Transcendentalism was first practiced by the likes of Henry David Thoreau in the mid eighteenth century. Displeased with society, Thoreau moved into a one room shack, isolated in the woods, where he wrote Walden. Transcendental ideas have been preserved throughout time by people like Chris McCandless. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, details McCandless’s journey all over the nation after graduating at Emory University. All in all, transcendental ideas have proven to be very relevant today. Not only are they seen in stories like McCandless’s, but also in TV shows and small communities across the country, preserving the ideas and lifestyle choices of Henry David Thoreau. Nonconformity was one of the original ideas that the first transcendentalists
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When Thoreau first began his stay in the woods, he wanted to escape society. He felt that the economy that was forming in the mid eighteenth century was twisted, and disliked the direction it was headed in. When he ventured out into the woods, he writes, “I lived alone in the woods...earned my living by the labour of my hands only.” (Thoreau, “Economy”) The days where the social normality for a man was to own a plot of land, and work it in order to feed himself and his family were fleeting. Cities were arising, and industries were starting to monopolize. At the same time, advances in technology made harvesting faster and easier. Instead of conforming to the new industrialized society Thoreau moved out into the forest alone. Furthermore, the idea of nonconformity can be seen in recent stories like McCandless’s. …show more content…
Throughout the entire story, McCandless is self reliant to find food and shelter, but he permanently became self-reliant after the decision he made in the Detrital Wash. A letter on Chris’s yellow Datsun reads, “This piece of shit has been abandoned...Walsh found a Giani guitar, a saucepan containing $4.93 in loose change, a garbage bag of old clothes, a fishing rod and tackle and twenty five pounds of uncooked rice.” By abandoning the majority of his possessions, Chris would now have to rely on his own skills to provide himself with food and shelter everyday. This was an extremely gutsy move, because if Chris were to be stuck in a situation where he needed a place to sleep or keep warm, he could no longer crash in his car like he had been doing. Also, he could no longer carry bulky items like food, which he could have used while in the Alaskan Bush later on. Today, there are still examples of modern day transcendentalists who are self reliant. Ethan and Sarah Hughes purchased an Amish farm in Missouri and have been living on it for eight years. On the farm they are completely self-reliant by growing their own food, surviving without electricity utilizing fires for warmth and to cook. (Sundeen, The Unsettlers) It is apparent that the idea of self-reliance was present in Chris McCandless’s journey as well as today with people like the Hughes family who decide they prefer a
When Thoreau first began his stay in the woods, he wanted to escape society. He felt that the economy that was forming in the mid eighteenth century was twisted, and disliked the direction it was headed in. When he ventured out into the woods, he writes, “I lived alone in the woods...earned my living by the labour of my hands only.” (Thoreau, “Economy”) The days where the social normality for a man was to own a plot of land, and work it in order to feed himself and his family were fleeting. Cities were arising, and industries were starting to monopolize. At the same time, advances in technology made harvesting faster and easier. Instead of conforming to the new industrialized society Thoreau moved out into the forest alone. Furthermore, the idea of nonconformity can be seen in recent stories like McCandless’s. …show more content…
Throughout the entire story, McCandless is self reliant to find food and shelter, but he permanently became self-reliant after the decision he made in the Detrital Wash. A letter on Chris’s yellow Datsun reads, “This piece of shit has been abandoned...Walsh found a Giani guitar, a saucepan containing $4.93 in loose change, a garbage bag of old clothes, a fishing rod and tackle and twenty five pounds of uncooked rice.” By abandoning the majority of his possessions, Chris would now have to rely on his own skills to provide himself with food and shelter everyday. This was an extremely gutsy move, because if Chris were to be stuck in a situation where he needed a place to sleep or keep warm, he could no longer crash in his car like he had been doing. Also, he could no longer carry bulky items like food, which he could have used while in the Alaskan Bush later on. Today, there are still examples of modern day transcendentalists who are self reliant. Ethan and Sarah Hughes purchased an Amish farm in Missouri and have been living on it for eight years. On the farm they are completely self-reliant by growing their own food, surviving without electricity utilizing fires for warmth and to cook. (Sundeen, The Unsettlers) It is apparent that the idea of self-reliance was present in Chris McCandless’s journey as well as today with people like the Hughes family who decide they prefer a