Examples Of Transcendentalism In Into The Wild By Chris Mccandless

Chris McCandless utilizes the transcendental key self-reliance throughout his journey. As a little boy McCandless did not need toys or games to keep himself occupied. He was often found alone and entertaining himself. Chris McCandless seemed to be happiest when he was alone. This action is an example of the transcendental key self-reliance because most children need some form of entertainment other than themselves to be happy, but Chris McCandless just relied on himself to insure that he was happy. The transcendental key self-reliance is also a common theme in ¨Self-Reliance¨ by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In the essay, Emerson states, ¨Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.¨ McCandless lived in a way that he thought was best. He did not care what others thought about him, and only concentrated on what was best for him and his life.

Much of the human race live their lives in accordance to what society sees as acceptable, but Christopher McCandless disregards societal norms in the novel Into the Wild. Within the novel, Jon Krakauer explores the story of Christopher McCandless’s journey to Alaska and investigates the events leading up to his death. Krakauer tells the story concerning McCandless’s life in a fashion that reveals a truth about nonconformity. Krakauer sends a message to common readers that nonconformity is not possible and the only way to survive the world we live in is to conform to our surroundings. Jon Krakauer express’s his ideals on nonconformity within Into the Wild through his non-chronological organizational structure, the use of logical reasoning,

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

Chris McCandless, who we can argue was born in the wrong time, displays all aspects of being an American Romanticist. As a matter of fact, Chris McCandless displays a lot of individualism in his everyday life. Chris says to a man named Gallien who asks him about his hunting license, “how I feed myself is none of the governments business” (7). This is a great display of individualism, because it shows that he is very much independent, and plays by his own rules not the governments. In the same way, the youngster took advantage of his youth and shows a tremendous amount of kinship with nature in the book Into the Wild. “He laid plans to make a solo ascent to the south face of Denali, the mountains steepest aspect… with minimum food” (55). Chris

Just like the Transcendentalists, Chris McCandless thinks society and the people around him are a detriment to his life and well-being which gives him another reason to “spend [days] as deliberately as nature” ( Thoreau). Society lets little valuables and expensive belongings take control of the individuals and the environment around them. Not only does society let these valuables take control, but is seen as “positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind” (Thoreau). In addition to, according to Thoreau and other Transcendentalists, Civilization is just another word for making money. Chris escapes from the preposterous society and starts to “explore thyself” in the process (Thoreau). McCandless takes in consideration of “how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity” are as he thinks of how society uses tradition to keep people from their spiritual truths

Throughout literature, characters who live transcendentally share similarities. Their descriptions evoke clarity and purity, and their names often symbolize their beliefs. Mindful characters tend to stand out from the crowd, stepping away from the boundaries of society and choosing their own paths. As transcendentalism is difficult to develop alone, most of these characters have some sort of role model, someone to gain a message from. They then go on to spread that message to the people they meet. A transcendental character’s mission is to impact some un-transcendental character by bringing them clarity, and this can be seen in the characters studied this semester. The similar descriptions, messages, and impacts of conscious characters prove

Within our community we promote the importance of nonconformity, and encourage each individual to express the unique character that is within them. The steady strength of our town is built upon the diversity around us. Henry David Thoreau, transcendental influencer and nonconformist,

Chris McCandless was a man who had a very bright future ahead of him, and he excelled in school was a hard worker in everything. He realized that he didn’t want to live the life of any average man, he wanted something more from life. As McCandless tried to find that “something” he made many decisions that is centered by transcendental keys. There are several Transcendental writing pieces that relate to different aspects of McCandless’s time on the road.

While the exploration or exploitation—take your pick—of the American west was just beginning to flourish, two more of our Past Environmental Heroes—Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau—were sitting, thinking, and writing in the newly-formed Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As the original transcendentalists, Emerson and Thoreau believed that there was much more to life than working feverishly and accruing wealth. Their thoughts and words were the first "cries in the wilderness" about living simply and compatibly with the natural world and their words are still inspiring millions of people around the planet who want to make peace

Someone who refuses to follow the path that everyone takes. I chose someone who has done all of those and has ended up succeeding with his dream. Sir Robert Bryson Hall II or “Logic” as described by us youths is an American rapper who rose to fame from humble beginnings.

Nonconformity, the belief of following one's own path and not listening to the majority in order to follow one's beliefs, is developed throughout transcendental work in order to develop the belief in personal values and personal morals. Nonconformity is a difficult and tedious path to follow throughout life as this path will result in persecution from the majority. Throughout his time at Walden pond Henry David Thoreau notes that the world has created "deep ruts of tradition and conformity" and that if one broke free of conformity by dreaming large that they should be large and all those dreams need are "foundations" (Thoreau, Walden 203-204). Thoreau recognizes that most citizens of the world follow their forefathers footsteps and that these peoples never took the risk of breaking away of from society and trying something new. Thoreau is disheartened by this lack of

In Into the Wild tells the tale of Alexander Supertramp venturing out into the wild and leaving his whole life behind to live out on the road. Throughout the movie, it engages naturalist and transcendental ideas. Inspired by Emerson and Thoreau, Chris faces naturalism because he is unprepared for his life in the wild. He is part of the majority that believes that when you love nature, nature will love you back but alas nature doesn’t care who you are, it’s always ruthless. Alexander liked the challenge of following the norm and challenging himself to survive an unforgiving wilderness landscape of Alaska.

Thoreau uses non-conformity in his early life as a child and college student. “MOTHER: I wouldn’t mind your being peculiar. But do you have to work at it so hard, David Henry? HENRY: Henry David. MOTHER: Getting everything backwards. How did you learn your letters? HENRY: Must the alphabet begin with A? (He stands.) Why not with Z? Z is a very sociable letter. Like the path of a man wandering in the woods. A is braced

Ralph Waldo Emerson is an author who wrote about self-reliance in his book Self-Reliance. The main idea in this excerpt is that to achieve self-reliance and being independent and still be able to continue is the greatest man alive. He states “…envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide”. The importance of this quote is it shows the conformity of society because by imitating someone you are conforming to their ideals and becoming less of your identity, which is why Chris had to leave society because to ultimately achieve non-conformity and not be oppressed into thinking what others want you to think you have to leave society. Jon Krakauer wrote Into the Wild and ultimately about how Chris achieved individualism outside of mainstream society.

In Emerson’s Self-Reliance story, he speaks of nonconformism and how becoming a nonconformist can help people transcend. He urges people that “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist…