Knox Overstreet: Transcendental Choices In The Dead Poets Society

Many children have had the desire to step out of their parents’ shadows and follow their dreams no matter how wild and crazy they might be. Christopher McCandless was more than an average young man trying to escape his parents’ control. He established his lifelong journey to live off the land by following the wise and spiritual ways set forth by Henry David Thoreau and others. He changed his identity to Alexander Supertramp, a character who is pure and cleansed of the artificial grime of the modern world. His voyage led him to his quest for knowledge and fulfillment, as well as his ultimate challenge. Chris McCandless’s self-forged identity was a true Transcendentalist venture because his journey encompassed the ideas and beliefs

McCandless’ is an adventurous character with a kind spirit and is portrayed as not only a crazy guy who went into the woods to die, but someone who wanted to make a real difference in the world we live. An example on page 117 in a quote from his mother states, “'Chris didn't understand how people could be possibly be allowed to go hungry, especially in this country,' says Billie. 'He would rave about that kind of thing for hours.'” (Page 117). This quote is detrimental in understanding how Chris viewed our society and shows how he is infuriated at the minimal efforts of the government and other citizens to make a difference in the world. Instead of complaining however, Chris made an effort to give food to the homeless and such by giving out food to the homeless and talking to

Lastly, Chris Mccandless got to fulfill his dream, live his own life, and now he even got to find his inner self, find out who he truly is. Chris was the kind of person that lived dangerously unlike most people, he was different “It is hardly unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders...Danger has always held a certain allure. McCandless, in his fashion, merely took risk-taking to its logical extreme” (Krakauer, 182). Chris’s true self-was one that was riskful and daring until he could finish the task. Furthermore, he was different from others and throughout his journey, others could see that. In the end that was the kind of person Chris Mccandless was, and this is the person he became after fulfilling his dream and living his own life. In contrast, others did

Identify the movie by stating its title, the year it was released, the name of the director, where the story is set, and the time period in which the story takes place.

Chris McCandless was a man who had everything to have a successful life. However, Chris McCandless decided to leave it all behind. Chris thought that he was going to go leave all society behind to go live in the wild. Chris thought that it was going to be very hard. Krakauer He was arrogant and ignorance toward the nature and society. In Into the Wild Chris leaves his life behind to live a life alone in the wild. In Into the Wild Krakauer’s message from Chris’s journey is for people to never get too ignorant or too confident because anything can go wrong at anytime.

Robert Frost’s approach to human isolation is always an interesting exploration. His poem of desertion and neglect paired with eternal hopefulness ignite the reader in his poem “The Census-Taker.” All of the elements of a Frost poem are in this particular poem. “The Census-Taker” must be from an earlier time in Frost’s career because the poem is written in an open, free verse similar to the style of his earlier 20th century poetry like “Mending Wall” and “After Apple-Picking.” Also, the language lacks the sophisticated word selection a reader of poetry might find in Wallace Stevens and instead uses simplicity to

When Chris finally arrived to his new home and eventually his final resting place, he was ecstatic. He had made it to his destination that he had been wondering for since his first days in college. He had been through allot to get to the bus, it was just more satisfying to him because of that very reason, he didn’t need any help. Now he could focus on other more important things. “He was elated to be there, inside the bus, on a sheet of weathered plywood spanning a broken window, McCandless scrawled an exultant declaration of independence: Two years he walks the earth, no phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes, ultimate freedom, and extremist, an aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. Escaped

As soon as I picked this book up, I could not put it down. Every chance I got, I was reading. I was begging in class for you to let us have down time so I could submerge myself into this virtual reality that I wanted to experience. Unfortunately at the end of this memoir, Chris McCandless dies of what Krakauer believes to be starvation. The cool thing about how Krakauer revised this novel is how he relates it to all teenagers. At one point in time mostly all teenagers have a fight with their parents and they feel as if running away from it all is their only escape. He focuses on Chirs McCandless’ life so much to create the theme that no matter how much you fight and argue, your parents love you and they want the best for you no matter what.

