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Writing a descriptive essay
The influence of society on the behavior of the individual
English essay descriptive writing
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Nature of Mediocrity The nature of man is to accept mediocrity. Mediocrity is defined as “of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad.” If it is human nature to only be ordinary, why does society promote this nature so heavily? If success is what man wants, why are we too afraid to go and work for it? Are there no longer individuals willing to go out and work for what they earn? The nature of man does not only define society, but man as a whole. Mediocrity is exposed in everyday life through acceptance, success, and careers. These themes are shown in literary works such as the following: The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, and Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In today’s standards, to be ordinary …show more content…
Wouldn’t it stand to reason that a certain type of person would be willing to change their situation for the better? It would imply that this person has made a clear decision to change the outcome of their life, and not conform to the average standard set by society. This claim is shown in Into the Wild when the author writes about the main character, Chris McCandless, exclaiming: “To symbolize the complete severance from his previous life, he even adopted a new name. No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny.” This quote emphasizes the characters drive to start a new life for himself, to not accept the one he was given, and put his new life to good use. This shows his character because he no longer puts up with what he has, makes a change and is rewarded with it. The free thinkers and outliers of society set the bar, or the so called “limit,” to what can be achieved in the world that we live in. They cherish this embellished spirit and use it further progress their own ideas of success and progression. These unconventional individuals prove that mediocrity is not a path that has to be taken, and there is something to be said for
Many people dream about leaving everything behind and starting a new life, but it’s not as easy as it seems. Learning how to adapt to a new environment may be a challenge. In the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Christopher McCandless has no knowledge of the conditions he’s going to face when he arrives in Alaska. I would classify Christopher McCandless as a fearless crazy guy, because he leaves his well-shaped life behind. McCandless is not prepared for his expedition to Alaska, because he’s not familiar with the different lifestyles. Making all of these changes to his life like, detaching himself from his family and changing his name to Alexander Supertramp was a bad idea; because losing all of his connections means that he has no help from the people who really know him.
To begin with, McCandless’s decision to walk into the wild was acceptable because he wanted to become an inspiration and an individual. Emerson states, “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance: that imitation is suicide” (Emerson). Chris McCandless left to shun the conformist society that he could feel changing him. Chris wanted the chains that bound him to be broken. Society takes the individual and locks it up and destroys it. According to Emerson, “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion: it is easy to in solitude to live after our own: but the great man is he who in the midst of the crow keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude” (Emerson). McCandless left his materialistic family to be his own person ad to be unique. The world’s opinion does not make the man wh...
Humans are complex beings. We have different motivations, goals, and aspirations but what influences us to have these goals? What motivates us to strive for them? Daniel Gilbert, in his essay “Immune to Reality” states we have unconscious processes that influence our behaviors, and also that we heavily rely on acceptance from others. The social pressures we experience on day to day bases are what influence us to change and adapt. Society and how our unconscious perceives the pressures of society make us lose original ideal and make us seek and/or follow power for the sake of belonging to a community.
Sometimes a character may be pushed over the edge by our materialistic society to discover his/her true roots, which can only be found by going back to nature where monetary status was not important. Chris McCandless leaves all his possessions and begins a trek across the Western United States, which eventually brings him to the place of his demise-Alaska. Jon Krakauer makes you feel like you are with Chris on his journey and uses exerts from various authors such as Thoreau, London, and Tolstoy, as well as flashbacks and narrative pace and even is able to parallel the adventures of Chris to his own life as a young man in his novel Into the Wild. Krakauer educates himself of McCandless’ story by talking to the people that knew Chris the best. These people were not only his family but the people he met on the roads of his travels- they are the ones who became his road family.
Many people are resistant to change. They become comfortable with their lives and don’t dare to venture outside of the box.
As portrayed in the film, Into the Wild, Chris McCandless hates society. In one particular scene, Chris starts yelling about “society” and how it is bad when he is telling Wayne about his trip to Alaska. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem, Self-Reliance, it says “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, b...
Will there ever be happiness? Surely Chris McCandless claims he lived a happy life! The insane adventure of Christopher McCandless’s survival into the great Alaskan wilderness portrays his anxious depiction for the truth of reality. The film adaption of Jon Krakeur's non-fiction book, Into the Wild expresses a story of an underprepared, self-centered young man. McCandless’s original name changed to Alexander Supertramp. It was his way of escaping falsehood and his undesired past. The movie genuinely intrigued and motivated me to achieve what my heart claims to attain. Whether the circumstances lead to brutal or victorious results, the guilt of not accomplishing it is worse. McCandless believes in disconnecting with individuals and living a solitary life to achieve happiness for himself. To explore atrocious environments in the wilderness alone, courage is key. Personally, I wouldn’t attempt it. It’s captivating, however, to see different perspectives of people regarding how they attempt to live their lives looks demanding.
