Philosophical analysts and scientists all over the nation continue to raise arguments when looking at the story of Chris McCandless and his journey. While some recognize him as a romantic hero following a life immersed in the nature of the world, some choose to see him as a fool for thinking he could live this lifestyle. When looking at both arguments, it comes down to the issue of morals, and the lifestyle the person analyzing has grown up in. Morals and values heavily influence the opinions of what Chris McCandless did with his life, even though it was his right to do as he pleased. To begin, by looking at both sides of the argument I believe my social environment helps shape my opinion of this story.…
Taking criticism can be a difficult thing, but it allows individuals to be guided away from poor practices and be led towards proficient ones. The problem is that our supporters, such as our educators and parents, pass their limits when trying to correct others for their benefit, or in some cases for their own satisfaction, which often leads them to over criticize. This causes individuals such as students and the children of parents to be pushed over the edge, or in very few cases, accept it and honor their selves for their effort. Janice Mirikitan’s “Suicide Note” and Rosemary Catacalos’s “David Talamantez on the Last Day of Second Grade” are two poems that describe how two different characters in similar situations chose to cope with the harsh criticism that they receive from others. In both poems, the characters struggle to meet the expectations of others; however each character receives and copes with the criticism from either their educator, or parents, in distinct ways.…
This pressure causes them to step out of line while finding themselves but not always getting forgiveness for this. One teacher inspires these boys to go seize the day or do what they wish to causing Neil to butt heads with his father but when Neil asks for forgiveness his father refuses to rise above. One lesson this unconventional teacher does, he asks the students to stand on their desks to see things from a different perspective. This particular lesson the teacher, Mr.Keating, symbolizes rising above and understanding what someone is feeling. Neil's father should have rose above, tried to understand what Neil was going through, and also tried to see what happened to Neil through Mr. Keating's perspective.…
He embarrasses the students and makes them feel horrible for the little acting out that they do. The administration at the school, precisely Mr. Nolan, feels threatened by Mr. Keating because of the way he teaches and the things he is putting into the students’ heads. The students find out about the unsanctioned Dead Poets Society Mr. Keating was a part of when he went to the school and they recreate it. They sneak off into a cave off campus and read poetry (Dead Poets Society). When Neil’s father found out about his involvement in the play, he tries to force him to…
At some point, every child separates from what their elders have taught them. Either through time or (more often) through a moment of extreme conflict, a breaking point is reached, where we have to choose between following what we believe is morally sound, or what is right according to those who oversee us. These often problematic breaking points essentially serve as a test of one’s innate moral values. Saunders spotlights this moment of transition in both “Escape from Spiderhead” and “Victory Lap” by comparing two individuals’ moral values to the values instilled upon them by higher authorities. In the end of each respective story, Saunders accentuates the moral struggle between the protagonists and their controllers, and proceeds to…
Those who study symbolic interactionism also known as interactionists, “focus on the subjective aspects of social life, rather than on objective, macro-structural aspects of social systems.” (Ferguson, 1959: 36). Interactionists focus on a smaller group of people rather than society. Their main focus is how people interact with each other and they pay attention to daily lives of individuals. Symbols are meanings and people use these meanings to decide what to do in their daily lives.…
Neil takes a leap and gets a role in a play, despite what his father tells him, Neil still takes part in the play. Neil knows this was against his father's wishes and could not handle the anger that his father had for him. If he simply thought through his actions before acting (literally and metaphorically) he maybe would not have had the same…
Almost all of humanity can relate to wanting to go out into the wilderness completely alone, leaving the toxic monotony and materialism of daily life and stepping into an environment where your passion determines life or death. For Christopher McCandless and Jon Krakauer, this was their reality for some time. While McCandless is now silenced in the snow of the Alaskan bush, Krakauer continues to explain what happened to McCandless, why they left society, and why the young people of today should follow their own dreams. Through the use of flowing description, well-held ethos, and simple sentence structure, Krakauer unravels the complexity of Christopher McCandless. Only by the use of attentive description could Krakauer illustrate the formational…
The Enlightenment thinking dominated the philosophical world in the 1700s. The Enlightenment way of thinking is to use rationality to answer the age old question, what is truth? In response to this movement, a group of American people in the 1800s believed that you should use your instincts to make decisions. Besides using your instincts, Transcendentalists also wanted to create a uniquely American literature and define human existence and spirituality.…
For instance, Keating asks the boys “Why does the writer use these lines…?” and “Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable?” because he wants them to think on their own before he answers the questions himself. He answers his own questions to model how the students should think, and to demonstrate how to come to a conclusion. The first question he asks pertains to his main topic of seizing the day, because in his response to them he emphasizes that life is short and one day we're all going to “stop breathing, turn cold, and die.”…
Keating, he consciously makes an anti transcendental decision that proves Mr. Keating’s lessons were not successful with him. When the film first starts, Neil is perceived by the audience as a boy who is well liked and knows what he wants out in life. When Mr. Keating is assigned to teach at the school, the impact on Neil seems to prevail.…
Finally, at age forty-two, Neil appears to be putting his life together. He is working as a part time political counselor and carries those political ambitions through age fifty-six. Neil’s incredibly unstable development was heavily influenced by his genetics and the environment he grew up in. These practically unavoidable factors, along with some defeating losses, contribute substantially to Neil’s non-normative development. Neil’s familial environment as a child consisted of two overbearing parents, both teachers, with seemingly no understanding of who Neil was.…
Isolation: The Struggle to Find One’s Self In Into The Wild, Jon Krakauer investigates a young man’s struggle between isolation and forgiveness. This book shows the compelling, incredible adventure of Chris Mccandless, who leaves his home, family and money to disconnect himself from society and live the life he has always wanted.…
Most of the boys were meant to follow their father’s footsteps. Ironically, Neil does not have to follow his father’s footsteps because his father did not have opportunities like what Neil has now. However, Neil cannot make his own decisions for his life. Neil wanted to do extracurricular activities and have his photo in the yearbook but his father forced him to quit on that stuff, even though he had straight A’s, making him to only focus on school. Neil was going to be the successor of his family by becoming a doctor.…
For Neil it is important to participate in theater but his father does not allow him. He must adhere to father’s rule and behave accordingly. This example also demonstrates a great power of authority his father…