Into The Wild Transcendentalism Analysis

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What are the qualities of transcendentalism? Well, in literal definitions, “transcend” means to rise above, and “-ism” means a belief or thought, mostly religious. So what did Chris McCandless, adventure seeker and main character of Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, do to show this idea of “transcendentalism” originally created by Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson? Chris McCandless reflected the main ideas of Thoreau and Emerson through his beliefs, philosophies, and his “faith”. To begin with, Chris McCandless had many beliefs that separated him from the normal aspects of life. One of these beliefs was self-reliance. McCandless showed his self-reliance many times throughout the story, mainly near the end, when he denied everyone who wanted to help him and kept going by himself even though he was doomed for death. He was very good at realising the people …show more content…
One example is his philosophy for living free, which he shows many times throughout the story. Not only does he give up his savings and his prestigious life in Alaska, but he refuses to go back, regardless of his condition. Many people condemned, scolded, and ridiculed him, but as long as he was happy with his life and had what he wanted, he didn’t care because he was spiritually free. Another philosophy of Chris McCandless is the freedom from solitude. Chris was not a great hunter, gatherer, or anything that involved survival, but that didn’t stop him from becoming what he wanted to be and living the lifestyle he wanted. This idea of freedom from solitude does not necessarily mean completely cutting yourself off from everyone to be free of mind, but it means not being influenced by any outside opinion to change your mind so that you can have complete self-sufficiency. But, the question is, are these philosophies showing his self-reliance or his
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