Christopher Johnson McCandless is a respectable man in so many ways but, yet such a foolish man in many others. Chris McCandless possessed a seemingly ever-lasting bravery that constantly shined through his unique and matchless character. He was very righteous in himself to the point in which he kept himself from any sin or evil, committing his life to what seemed like an idea of celibacy, not just in refraining from any desire of flesh but also in all lusts of life with his diligent power of will that constantly shined through his exterior. Onto the contrary of his good characteristics, McCandless remained to be very foolish in his decisions and under takings, whether it be by his arrogance of sheer narrow mindedness.

Throughout the book, Krakauer documents the intoxicating life and death of Christopher McCandless, aka Alexander Supertramp, a young hitchhiker who embarked on an Alaskan Odyssey to explore himself and the wilderness. Like many before him, McCandless thought that he could give his life meaning by pursuing his “impractical fascination with the harsh side of nature” (Krakauer 85). At a young age, Chris lost his habitude for monotonous security and thus adopted an irrational and impulsive style of life. He believed that suppressing human relationships and deserting the materialistic world would strengthen his bond with nature. Christopher once wrote to his close friend that too many people were unwilling to change their troubling life and debatable circumstances because they were “conditioned to a life of security, and conformity, and conservatism.” Following up his conclusion he stated that this type of “secure future” brought peace to their mind, but in reality it was the most damaging thing that they ccould do to the adventurous spirit, being the very basic core of an individual’s passion (Krakauer 57). Christopher McCandless with his astounding spirit, the aspiration to succeed, and the longing to make things happen was determined to be free. He desired to live by his own moral code, without anyone putting shackles on his psyche. His plans went beyond what anyone could ever

Power and control plays a big role in the lives many. When power is used as a form of control, it leads to depression and misery in the relationship. This is proven through the themes and symbolism used in the stories Lesson before Dying, The fun they had, The strangers that came to town, and Dolls house through the median of three major unsuccessful relationship: racial tension between the African Americans and the caucasians in the novel Lesson before Dying, Doll’s House demonstrates a controlling relationship can be detrimental for both individuals and The Stranger That Came To Town along with The Fun They Had show that when an individual is suppressed by majority they become despondent.

He does this in order to question the status quo of society, ultimately coinciding with Miller’s third criteria of a tragedy. Miller defines that a tragic hero’s struggle “must enlighten the reader by questioning the status quo of our society and pointing out that which limits humankind’s realization of dignity, identity, and freedom”(Miller). McCandless’ personality has a strong effect on drawing in others to be interested in his aspirations. Krakauer paints this emotional grip through the story of Ron, an 81 year old man who meets Chris McCandless and becomes drawn into his lifestyle. Being heartbroken when left without notice by McCandless, Ron is brought into this daring lifestyle when he receives a letter from Chris, saying “we must have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living. My point is that you do not need me or anyone else around to bring this new kind of light in your life. It is simply waiting out there for you to grasp it”(Krakauer 57). Before meeting McCandless, Krakauer illustrates Ron as an individual who has a routine focus of working from night until day, and bases life off of monetary value. The new type of lifestyle that Ron sees through Chris leads to him having the desire to recraft his whole vision of life

In society, there is a thin line between having arrogance and having courage, these are social views of how to classify somebody by their actions and mindset. Jon Krakauer, a well-known writer and mountaineer explained Chris McCandless’s strive and explained the thoughts of critics around the globe in his novel Into the Wild. In my eyes, I believe to say that McCandless was an egocentric male who had an unorganized mindset that made him come upon his cruel death.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," says the Declaration of Independence. This phrase encompasses three major values shown throughout early American literature. The strong belief in religion, freedom, and a strong will for a better life. Each piece had one or more of these themes within them.

The “new world” that Columbus boasted of to the Spanish monarchs in 1500 was neither an expanse of empty space nor a replica of European culture, tools, textiles, and religion, but a combination of Native, European, and African people living in complex relation to one another. »full text