“Everyman, I will go with thee and by thy guide, in thy most need to go by thy side,” said Randolf Hayes while talking about Ralph Waldo Emerson. One of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s pieces of literature is The American Scholar. This connects to Jon Krakuaer’s novel, Into the Wild. All of these pieces connect because they all show transcendentalism.
I think that McCandless has a great deal of respect for Franz. In the letter McCandless writes to Franz, he talks about how beautiful life is. I connected this to the question “What would a barrier of natural respect look like?” I love how McCandless says “God has placed it around us. It is everything and anything we experience.” The way he tries to tell Franz to go discover the world is so persuading because the way he describe the outdoors and life is so passionate and beautiful. McCandless views life as a true transcendentalist and embraces the natural world and steps away from society while Franz keeps to himself and fears stepping out of his comfort zone. McCandless sets on that journey not to prove anything but to find himself. McCandless...
Beliefs are what define humans not as a society, but as individuals. Individualism is a large part of Transcendentalism, which was a movement started in the mid-nineteenth century led by figures such as Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Into the Wild, written in 1997 by Jon Krakauer, is a modern novel that examines a transcendentalist young adult. That young man is Chris McCandless, who leaves his family at the age of 23 to live the Transcendentalist dream. He hitchhikes and travels through many rivers and cities to get to Alaska, the place where he believes he can finally experience that dream. Transcendentalism is the idea that humans are innately one with nature, and therefore God, and that nature is the only place where humans belong because society is poisonous. By enjoying himself and connecting with god through the environment in an isolated location, Chris McCandless demonstrates that he is a faithful Transcendentalist.
Both Thoreau and McCandless were against materialism. Thoreau feels that “Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind” (Thoreau, Walden 28). He thinks that dependance of worldly possessions hidera ones chance of finding their true self. McCandless had a similar mentality, and acted upon that belief. An example of this is when “…he saw the flash flood as an opportunity to shed unnecessary baggage. He concealed the car as best he could beneath a brown tarp, stripped it of its Virginia plates, and hid them” (Krakauer 29). McCandless was not tied to his own possessions, he was happy to leave them in the middle of no where. Through reduction of worldly possessions and materials, the message that both McCandless and Thoreau throw at the readers is to have a simplistic life without the concerns coming from worldly possessions. These possessions deter one from the true meaning of life.
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.
...st. He wanted them to strive for excellence like himself. McCandless wanted the best for everyone. This started to bring out the transcendentalist that was boiling inside of him. He knew he had to get out and achieve his goal in life, and that is exactly what he did. Christopher McCandless is admirable for not only trying to help other achieve their absolute highest potential, but for also self-actualizing himself in the process.
...fe for oneself. McCandless primary tragic flaw being his unwillingness to form long-term relations brought him both to the happiest moment of his life, but also to his demise. McCandless never had a problem with people, but rather with the status quo of society, the idea that a man or a woman has to live inside of a coordinate plane. McCandless left home and went on his adventure simply for his own well being, he achieved both what he wanted to accomplish while learning a valuable lesson along the way. He learned that happiness must be shared, and while everyone has his or her flaws, it is important to let these go. Christopher McCandless should teach people the importance of following your dreams, and the importance of enjoying the natural serenity of life.
These are also transcendental principles. McCandless says to Ron Franz during their last encounter , "I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things" Franz followed Chris words its crazy how the astonishing ability of Christopher McCandless to win friends and influence people. Not only did he befriend Ronald Franz, but he convinced the old man to change his ways at a time in life when most people have settled down for good at 80 years old. It is important to understand that McCandless fled society not because he couldn't get along with others, but because he chose to be alone and his choices led him into the Alaskan Wilderness on a bus with little to no
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...
