Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

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In his novel Into The Wild, author Jon Krakauer tells the story about a boy named Chris McCandless and his journey to Alaska. Many people criticized what Chris did calling him “stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate”. Krakauer wrote this book to justify Chris’s actions and convince readers that Chris was not a stupid, reckless, incompetent young man. Instead Krakauer depicts a picture of a young man with a strong moral compass seeking a higher truth. Krakauer believed that Chris was different than the other men and women that went into the Alaskan wilderness thinking they could conquer the last frontier, but quickly learn that Alaska is unforgiving. McCandless was a Transcendentalist who went out to seek a higher purpose. Chris read many books

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