In April of 1992 a young man named Chris McCandless, from a prosperous and loving family, hitchhiked across the country to Alaska. He gave $25,000 of his savings to charity, left his car and nearly all of his possessions. He burned all the cash he had in his wallet, and created a new life. Four months later, his body was found in an abandoned bus. Jon Krakauer constructed a journalistic account of McCandless’s story. Bordering on obsession, Krakauer looks for the clues to the mystery that is Chris McCandless. What he finds is the intense pull of the wilderness on our imagination, the appeal of high-risk activities to young men. When McCandless's mistakes turn out to be fatal he is dismissed for his naiveté. He was said by some to have a death wish, but wanting to die and wanting to see what one is capable of are too very different things. I began to ask myself if Chris really wasn’t as crazy as some people thought. Then I realized it was quite possible that the reason people thought he was crazy was because he had died trying to fulfill his dream. If he had walked away from his adventure like Krakauer, people would have praised him rather than ridicule. So I asked the question, “How does Krakauer’s life parallel Chris McCandlesses?”
Throughout the book Into The Wild, Chris McCandless repeatedly display his individual views and traits. Chris would purposely do things that society would look down upon to emphasize the fact that he was an individual and not mindlessly following the crowd like many people do. His eagerness to break societal rules wasn’t without purpose, in fact, Chris’ life “Hummed with meaning and purpose. But the meaning he wrested from existence lay beyond the comfortable path” (Krakauer 184). The quote is explaining that everything Chris did had a purpose even though it may have seemed buried or unreachable. Even though he did not value the things that most people deem as normal, he found purpose in his journey. One important trait, which influenced his individualism, was his disregard for what others thought about him. Chris did things for himself and not to please others; this disregard for other people’s opinions was present even when he was a sophomore in high school. His sister, Carine stated, “He didn’t care that it wasn’t a cool thing to do” (Krakauer 120). She then went on to say, “He didn’t seem interested in the money so much as the fact that he was good at making it” (Krakauer 120). It can be taken fr...
“There was just no talking the guy out of it,” Gallien recalls. “He was determined. He couldn’t wait to head out there and get started.” This precisely characterizes Christopher McCandless determination in Into the Wild because he says there was nothing he could not handle by himself. McCandless was not forced to live his life the way he did. He chose to abandon his nice life with all of his money as well as everyone and everything he had. He faced challenges every day that were much more difficult than the ones an average person would face on a daily basis. However, he still chose to stay fully committed to the way he was living his life.
In the novel Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, the protagonist, Christopher McCandless, displays isolation and independence almost to the point of narcissism but it was not until he set out on his journey into the wild that those closest to him realized the true height of his individualism. In McCandless’s eyes, people in his society have forgotten about the value in the pursuit of personal knowledge, the chase of individual happiness, and the existence without materialistic objects. On his journey, McCandless takes drastic measures to uncover, find and discover who he is and what he is capable of, isolating himself physically and mentally, driven by the idea that society urges men to conform.
... in his attempt to run away from himself, he was unable to truly escape Christopher McCandless. And although he was not truly successful in running away from his identity, McCandless appeared to succeed in running away from society and running away from the predictability of what life would bring. Departing from the heavy burdens he found in his society, his life, and the world was the only way McCandless seemed to truly be happy and he did just that. He let go of his worrying and concern and focused on bettering himself by connecting with nature. Eventually, McCandless realized that happiness is only real when it is shared (189) but without running away from society and the people who cared about him, he would not have stumbled upon that realization.
Gladwell demonstrates that hard work does not get people to high places but a series of opportunities and other factors will. What people have grown up to think about hard work is not true and it is demonstrated through these various examples. People will not be able to succeed, practice, and master their skills without opportunities, timing, devotion, and moral support. There is no such thing as “rags to riches” because those people would not be rich unless they had opportunities in their life. Remember that with out these key factors, people will never be able to succeed.
...can be a life-changing experience. McCandless entered the wild as an overly confident hitchhiker and left as a self-accepting and humble man. He thought that human relationships were futile, he was impervious to materialism, and that he could understand nature on a scientific level. However, McCandless left the wild with a newfound appreciation for humanity, some clarity on his purpose in life, and the ability to create his own legacy. Many people finish reading Into the Wild and form negative opinions about McCandless’ reckless behavior. However, it is important to focus on how being in the wild brought McCandless closer to understanding himself. Into the Wild should motivate humans to participate in explore the wilderness to discover the true meaning of life.
Many of the reasons behind this have already been discussed throughout this essay by stating the reasons as to why hard work and career are both more important. One of which is because social status can lead to negative affects in an individual. It is often shown through texts such as television films how a high ranking social status can ruin one’s morals. Films such as James Cameron’s, Titanic, show how people with higher social statuses can often lack the ability to show any respect at all to those whose social status is lower than their own. Due to this, a social status does not hold any information as to what kind of person someone truly is. Based on this, social status should not be viewed as more important than either hard work or a