Transcendentalism is known as the philosophical movement as a protest to the general state of culture and society. Many Transcendentalists include Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. The way Chris McCandless acted during the end of his life were a lot like these Transcendentalists. Many people, including myself, would consider Chris McCandless to be a Transcendentalist. The ways that he hated on society, burned his money after he ruined his car, and went out into the Alaskan nature all by himself show that he is a true Transcendentalist.
As shown in the movie especially, Chris McCandless hates society. In the scene where Chris is in a bar with Wayne Westerberg, he starts yelling about “Society” and how it’s bad when he is telling Wayne about his trip to Alaska. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s, “Self-Reliance”, it says on line 15, “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.”. Ralph Waldo Emerson is saying here that Transcendentalists are nonconformists and that they do not like society. This is exactly how Chris McCandless behaves, so that is why many people believe he is a Transcendentalist.
When Chris McCandless burns his money, he is also showing that he is a nonconformist. By burning his money, he is showing that he is not willing to conform with society and saying that this money is useless. The definition of material is, “A tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important that spiritual values.”. Transcendentalists do not like materialism and are very against it. By owning money, Chris McCandless would have been materialistic, which would go against what he believes in, which are the beliefs of many Transcendentalists. By being a nonconformist and non-materialistic, Chris McCandless acts a lot like other