Chris Mccandless And Henry David Thoreau

The Transcendentalism movement raised self-confidence; it made you believe in what you thought was right, and to not conform with the things around you. It is the spiritual unit of all forms of being, with God, Man, and Nature all sharing a universal soul. The movement developed in New England around 1836, Henry David Thoreau was a leading figure. He wrote “Civil Disobedience” in 1848, it embraces the need to emphasize one's conscience over the command of laws. From the government, the men, a man’s duty, the wrongs of majority, to the unjust system. He strictly states that a nonviolent rebellion is the best way to revolt. The Transcendentalists ideal in Civil Disobedience in nonviolence, three ways Thoreau clearly demonstrates these ideals are through Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.

An influential literary movement in the nineteenth century, transcendentalism placed an emphasis on the wonder of nature and its deep connection to the divine. As the two most prominent figures in the transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau whole-heartedly embraced these principles. In their essays “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience”, Emerson and Thoreau, respectively, argue for individuality and personal expression in different manners. In “Self-Reliance”, Emerson calls for individuals to speak their minds and resist societal conformity, while in “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau urged Americans to publicly state their opinions in order to improve their own government.

Thoreau and McCandless are people who are very similar and different at the same time. The thing is people can’t be completely the same even if they tried to. You can’t think the same thoughts at the same time, people are bound to have differences. People are always growing and changing even if it is in the smallest way. This makes it impossible to be exactly the same as other people. Of course the same is true for the other side too. You can’t be a completely different person either. People are also bound to have similarities. We are all humans so that’s a similarity. But do similarities and differences matter? In the end we know that Thoreau and McCandless have many similarities and differences, here are three examples of them; Thoreau and McCandless are both determined and hard-working people, McCandless went to the forest to run away from his family problems while Thoreau went to the forest to live by himself, and they both hate materialism.

In the brighter spectrum of Mr. Chris McCandless, is his deep and intellectual personality, shining through on most every occasion with cynical value or an interesting opinion every now and then. In Chris’s deep scholarly thought he decides to give up many things for his own self righteousness in attemp to make himself free of any evil or distraction as well as anything that may hold him down. As a younger boy in high school he proved his good Samaritan self by spending weekends taking to the the streets, spending nights with prostitutes, the homeless, and the addicts, feeding them and experiencing a little of what they felt. As I mentioned before he gave up what he thought would ruin his dreams and soil his life, he rid his life of luxury and wealth along with long-term relationships with people. As one of the things that he had apparently given up was the desire of sex and all of it’s evils, and proclaimed that his need was much to great for something so petty. Truly I believe traveling as a child with his family engineered a mind set within Chris that made him feel as if familiarity was just a weight holding him down from the flight toward his dreams. He also thought that being lost in such a superficial and trivial society could help no one

In Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, he argues that when civil laws conflict with an individual's morality, the individual should follows his conscience. Thoreau like many Transcendentalists felt a less involved government was best. Thoreau wrote, "That government is best which governs not at all." Obviously, Thoreau realized that he could afford to take this open opinion on government because of the American government. But he felt that government's authority should be limited to physical matters of the country, such as infrastructure and orderliness. He felt a government that become involved in moral matters such as sobriety and slavery was a government over-stepping its boundaries. Ultimately, Thoreau and other transcendentalists felt a utopian society would be the best.

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.

Similar to Thoreau, McCandless does not associate being in solitude to being lonesome. Throughout his journey, McCandless avoids forming close bonds with others because it distracts him from his final goal of independence and transcendentalism. This lack of intimate relationships frees McCandless as seen through the journal entry he wrote before walking into the Alaskan Bush. He writes proudly that for two years he has roamed with no company and no comforts. He calls it, “Ultimate freedom” (Krakauer 163). The fact that he considers it more of a freedom than a loss to live in solidarity shows that like Thoreau, McCandless does not feel lonely when he is alone. According to his sister, Carine, even when he was younger, he was fine with being alone. She said that although he had friends, he could easily entertain himself and never seemed lonely when he was alone. Another instance in which McCandless’s dissociation of solitude and loneliness shows is in a letter he writes to Ron Franz, a man he met near Salton City. In this letter, he tells Franz to step outside his comfort zone and live a more adventurous life. Towards the end of the letter, he states, “You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships,” (Krakauer 57). This approach is how he is not lonely in solitude; he is capable of finding joy in things other than human contact.

