Transcendentalism In The Life Of Henry David Thoreau And Chris Mccandless

Henry David Thoreau’s words that “disobedience is the true foundation of liberty” and that “the obedient must be slaves” is a political statement that never lost its topicality during the Romantic era. Thoreau served as an important contributor to the philosophical and American literary movement known as New England Transcendentalism. Nature and the conduct of life are two central themes that are often weaved together in his essays and books that were published in the Romantic era of literature. Thoreau brought these two themes together to write on how people ought to live a simplistic life through embracing nature. His naturalistic writing intertwined cataloging and observation with Transcendentalist views of nature. Through his life and

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil” -Ralph Waldo Emerson in Self Reliance. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that originated in the 19th century and was primarily influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalists’ main beliefs are: self-reliance is essential to one’s life, nature is divine, every person should have an optimistic outlook, and humanity needs to adhere to their personal morals and beliefs. In today’s world we still see a multitude of the beliefs of transcendentalism.

Henry Thoreau loved the simplicity of living in the wilderness, just as much as McCandless did, however he loved just to stay put. Thoreau wanted to uncage himself from the outside world and the interferences it had with him living a “full” life. Thoreau thought

Why is solitude looked down on society? It should be advised by people to start engaging in the concept of solitude. Henry David Thoreau and Chris McCandless were both transcendentalism that believes in the key fundamental idea that the human body should partake in such as solitude. Henry Thoreau was a transcendentalist that practiced the form of solitude throughout his life. He left society and moved into the woods to be removed from the confines of society. Along with Thoreau, a more modern-day transcendentalist was known as Chris McCandless. McCandless journeyed to the wilderness in Alaska to be able to experience a minimal amount of human interaction along with the solitude that comes with it. The concept of solitude should be

Followers of the Transcendentalist movement stressed the religious, philosophical and ideological importance of life. Henry David Thoreau was a staunch supporter of the movement. Thoreau felt that a person lived a good life by following his conscience and instincts. He also felt that materialism was a sure way to distract a person from leading a good and moral life. Thoreau proposed for the government to be involved in as little of a citizen's life as possible; he felt too much government control just complicated a person's life. Like most Transcendentalists, Thoreau believed there was a direct connection to God through nature. If a person appreciated nature he would gain a higher understanding of God. Finally, Thoreau encouraged

To think philosophically, the reality of living does not really has a definition. Around the 1840s, specific groups of people known as transcendentalists argued that there’s an intensive connection among God, man, and nature. They emphasizes that the main truth of understanding reality in life should be an individual epiphany. Christopher Johnson McCandless from Into the Wild shared similar philosophical ideas as two notable transcendentalists known as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and lived life like a transcendentalist based on his behaviors and life values.

Their passion for their love of nature was also influenced by numerous authors read by each man that depicted an ideology of naturalistic prose characterizing the transcendental experience. Authors stated as favorites by both men include Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Jack London. While these writers provided an appealing view of a carefree life, not one of them truly experienced the hardships of their stories. Thoreau’s depiction of his experiment of transcendentalism in his book, Walden, romanticizes the natural world even though his excursion was just a few miles from his family and the local community. One aspect of Thoreau’s definition of this solitary life was to embrace nature and live off the land, using wit and resourcefulness (Thoreau). “Thoreau As An Oblique Mirror” by Jose Sanchez Vera, provides a perspective that suggests Krakauer uses pieces of Thoreau’s ideals in order to embellish Chris’s endeavor (49). The promise of a simpler life has a tendency to make anyone long for tranquility. But, McCandless and Krakauer appeared to take their personal introspection to extremes, without regard of the hazards and possible doom that lay before them (Krakauer

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds… With consistency a great soul simply has nothing to do.” (Emerson)

As America continued to grow and developed so did its writers. A major changed came with writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Emerson was an American philosopher, poet and the leader of the Transcendentalist movement. This movement started as a protest against the current state of the society and culture; and was based on a fundamental belief in the unity of the world and God. "Emerson declared literary independence in the United States and urged Americans to create a writing style all their own and free from Europe" (Ralph). This type of methodology is easily portrayed in his two stories, The American Scholar, and Self Reliance. Thoreau was a nonconformist and attempted to live his life at all times according to his rigorous principles, which became the subject of many of his writings. In "Walden", Thoreau not only tests the theories of Transcendentalism, he re-enacts the collective American experience of the 19th century, living on the frontier. The overall story of "Walden" is in fact a view on Thoreau's radical and controversial perspective of society. Many of Thoreau's repeated, irrelevant details can be traced to his description of what is wrong with the American society. He believed that the society is extremely overwhelmed with material things and they often seem to think that is what matters

