Trancendentalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Chris McCandless

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Recommended: Chris McCandless is a transcendentalist

Ralph Waldo Emerson is known as the father of Transcendentalism, a philosophical movement based on feelings rather than logic, it is a movement for the nonconformists and unique thinkers. Transcendentalism’s main ideas are individualism, intuition, imagination, idealism, and inspiration. When Emerson created the movement in the nineteenth century he was a well known writer and is still today a prominent figure in American Literature. Christopher McCandless was also a transcendentalist. He left everything he had in order to go on a great Alaskan voyage. Unfortunately, during his journey, something went wrong and he died due to uncertain causes. McCandless is also the protagonist of the nonfiction novel, Into the Wild which Jon Krakauer wrote about McCandless’s life. Emerson and McCandless show similarities with each other such as their transcendental thinking, their individuality, and their life goal of searching for their identity.

Emerson is known as the father of Transcendentalism because he was the founder of the movement. His writings appealed to both intellectuals and the general public even if his new ideas were hard for most of society to understand. Emerson’s entire life journey was transcendental. He was constantly thinking outside of society’s norms. Emerson once said “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist” (Emerson). Emerson means that to be a real man you cannot conform to what society wants you to be. Society tends to want everyone to think the same way and do what they are told to do. A man cannot go around following others and not thinking for himself.

McCandless was also a follower of transcendentalism. He read the works of transcendental authors thought similarly to them. On his Alaskan...

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...d Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood” (Emerson).

Works Cited

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self-Reliance." Ralph Waldo Emerson-Texts. Ed. Jone Lewis. Jone Johnson Lewis, 2001. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor, 1997. Print.

Stewart, Ruari. "Christopher McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp." Chris McCandless Now I Walk Into The Wild. N.p., 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

“Ralph Waldo Emerson.” PB Works. Ed. Jenny Sindon. PB Works, 2009. Web. 17 Apr. 2014

“Ralph Waldo Emerson-Quotes.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes (Author of Self -Reliance and Other Essays). Goodreads, 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

“Ralph Waldo Emerson-Quotes”. Ralph Waldo Emerson-Quotes. Ed. Jone J. Lewis. The Transcendentalists. Web. 15 Apr. 2014

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