Chris McCandless is not a modern day Thoreau in many ways. Chris went out in the wild unprepared and not knowing what he was doing, he didn’t have plan. McCandless never showed a true purpose or reason for his doing, while Thoreau had clear and understandable reasoning. Thoreau was writer who spent his time alone enjoying nature focusing on the pieces he was writing. He also did this as way of protest. McCandless was a smart young man who was trying to run away from his problems with his family at home. He did this by changing his name and running off to Alaska where no one knew who he really was. He wanted a new start.

“Wilderness appealed to those bored or disgusted with man and his works” (Roderick Nash). Chris McCandless, a modern transcendentalist, sent out on an adventure to find his true self in the wilderness of the North American continent. In the two years he was away, he met many individuals he called his friends and explored the extent of the American West. However, Chris was found dead in an abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail in the deep wilderness of Alaska in early September 1992. Chris believed he could live his life without the disruption of others. Henry David Thoreau believed that individuals can strive for themselves without government interruption. Chris McCandless, in Jon Krakauer’s documentary Into the Wild, believes that living off the land and life to its fullest without help from others compares to Henry David Thoreau’s beliefs in his writing “Civil Disobedience.”

Transcendentalism, or the belief that there is a direct connection between a man’s individual soul and nature, was a very avant-garde movement throughout its peak; although now, American society continues to grow increasingly distant from it. These ideals are reflected in the works of Henry David Thoreau and Jon Krakauer, as well as the life of Chris McCandless. Throughout Thoreau’s novel Walden he distinctly preaches the belief that in society, men have become more focused on work and material possessions than life’s simple pleasures and freedoms. In the same manner, Krakauer and McCandless both draw inspiration from Thoreau, and ultimately share spiritual experiences throughout their adventures, both seeking to find life’s true purpose. Although many will argue that transcendental ideas and culture are outdated and have no place in today’s humanity, transcendentalism itself, and the ideals possessed by Henry David Thoreau and Chris McCandless have played a major role in American society, in that they appeal to the spiritual side of every man, which accredits to the belief that only life’s bare necessities are required in order to live a fulfilled life. However, it is unfeasible to live a transcendental lifestyle in today’s insatiable, consumerist society.

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.

In the play, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail by authors Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, we see Henry David Thoreau locked in jail because of his unyielding will to not conform to the government or society's expectations, when their expectations are unwholesome. During his time spent in jail we see the idea of transcendentalism develop through Henry’s belief that even though he’s is locked up he is more free than any freeman could ever hope to be. Just as it was relevant in Thoreau's lifetime, freeing yourself from society’s norms /freedom from the government, transcending yourself, and being individualistic are all still important now.

Transcendentalism is an American movement in the mid-1800s that emphasizes finding one’s inner self as well as the following characteristics; nonconformity, self-reliance, free thought, confidence, and the importance of nature. This movement created new philosophical beliefs and influenced future great leaders. An important Transcendentalism author, Henry Thoreau, was arrested for refusing to pay his taxes. While in jail, he wrote “Civil Disobedience”, an essay that explains why it is sometimes necessary to disobey the government. Thoreau and his writing directly impacted several civil rights leaders, including Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Nelson Mandela.

Henry David Thoreau, a man who believed strongly in transcendentalism, the philosophical belief that individuals are the essence of the universe. Society abhors these ideals on the basis of the execution bringing false ideas, isolation, and the inability to adapt to a changing environment. The strong belief regularly develops in his hypercritical opinion of the society that he astrayed from. Transcendentalism is a counterproductive element of today’s society. Transcendentalism in Thoreau’s situation attracted him to an almost complete isolation despite his observation of society from a distance.