Chris McCandless, also known as Alex Supertramp, went into the wild trying to look for an adventure and get away from society. Little did he know,the wild would eventually affect him and cause him death by starvation. Some people admire him while others think he is a reckless idiot. When in the wild, McCandless lived a transcendental life; he burned his money, got rid of his ID, and abandoned anything else he had in an embankment. Chris McCandless lived a transcendental life while in the wilderness and people view this experience differently. Chris McCandless believed the transcendental idea that material items are not necessary. In Walden, it states, “Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary to eat but one; …show more content…
The first reason I believe this is because he made a rash decision to go on a journey into the wild and did not prepare himself adequately. Yes, he may have been a smart man but nothing in his life had prepared him for his journey. The book states, “People from Outside...they’ll pick up a copy of Alaska magazine, thumb through it, get to thinkin’ ‘Hey, I’m goin’ to get on up there, live off the land, go claim me a piece of good life.’ But when they get here and actually head out into the bush- well, it isn’t like the magazine make it out to be.... Livin’ in the brush isn’t no picnic.( Chapter 1)” Another reason why I think he was an idiot is because Chris didn’t communicating with his family. His family had been there for him throughout his entire life and had supported him through everything so he should atleast do as much to tell them that he was okay. His father stated in the book, “That really scared us. By that point we had absolutely no idea what Chris could be up to.(Chapter 4)” I did like though that Chris was trying to be the person he really was in the inside. It would’ve been better though if he went about become his innerself a different way. I really do believe that Chris was an idiot thought to make this journey so unprepared and uneducated about what he was going to have to endure upon the
The line between rational and irrational thought is often blurred for some more than others. Usually when we cross this line into irrational thought our brain will let us know that what we are doing isn’t within reason. While many believe that Christopher McCandless was crazy and his ideas were ludicrous; I believe that he saw the line between rational and irrational thought very clearly, and that all though some of his ideas may have seemed crazy to some, he carried them out in sane body and mind. Chris was an extremist, a radical youth with different ways of thinking, and often we as a society tend to identify someone as crazy when we cannot comprehend the reasoning behind why a person would do something. Chris was not crazy, but he was
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”- Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalism is an American philosophy that revolves around self-reliance and independence, commonly in nature, a Transcendentalist wants to find the true meaning in life. I believe that Chris McCandless was a Transcendentalist because he was able to leave his whole life behind and take on a minimalist lifestyle while having a strong relationship with god. However, I believe that I am not a Transcendentalist, but simply an adventurer.
The Ignorance of Chris McCandless One day Chris McCandless decided to forget his whole present life and throw it all away. I don’t see how he could be so comfortable running away into the wilderness in Alaska. I think he already had a good life and could of had a better life. Chris was a young educated man who graduated from Wilbert Tucker High School and Emory University. I think his main reason for deciding to leave was because of the way his parents treated him.
He wasn’t afraid of not coming back alive. So when he went into the wild in Alaska, Chris felt like he was for sure going to come back and publish the book that he has written throughout his journey to show others that taking risks like this is totally okay. Unfortunately for Chris it wasn’t okay. I believe that he did not intend to “kill himself” for going into the wild with basically nothing.
Chris went off after he graduated college and “lived off the land”. Chris would travel to the coast of Mexico, the plains of Kansas, and the dunes of Nevada. Chris went on a final expedition to Alaska that cost him everything. In the following paragraphs I will fully detail how Chris was reckless, selfish, and naive. I will also explore how Chris tied his life to the beliefs of transcendentalism.
Kevin Sun Mrs. Cohen English 2CP --D February 22, 2018 Another Perspective The film Into the Wild is based on the life of Chris McCandless, a young man who rejected the consumerist society of America in order to live a more simple life. Through his travels, Chris carried essays by Transcendentalist philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, suggesting that McCandless is impacted by Transcendentalist ideals. Two key tenets of Transcendentalism that clearly influenced McCandless’ choices are the value of simplicity and the importance of self-reliance.
In the short story, “Death of an Innocent” by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless travels into the Alaskan wilderness with the intention of relying completely on himself. In the true spirit of transcendentalism, McCandless travels to escape the bounds of society and to remove himself from a materialistic world. Many argue, however, that Chris McCandless was not a transcendentalist because he travels to exotic lands as a means of avoidance, but actually, Chris McCandless is the epitome of a transcendentalist. Transcendentalists, however, rely on themselves and nature to survive and do not depend on material items. Transcendentalists romanticize individualism and believe that intuition is the best guide through life.
Into the Wild Essay Most people go into the wilderness to go camping for a week or less than a week, then leave. Some stay for more than a week. Chris McCandless was in the wild for at least one hundred days. “ I’ve decided to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and the beauty of it is too good to pass up.”(pg.92)
Into The Wild was a tremendous story which Shaun Callarman did not have many positive things to say about Chris McCandless, the main character. He went on this adventure to find out what life is all about in his own eyes. He wanted to see how different living in the wild really was compared to society because he was not satisfied with his living arrangements and household. Shaun’s quote says that he thinks “Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his Romantic silliness.
Although, Chris took action into going to the wild very quickly without thorough thinking of the consequences that could have come across his way he did have a very good time exploring the wild and met amazing people along the way that made him appreciate society in the long run. Chris had the opportunity to experience a different life other than the one he had. Unfortunately, he died because of the quick decision he made on going into the wild and not being prepared for it. Chris had a good life as a wealthy man, but he never enjoyed it. McCandless was very primitive and never bragged about his wealthiness.
As people age they change their mentality, views on society, and thoughts on how they want to live in the future. It is evident that Chris McCandless the protagonist from Into the Wild, went through this stage where he was stuck, tired of his parents, tired of school, grades and maybe even his friends, so he decided to just leave. According to Emerson from Nature, “The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.” This quote means that the youth are more innocent, and are instantly open to new options. Chris challenges Emerson
We have all made mistakes, for some they are small mistakes that do not impact anyone. For others, they are of mammoth proportions and have a preponderant impact on how people think, or say about them. In the book Into the Wild it tells about the journey of Chris McCandless who died in the Alaskan wilderness. Chris McCandless was definitely one of these people who made a big mistake. People around the globe have mixed feelings about this twentieth century adventurer.
Into the wild, is a book by Jon Krakauer that later got turned into a film by Sean Penn, it follows the life of Christopher McCandless, who graduated from Emory University as a top student and athlete with wealthy pushing parents. Instead of continuing his life as a working man of society and taking his offers at top law schools, he decides to ultimately completely disconnect himself from society and instead tries to find his own meaning of life in the wild. Shaun Callarman says “ I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time.” and i really agree with him on that because even though he left his college a top student the way he wanted to completely disconnect himself the way he did was ignorant. Not only that In the movie it clearly shows that even though he didn't want to connect with people on his journey to alaska he did, I think that if he wouldn't have been so set on being alone and not being attached to others he wouldn't have died the way he did.
Using evidence from the story I can clearly state that Chris McCandless from “Into the Wild” was full of braveness and courage, as well as arrogance and stubbornness. The last time his parent saw him alive he was muscular, clean shaven, and fresh off a college diploma. When he died he was skin and bone and had a very shaggy beard. He had so much to live for and threw it all away to follow his dreams.
Into The Wild was a tremendous story which Shaun Callarman did not have many positive things to say about Chris McCandless, the main character. He went on this adventure to find out what life is all about in his own eyes. He wanted to see how different living in the wild really was compared to society because he was not satisfied with his living arrangements and household. Shaun’s quote says that he thinks “Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his Romantic silliness.