Attending college, beginning a career, starting a family, and ultimately getting trapped in a daily routine are components in life that many see no means of escape. The lure of living off the grid with no responsibilities or connections to adult life are attractive but unattainable to most people. The experiences of Chris McCandless chronicled in Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, mystify the nation, along with many of the people he meets during his journey. From stories of those who meet McCandless along the way, people were able to put the pieces together and make a few assumptions for the reason he chooses to go into the wild. Individualism, living a minimalistic life, nonconformity, going into nature, and trusting oneself are fundamental Transcendentalist principles that McCandless also exemplifies. Two well-known proponents of the Transcendental movement, writers Henry Thoreau and Ralph Emerson, also have a strong connection to nature, that are also shown in Chris McCandless’s journey. This connection with nature requires someone to go into nature to clear the mind of meaningless things, and to open up their consciousness to what nature has to offer them. In doing so, a bond with their surroundings that has a direct impact on their well being and mental wellness. Chris McCandless, as described by Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, demonstrates becoming one with nature through nature’s impact on his well being and mental health.

Transcendentalism is a religious, philosophical, literary, and social movement of the nineteenth century. Essentially, this movement was based upon the ideals of the “sixth sense,” nature, and non-conformity, as well as individualism, intuition, idealism, imagination, and inspiration. A few of the works featured in the transcendental unit include Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Song of Myself by Walt Whitman, and Walden by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The primary focus of this essay is to provide an opinion on a strikingly debatable topic; Whether or not Christopher McCandless, hero of Krakauer’s Into the Wild, was a true transcendentalist. Despite the bold actions of Chris McCandless on his daring Alaskan odyssey, he turned out to be far from a true transcendentalist, failing to meet the definition of transcendentalism, being solely concerned with himself, and acting out of revenge rather than seeking self discovery - nothing more than a childish suicidal rebel.

Henry David Thoreau, Chris McCandless, and Jon Krakauer embrace the ideals of a transcendentalism lifestyle. After reading Krakauer’s, Into the Wild, and Thoreau’s, Walden, it shows that McCandless and Thoreau have similar beliefs. Both men express the beliefs of living simply, rejecting regular lifestyles, and minding your own business. Jon Krakauers, Into the Wild, shows that Chris did not like the normal way of life, he wanted it simplified, simplicity, and he hated regular lifestyles, and wanted people to mind their own business, and all this can also be found in Thoreau’s, Walden.

As she spent time outside, as most kids do at her age, she noticed how real it was. There was nothing more pure than sitting in the middle of nature. Everything was simple and true for once, unlike her childhood that was filled with civilization. Chris McCandless and Henry Thoreau had different reasons for going into the woods, they had the same view on how people should live, and they had a different way of living in the woods.

Transcendentalist has a handful of principals from self-reliance to the thought of technology is harmful.The main tenet throughout the paper will focus on the importance of nature. Transcendentalist views nature as a gateway to the spiritual world, a way to the Omnipower. Henry David Thoreau immersed himself into nature fully “The morning wind forever blows, the poem of creation is uninterrupted; but few are the ears that hear it”(Thoreau II). Thoreau reveals how he has taken the time to observe nature to its fullest extent. He saw nature as a neighbor who was to be respected just as a man would treat another. Ralph Waldo Emerson a great transcendentalist, a mentor to Thoreau. Emerson’s point of view of nature showed how men and nature can become one to uplift themselves from the worldly shackles. Thoreau and Emerson both had a concept that nature was essentials to mankind, one sought out to respect it and the other viewed as a form of release.Nature is important to transcendentalism because it leads to spiritual connection and harmonization.

There have been numerous religious rebellions throughout history, but none quite like that of Transcendentalism. This movement embodies the idea that spiritual growth can be achieved through personal journey instead of conflicting with organized religion. By the time of the movement’s onset, newly gained religious freedom in the United States allowed for new ideas and beliefs to prosper freely. At the heart of this movement was Transcendentalism philosophy famous ambassadors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and apprentice Henry David Thoreau. These men believed nature is what forces us not to depend on other ideas but to develop our own.