild.

Chris McCandless is a prime example of a true transcendentalist through his expression of a living a simplistic, realist, self-reliant lifestyle, his withdrawal from society, and his admiration for nature.

McCandless was a very good example of an extremist form of the main guiding principle of transcendentalism; that society is a source of corruption. His reason to escaping to Alaska was escaping modern society and social conventions. “no longer poisoned by civilization, he flees”. This was how McCandless describes his great escape. He exhibits many principles of transcendentalism relating to modern society, as he burns his “worldly” belongings. Aspects of transcendentalism also include anti-materialism, as shown when he burns his social security card and all of his money. He claims he is searching for “absolute freedom”. By this, it can be inferred that his definition of freedom is to escape the restraints of society

Transcendentalism was a cultural movement during the early 1800’s that swept across America through the works of authors such as Emerson and Thoreau. The movement placed value upon the spirituality of nature, individuality and breaking away from the moral shortcomings of society and government as seen in Emerson’s essays “Nature” and “Self Reliance” and in Thoreau's Essay “Civil Disobedience”. In today’s world, to be a transcendentalist one does not need to adhere to every tenet postulated by the leaders of the movement, but one does have to listen to his/her own moral code and attempt to live simply and frugally. In this sense, Christopher McCandless is a modern day transcendentalist evident through his actions and philosophy captured in the

Transcendentalism is a popular 19th century philosophy that is vividly expressed through out John Krakauer’s Into the Wild and Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. Transcendentalism has three major themes: self-wisdom, nature and its meaning, and social reform. Into the Wild is a true story about a young man named Chris McCandless who seems to live a life based on transcendental beliefs. Krakauer’s studies of McCandless and Thoreau’s story with Walden both present ideas of Transcendentalism in many ways.

Transcendentalism is a very elaborate word which is used to describe a very simplistic idea, this idea sparked a religious, philosophical, and literary movement. All people, whether it be men or women, have knowledge about themselves and the world around them which in essence ‘transcends’ or goes beyond what they can sense or feel. This immense knowledge arises by way of intuition and not of logic or the senses. A transcendentalist is a person who understands and accepts these ideas and concepts as a way of understanding life, and realizes that action is better than contemplation. Transcendentalism was born in New England in the 1830’s and discovered by the extraordinary philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement that began in the late 1820s and 1830s in eastern United States. This movement was a reaction to all the protesting going on against intellectualism and spirituality. For the transcendentalists, the individual was the center of the universe. No institution, whether is was religion or politics, was greater and more powerful than the human itself. Ralph Waldo and Henry David Thoreau were two very famous writers that made up most of the Transcendental movement.

The story focuses on a kid who is practically disconnected from society and the book even has an author’s note at the beginning of the book which mentions,”McCandless dropped out of sight. He changed his name, gave the entire balance of a twenty-four-thousand-dollar savings account to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet. and then he invented a new life for himself, taking up residence at the ragged margin of our society.” Jon Krakauer, unlike most authors who use transcendentalism, writes about a character who uses the philosophy, rather than himself. In short, this shows a different perspective of transcendentalism which makes the story stand

Transcendentalism is an American movement that primarily featured literature, politics, and philosophy. It began in the early 1800s and centered around Ralph Waldo Emerson (Goodman). Although Transcendentalism did not emerge until the 1820s, the roots of this movement can be traced back farther in the religious history of America, all the way to American Puritanism (Finseth).

In its most usage, transcendentalism refers to a literary and philosophical movement that developed in the United States in the first half of the 19th century. Two authors who were among the leaders of the movement were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who wrote "Nature,” "Self-Reliance,”

Transcendentalism is a movement that illustrates a simple concept. Society, both men and women are equal and have recognition about themselves and the world that surrounds them that "transcends" or goes above what they can taste, hear, see, feel or touch. Having this philosophy, comes over through intuition and imagination and not through logic or the senses of an individual. Society and individuals are able to trust themselves to be able to have authority over what they think is right. A transcendentalist is an individual who obtains these concepts not as religious knowledge but as a way of accepting life relationships.

Transcendentalism was a movement that occurred mainly in the early 1800’s. It went against its modern day society. Even though it was big 200 years ago, it still exists today. The quote, “...the wide universe is full of good…”(Ralph Waldo Emerson), helped describe the mindset of a transcendentalist. Some unschoolers are modern transcendentalists. The They quit school and travel around the world learning and finding the good in the everyday tasks of the world. They learn through separating from society and interacting more with nature.

The word transcendental has a few distinctive meanings. The word itself refers to something of a lofty or supernatural existence or meaning, yet when applied to philosophy, it describes something that is beyond the base of human living, but not out of all their grasp. It was this ideal that was the utter core of Chris McCandless’ journey. Throughout his venture in his pursuit of transcendentalism, his life exposes many pillars of transcendental ideals.