...en writing a book based on ethos, logos and pathos, it is very challenging for an author to stay completely objective. In Krakauer’s case, his bias comes out strongly in certain chapters, sometimes detracting from his argument. Some faults exist in his credibility and logic, but his use of emotional appeal makes up for what those areas lack. Krakauer does an excellent job developing the character of Chris McCandless. The author brings him back to life with his descriptions and is able to make him tangible to the reader. The discussion over what McCandless's thoughts were when he went on his fatal trek will continue as long as his memory lasts. Ultimately, the readers of Into the Wild are left to form their opinion of McCandless, with Krakauer nudging them along the way.
After reviewing Krakauer’s writing, we can see that he uses devices to connect to the reader. Whether it is providing epigrams or Krakauer’s own personal beliefs. He also proves to the reader that he shares the same ideology as McCandless making him a bit more creditable telling McCandless’ story. Then the reader can infer that McCandless believes that nature is a place of healing, and that it is his dream. As Krakauer demonstrating McCandless dreams, he gives us a chance to reflect on our own dreams.
Transcendentalism plays a key role in all of our lives. Many commonly shared values are rooted from the transcendental keys. Some devote their entire lives to try and live as transcendental as possible. For example, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson were huge undertakers in these ideas and virtues. Chris McCandless looked up to these great thinkers and many others to find an outline for his life. McCandless dedicated his entire life to following many transcendental keys such as non-conformity, reducing dependence on property, and self-reliance.
...elligence to help him last an extended period of time in the Alaskan wilderness. In truth, McCandless was someone who wanted to find himself. He wanted to get away from a life in which he could not find fulfilment, which is something many others would be able to relate to. Although most people would not go to such extremes to find fulfilment, everyone has a different way of finding happiness and going after what their heart truly desires. For McCandless, his desire was to live out in the wild. Unfortunately, this man of great character did not succeed in getting out alive. However, that does not change the fact that he tried. McCandless knew what he wanted for himself and he persisted, regardless of the obstacles he faced. He put an incredible amount of effort into accomplishing his goals and never gave up, and that is why Christopher McCandless is someone to admire.
Consequently, he also shows us the difficulties that most do not expect upon leaving for such a journey. Many speak about the advantages, like the freedom they enjoy, and the wondrous relationships formed along the way; but even so, some disadvantages outweigh the advantages, like the It creates such a unique situation for everyone that you would have never known otherwise. Such was the case of Ronald Franz and McCandless, when their paths crossed in January of 1992. In the text, a bit of dialogue was, “When he returned to McCandless’s camp and launched into the self-improvement pitch, though, McCandless cut him off abruptly “Look, Mr Franz,” he declared, “you don’t need to worry about me. I have a college education.
Ralph Waldo Emerson is a transcendentalist with ideas and beliefs that I see to be values people should follow, such values are self-reliance and individualism. Just in school grounds, it is completely visible that not many students are relying on themselves to become successful or do anything in particular. For example, homework is something students always receive, and there is definitely a good amount of students who do not understand it, therefore some don’t even bother touching it. But the day it is due, they are able to turn it in because they received the answers from their friends. That then ends up to the student receiving a low grade in tests. It’s better to study and look how to do it online and understand it instead of copying answers.
When McCandless first embarked on his journey, he believed that he needed to get rid of all his material possessions to get the most out of life. For example, in one of his first journal entries, McCandless wrote that he was better off experiencing the wild without camera because memories and experiences gave life meaning. From a Platonic perspective, cameras can only capture a fraction of reality and pictures are simply representations of a real event. By refusing to bring a camera, McCandless made a powerful and Platonic statement about materialism. Although materialism can often obscure the human perception ...
McCandless was a fearless human being. I think that most of the people’s ideologies and personalities have to do with how they were raised by the parents and everything that was taught to them. When a lack of love exists from a parent towards his child, a hate can be created without knowing it. McCandless could have gone away from society to escape reality or, for being in a place where he could find himself at peace. Either one, we can assume that he obviously had different ideas about civilization; the idea of having a life full of danger and adventure inspired and excited him.