Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

Superior Essays
In 1996, Jon Krakauer published a nonfiction book called Into the Wild. Into the Wild, is a true story about a man named Chris McCandless who is a young Emory graduate who is found dead in the Alaskan forest around September 1992. McCandless grew up very wealthy living with his parents, he was into sports and a very good student. After he graduated from high school, he spent summer alone on a road trip across the country. After from graduating from college, McCandless gets dropped off by Mt.McKinley and hikes into the wilderness. He then spends the next 16 weeks in the mountains. He was successful for the most part. Whereas Chris McCandless worked to earn money in between adventures, Chris is a transcendentalist given that Chris was self reliant and he had his own individual vision on success.

Chris McCandless is a transcendentalist because he had his own individual vision on success.“...it was important for him to see how independent he could
…show more content…
Emerson wrote “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Chris wanted the unwanted, he didn’t want what everyone else had, he decided to make his own path and do something that no one else has done before. He basically followed transcendental beliefs. He was willing to live his life by his intuition which is exactly what Emerson and Thoreau said. “Nature always wears the color of the spirit.”(Emerson) This explains Chris well because he loved to be outdoors, he left his whole life just to be outdoors. Although I found Chris leaving his family and other things back at home very foolish, I love the courage not to only stand out from others, but to do something someone has never done before. Self-reliance describes Chris perfectly. Chris did not care if people understood him or not.. This shows that Chris is a great example of

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