In John Krakauer’s “Into the Wild,” Chris McCandless set out on an odyssey into the American wilderness, and eventually the Alaskan bush, in the 1990s. Throughout McCandless’s journey, he reflected on himself and on society through books. Much of this literature he read is centered towards the lifestyle that comes with living in the wild. In some of the books he read, McCandless highlighted passages he believed to be noteworthy. Most, if not all, of these passages reflected his life, specifically his adventure, in its many aspects.…
The rejection of materialism is evident once again when the author wrote about Chris’s mentality towards gifts. He didn’t give many gifts and he didn’t take gifts. One specific example is when Chris’s parents gifted a car to Chris after graduating from high school. He felt insulted because he believed that his parents were giving him a materialistic item to convince Chris that they loved him. He didn’t accept the gift, saying that he loved his Datsun that he had been around the country with (Krakauer 21).…
Chris McCandless was a person who left one life and entirely started a new one. He believed in many ideas the Transcendentalists believed in, and lived his life based on that. Chris McCandless was an adventurer who wanted more from life than society gave him. He was an idealist who did what he always wanted to do, made mistakes and rejected personal relationships. Some may say Chris McCandless was simply suicidal, or just plain stupid.…
When his car becomes stuck in the aftermath of a flash flood, instead of feeling devastated, he is excited: “He saw the flash flood as a chance to shed unnecessary things. He arranged all his money in a pile on the sand, and set it on fire. One hundred twenty-three dollars in legal tender was swiftly reduced to ash and smoke” (29). McCandless immediately gets rid of his once beloved car because it is a materialistic object and he no longer needs it. Money is also considered a gateway to acquiring luxury and practicing materialism, which is why McCandless destroys it.…
Transcendentalism is described a person who finds satisfaction in solitude and nature. It was a nineteenth century movement in which mean people joined. In the book Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless is a transcendentalist, from the modern age, which means he enjoys the simplicity of life and deliberate living or living life with intentions. McCandless goes into the wild with the aspiration of finding himself through nature. In the eyes of a transcendentalist, they believe that natures role in life is important.…
The weather is perfect, the sky is baby blue, and the sun is shining over the trees creating a beautiful hue; on a day like this would you be outside or inside? Someone like Chris McCandles would spend every moment of this day outside. In the book Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer; the reader is first presented how Chris McCandless is reckless by walking into the wild ill prepared. Though Krakauer attempts to persuade the read that Chris is and was a Transcendentalist hero. I believe that Chris is a transcendentalist hero more than he is reckless demonstrated by, Chris always living in the moment, living a self-reliant life, and always out in nature on a journey.…
Transcendentalism is widely known throughout the world and some people believe themselves to be transcendentalists even to this day. Most know transcendentalism to be a movement started in the nineteenth century; it is a idealistic philosophical and social movement. Beliefs of a transcendentalist consist of but are not limited to: being a nonconformist, nature is spiritual, inspirational and symbolic, self-reliance is important and following personal beliefs is the key to a happiness and leads to a fulfilling life. To show, in Self-Reliance written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Civil Disobedience and Walden, both by Henry David Thoreau, focus on the topic of transcendentalism and share their own opinions towards the subject. However, Christopher…
Transcendentalism was an intellectual movement that encouraged eight moral ideals. These ideals were intended to give structure to everyday life and improve the moral character of those who lived according to them. Although the transcendental movement has mostly subsided there are still many people who live following transcendental principles. A modern day example of living for transcendentalism is the life of Chris McCandless. The life, journey, and death of Chris McCandless is told in the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.…
In the early 1800s, a philosophical movement called Transcendentalism developed in the Northeast United States. Transcendentalists believed in self-reliance and that the individual is more powerful than the institution. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the author of “Self-Reliance”, was one of the founders of Transcendentalism. Emerson befriended and mentored Henry David Thoreau, a fellow Transcendentalist and author of works such as “Walden”. Both men were pioneers for the movement and were the true embodiment of Transcendentalist ideals.…
Essena O’Neill is nineteen years old. People already call her crazy and insane because of decisions that she made. O’Neill joined Instagram a few years back, similar to most teenage girls. She posted photos of herself to the site. She wanted to show off how she was so skinny, how she was so pretty, how she was so “perfect”.…
Consequently, many act foolishly based on their ignorance. This inhibits people to settle and use materials to define their level of happiness in life. However, McCandless wished,” to escape from the meaningless dullness of human eloquence , from all those sublime phrases, to take refuge in nature”(189). McCandless wanted to live a simpler life in which stuff had no worth. Many times he was offered gifts in which he refused to receive because it took way from the struggle of his…
“The value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose.” (Richard Grant) Individuals often go through phases in life where they wish to become a nonconformist and live their life free from societal rules. McCandless followed through with his passion and as a result he touched the lives of many people who could not follow his passion. His interaction with individuals throughout his journey left them life lessons how to live and follow their passions.…
As humans, we make choices every single day from the moment we wake up each morning. Some of these choices do not seem to affect our lives with much significance, such as what we choose to eat for breakfast. On the other hand, some may change our lives forever, like deciding where to attend college. The choices we make lead to the experiences we have. The texts of Antigone, Saint Augustine: Of Choice and Free Will and Into the Wild contain instances of decisions that led to experiences, which result in the realization of what is deemed right and good in life.…
Transcendentalism was a movement in mid-nineteenth century America that focused on an individual obtaining personal freedom from the constrictions of their surrounding society. Thus, it can be said that they pushed for social and political change to be achieved so that individualism would be prized over collectivism. Two writers, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, are at the frontline of these Transcendentalist views. These authors introduce a similar twist to the concept of personal freedom, claiming that a person can achieve it by encompassing oneself into nature.…
Luxuries Versus Necessities In today’s generation, people mislead the value of their luxuries over their necessities, rather than vice versa. There is multitudinous amount of luxuries that people value more than their necessities. There are also many ways as to how this topic refers to transcendentalism. To begin, most luxuries that people uphold higher than their everyday necessities, are those of little importance.…