Into the Wild Trans Essay

Transcendentalism is a long word to describe very free-minded people. Throughout the novel â€Å"Into the Wild† Chris McCandless, the main character, ventures off into the wild to experience nature at a personal level. Chris comes from a household in which personal relationships, between him and his parents, were not present. While living in this environment, Chris never really felt as if he belonged. It did not take too long before Chris had packed up his bags with nothing but a rifle, rice, and a roadmap and was off into the wilderness. The actions and thoughts in which Chris had experienced resembled those of a transcendentalist thinker. The most distinct three transcendentalists in whom he coincided with include: Whitman, Thoreau, and Emerson. During Chris’s journey, he spent the fair majority of his time camping out or exploring what nature had to offer him. Miles and miles from home, Chris had started to feel a little sense of relief. Whitman was a strong believer in the idea of separation of oneself from everything in order to feel relieved and free to learn and understand who they truly are. This technique helps one to truly get to know themselves and the person that they actually are, not who they are when they are living under the standards of society. Once Chris had reached a resting place far enough away from home the author described his state as follows, â€Å"He was unheeded, happy, and near to the wild heart of life. He was alone and young and willful and wildhearted, alone amid a waste of wild air and brackish waters and the seaharvest of shells and tangled and veiled grey sunlight† (31). This helps to reveal that as Chris got farther and farther into the wilderness and away from society he was overjoyed and all wrapped up in nature and what it has to offer. Whitman himself also spent a sufficient amount of time amongst nature. His spot was in a dark and somber swamp, a place in which people do not usually live. During his time there, he studied nature, plants and animals all in which helped his to â€Å"unravel† himself. Likewise, Chris came to some personal realizations in which he didn’t know before. â€Å"I prefer the saddle to the streetcar and the star-spangled sky to a roof, the obscure and difficult trail, leading into the unknown, to any paved highway, and the deep peace of the wild to the discontent bred by cities†(87). This statement was made by Chris, when he finally departed from the city and into the free land. If he had not left he would have continued to belief that he liked what he was experiencing in society. When people do not know any other way of living, they truly do not know what else is out there. During ones childhood they are placed under the standards of society and do not know any better, this was Chris’s way of breaking free. Chris experienced himself through studying and living amongst nature, just as Whitman did. On this expedition, not only did Chris connect with nature, but he also found that inner connection with himself. Thoreau theorized that if man was to become unconcerned with his outward person and only follow and live by the needs and desires of ones self they would thrive and live in a natural state. He advocated that alone in the woods one is stripped of their expression, because there is no one to express ideas and thought to except oneself. If there is no one or no society to force fake expression what is found is the real and true self and identity. Chris had escaped from the society standards and was finally left to be on his own. After recognizing this he suggests that, â€Å"As if all your life you had been led by the hand like a small child and suddenly you were on your own, you have to learn to walk by yourself. There was no one around, neither your family nor people whose judgment you respected†(103). No longer did Chris have to follow traditions, customs, or rules. Once Chris had abandoned society, he had left certain regulations and standards, leaving him to be himself. Chris was almost starting on a fresh slate and striving to find his own identity. This coincides with Thoreau’s belief that by living alone in the woods, one could achieve a state of tranquility and through experience he could come to a better understanding of life and the â€Å"self†. By testing and experiencing new ideas, in the eyes of Thoreau, one was truly â€Å"living the life†. Throughout Chris’s adventure, there were numerous times where he would stop and reflect on another part of himself in which he had just recognized and discovered. Later on in the novel Chris blissfully exclaims, â€Å"The beauty of this country is becoming part of me. I feel more detached from life and somewhat gentler (†¦) I have always been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. Always I want to live more intensely and richly† (91). As stated before, Chris had always felt as though he was and had to live up to a certain standard and it was really starting to debilitate him. As soon as Chris started to think for himself and make his own decisions, which is necessary to survive in the wild, he realized his own ideals and the way in which he wanted to live his life. Just as Thoreau theorized, Chris would not have not had the ability to â€Å"live the life† if he hadn’t had gone out and tested/experienced new ideas. Courage and self-trust really motivated Chris to keep going and to not give up hope. Emerson was a strong supporter of the phrase â€Å"trust thyself†. He believed that every individual possesses a unique identity that can only be revealed when the individual has the courage to trust his or her own thoughts, attitudes, and inclinations even when the public may not approve. During Chris’s trip he never really knew what to expect when he departed and as he continued on. â€Å"Setting out in small, open boats, built from cowhide stretched over light wicker frames, they crossed one of the most treacherous stretches of ocean in the world without knowing what, if anything, they’d find on the other side† (97). Just as all the other people to go out and take on this same challenge, courage and trust from within was what kept them going. If Chris had not have believed in himself that he could go out and survive on this journey he may not even have made it out the door. Emerson had a strong opinion that each individual must develop a personal understanding of the universe. Chris really reflected this opinion in his desire to go out and experience the world on a more personal level. Emerson writes in â€Å"Prospects†, â€Å"The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken in heaps, is because man is disunited with himself. † Emerson believes that in order for a strong society to develop each individual needs to have a strong sense of who they are. This was one of the main reasons why Chris went on this trip, to figure out who he truly was. Throughout the novel, Chris McCandless resembles all three of these transcendentalist thinkers. Whether it was through his actions or thoughts, Chris exemplifies many ideals and beliefs of these men. If it was not for Chris’s free mind and free spirit he may not have ever thought to encounter such a journey. Although the journey did not turn out well in the end, Chris learned bountiful lessons that benefitted him as an individual.