Chris Mccandless Transcendentalism Essay

Chris McCandless: The Transcendentalist
People too often isolate themselves from the world around them, following a robotic pattern throughout life. Few have learned how to break away from this and show true independence. The opposite of this typical daily practice is called transcendentalism. It calls on people to view the objects in the world as small versions of the whole universe and to trust their individual intuitions. The two most noted American transcendentalists were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. An example of transcendentalism is the book "Into the Wild". In the book Chris McCandless serves as a prime example of transcendentalism. Chris goes through the motions of a normal kid all the way through college. After graduation, he cuts all connections he has to the monotonous everyday actions of his old life and starts a new journey. In his journey Chris learns many things about himself and develops a unique distinction from the image of a typical everyday man or women. He also learns to depend on self-reliance, and he uses nature to exercise his independence. With the
information gained though reading Emerson and Thoreau's essays and reading the book “Into the Wild", it can be said that Chris McCandless is a true modern day transcendentalist.
Emerson was a very important factor in the development of the idea of transcendentalism. He states that for an individual to find themselves, they need to make a connection with nature and through that make ties to who they really are when they are relying upon their independence. Chris' overall character throughout the book can be derived from a combination of both of Emerson's essays: "Nature" and "Self-Reliance". Emerson said in his essay "Self-Reliance" that "To be great is to be misunderstood". (Self-Reliance) You can take from this quote that almost all great people in the world's history have had a rare set of characteristics that set them apart from a typical person. Chris McCandless showed in the book that he had severed all his ties to modern day life right off in the beginning of his journey. After that he relied all upon his own intuition and weaved nature into his own independence as a guide. Chris didn't get stuck in the wild, he chooses to use nature and discover himself. Thoreau was also an important factor in the making of the idea of transcendentalism. One of the most important parts of transcendentalism is nature. You have to experience nature at some point and have that independence to fully understand the concept of finding your true self. Thoreau said in his essay "Where I Lived and What I Lived For", "Our life is tittered away by detail."(Where I Lived and What I Lived For). His essay revolves around the key concept of simplicity. With so many other things going on in everyday life, the essence of someone’s true self is lost and blended into the makings of a stressed out, undiscovered person just going through the motions. Chris McCandless proves in the book that he has broken away from these motions by taking refuge in himself and not worrying about being misunderstood. By getting off the beaten path that so many travel and making his own road to find out his own feelings, he is allowing himself access to that simplicity in life that others can't reach in their everyday lives. In the book "Into the Wild" Chris McCandless serves as the young spirit that makes the life changing choice to leave everyday commodities and take a journey of self-reliance and find himself through nature. The book revolves around the concept of Chris going through the motion of being an everyday average citizen, then right after graduating from college he snaps. Something in him makes him want to pursue a new life that will in the end let him find out who he truly is. In the book Chris says "The only person you are fighting is yourself and your stubbornness to engage in new circumstances." (Krakauer 58). This ideal of individualism is a core ideal in transcendentalism, and Chris shows this ideal throughout the book. Chris went down a road to find himself and to explain parts of him that couldn't be explained in his old life. He chose to start a new life, a new slate, and with nature by his side and no worries in the world except his own, he had the ability to figure out things about himself that can't be explained any other way but through experience, which is the true definition of transcendentalism. Chris McCandless is a rare type of person that you don't find in your everyday life.
It is human nature to either lead or follow, but in all reality whether u lead or follow doesn't matter because in the large picture everyone is following the same path. To be able to break that chain and make your own path in life takes a special person. Chris was able to break that chain and with nature’s simplicities, he was able to make something of his life in the end because he knew who he was. Chris McCandless was a true transcendentalist because he can be compared to the examples of both Thoreau and Emerson. In the end it can be said that there is not just one way to find ones true self. Chris found his true self by making a bond with nature, and through his encounters with the true simplicities of life in nature, he was able to enjoy the joys of life and make something of it
all.