I wrote a timed essay today and I’m not sure how I did. I feel like I may have gone with quantity over quality, and it doesnt make a lot of sense towards the end. I had 40 minutes to type it and I’m a junior. The goal was to prove whether or not Chris McCandless was a true transcendentalist.
Jon Krakeur’s Into the Wild tells the real-life story of young adventurer Chris McCandless who embarks on a perilous quest to live in the wild. McCandless traveled throughout North America in order to live in the rugged Alaskan wilderness. There has been strong and heated debate over whether Chris truly followed the ideals of Transcendentalism: a philosophical and literary movement that gained prominence during the 1820s. Throughout his journey, he followed the three main Transcendentalist tenants: a minimalist lifestyle, the disconnection of society, and a reverence for both God and nature.
A minimalist lifestyle is an austere way of living by getting rid of everything except for the fundamental needs. McCandless strictly follows this belief, for he does not accept any kind of luxury or materialistic opportunity. When his car becomes stuck in the aftermath of a flash flood, instead of feeling devastated, he is excited: “He saw the flash flood as an opportunity to shed unnecessary baggage....he arranged all his paper currency in a pile on the sand...and put a match to it. One hundred twenty-three dollars in legal tender was promptly reduced to ash and smoke” (29). McCandless recognized that loss of his once beloved car was actually a fortunate accident. He had gained a chance to throw off the remnants of his previously material-filled life, discarding any materialistic object that made his journey easier. Just like Transcendentalists, McCandless considered money to be a gateway to acquiring luxury and therefore the corrupting influence of materialism so McCandless wastes no time in destroying it. He adamantly refuses to take any opportunity to stray away from a minimalist lifestyle, believing that humanity’s natural state was living off the land. McCandless practices the idea of minimalism again when Jan Burres, a friend McCandless has met during his trip, urged him to take some long underwear and other warm clothing when McCandless was getting ready to leave. He “eventually took it to shut me [Burres] up”...but the day after he left, I found most of it in the van. He's pulled it out of his pack when we weren't looking and hid it up under the seat” (46). McCandless proved his ironclad conviction once again, not allowing even his good friends to sway him from his austere lifestyle. He gave up something that could help him survive in the name of anti-materialism, and therefore in the name of Transcendentalism as well. His strong and committed way of living a minimalist lifestyle helps him become closer to the ideal Transcendentalist man.
Christopher McCandless, who also goes by Alexander Supertramp, alienates himself from society, avoiding intimate relationships with other people. For example, he strays away from Robert Franz's offer of adopting Alex to become his grandson, after the two of them form a close relationship: “'So I [Franz] asked Alex if I could adopt him, if he would be my grandson.' McCandless, uncomfortable with the request, dodged the question: “We'll talk about it when I get back from Alaska, Ron” (55). McCandless shields himself from any sign of attachment to other people he encounters in order to follow Transcendentalist ideals. He treats human bonding as a distraction from his real goal: to achieve total independence and a spiritual connection with nature. Charlie, a man who McCandless briefly acquainted himself with during his journey, reports that McCandless was not much of a people person. He states that Chris “'Didn't like to be around too many people”, and was “Temperamental...He'd get moody, wouldn't like to be bothered” (42). McCandless becomes antisocial because he values and follows the Transcendentalist ideal of minimizing human contact. He instead often becomes invested in reading books, especially books by Jack London and Henry David Thoreau, writers who wrote about the beauty of nature. McCandless mirrors the typical Transcendentalist because he prefers solitude over socialization, believing that being alone in nature is a much more meaningful and spiritual experience.
This philosophical movement also has a major religious and nature aspect. Transcendentalists believe in a core spiritual connection, which is between God, Man, and Nature. McCandless strong belief in this bond is shown through his veneration of the natural environment around him. He has a great respect and admiration for nature and its spiritual connection with God. In a letter to Franz, McCandless shows his excitement for God and nature by mentioning how much there is to life, encouraging Franz to explore more often: “You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in everything and anything we might experience” (57). McCandless is telling Franz that friendships and relationships are not a path to true happiness. Instead, truly experiencing nature is the secret to happiness. He mentions that God is the one that has placed all these possibilities of happiness around people, much like Transcendentalists believed that God was in nature itself. McCandless shows this reverence in one of the last days of his life, when he writes a short goodbye to the world: “I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!” (199). In the final moments of McCandless's life, he expresses his true feeling about his long journey by praising his God along with everyone else in his life. This shows his deep respect to God for his adventurous and fulfilling life by thanking the heavens. McCandless often talks about his religion because he believes that God has taken a large part in making his life so exciting and therefore feels grateful for it.
Christopher McCandless follows the Transcendentalist lifestyle by detaching himself from society, living with only essentials, and following his religion full-heartedly. His life choices and philosophical ideas he brings up throughout his journey to Alaska follows the ideal Transcendentalist life to a sufficient degree, which is why so many Transcendent followers have become infatuated with his character and his story in Krakauer’s Into the Wild.