According to google statistics, about sixty-six percent of people enjoyed the book Walden. That means about two of every three readers found something appealing in Thoreau’s simple lifestyle. However, what percentage of people actually incorporate a meaningful amount of Thoreau’s ideology in their life? Based on the massive and ever-growing influence of businesses, it is probably safe to say less than ten percent. Various other media sources also depict transcendentalist value such as Wall-E, Into the Wild, Dead Poets Society, Minimalism: A Documentary About Important Things, and The Lord of The Rings. Despite exposure to these ideals of simple living and individualism, the influence and practice of transcendentalism appears to be diminishing.
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McCandless, the protagonist of Into the Wi was a college graduate who fell in love with solitude in the Alaskan wilderness; inevitably, he died because of poor diet choices which resulted in his slow death. His story is relatable: even though he demonstrated potential in school, he was hopelessly lost and he had a complicated relationship with his father; in response, he ran away and traveled around the country. One of the central ideas in Into the Wild is the pursuit of an ever-changing and nomadic lifestyle. As stated by …show more content…
Dead Poets Society strongly insinuates that poetry (which also applies to art) is only as meaningful as it is applicable to you. In the words of Emerson, “a man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages” (Emerson). Nevertheless, in a fashion very similar to Into the Woods, the teacher John Keating loses his job and the students are threatened with expulsion. Even though individualism is highly valued in American society, the movie clearly demonstrates that there are accompanied consequences— more importantly,—ones that the average person cannot afford to take. This movie is another example of how people must live vicariously through the protagonists because they cannot reasonably make the same decisions in real
McCandless, the protagonist of Into the Wi was a college graduate who fell in love with solitude in the Alaskan wilderness; inevitably, he died because of poor diet choices which resulted in his slow death. His story is relatable: even though he demonstrated potential in school, he was hopelessly lost and he had a complicated relationship with his father; in response, he ran away and traveled around the country. One of the central ideas in Into the Wild is the pursuit of an ever-changing and nomadic lifestyle. As stated by …show more content…
Dead Poets Society strongly insinuates that poetry (which also applies to art) is only as meaningful as it is applicable to you. In the words of Emerson, “a man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages” (Emerson). Nevertheless, in a fashion very similar to Into the Woods, the teacher John Keating loses his job and the students are threatened with expulsion. Even though individualism is highly valued in American society, the movie clearly demonstrates that there are accompanied consequences— more importantly,—ones that the average person cannot afford to take. This movie is another example of how people must live vicariously through the protagonists because they cannot reasonably make the same decisions in real