Who Is Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance”, he states that “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure”. That was much of the country’s reaction when it came to reading about Chris McCandless, a man who set off into the woods to try and go against the grain of society who then succumbed to mother nature, in Jon Krakauer’s novel “Into the Wild”. Many of those readers would have considered Chris dumb and ignorant, but I see Chris as following his beliefs with those beliefs relating to Transcendentalism.

To start, Chris comes from an affluent neighborhood with his need not being money or lodging. Instead he strives to find something more than just the suburbs. Emerson said, “In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets and villages.” Which can be directly compared to Chris’s reasoning’s and actions throughout the story. Chris also mentions that “he’d grown tired of Bullhead
Emerson said, “but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude…”. He believed that being self-sufficient amongst a crowd who were reliant upon one another was the definition of a great man. As stated before, Chris was a person who didn’t rely upon others and their handout’s. He worked hard for what he could get as depicted in Chris’s journal when he logged what he had achieved that day such as “‘A THIRD PORCUPINE! Squirrel, Grey Bird.’ On June 5.” He hunted by himself using the supplies that he had procured along his journey and seemed to be successful.

To Conclude, Chris McCandless was a young man set to achieve his goals which were in line with the ideas of transcendentalism. Much of his actions and thoughts were similar to those of Emerson and Thoreau. He did what he wanted to do and did so successfully eventually leading up to him walking into the