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  • Essay / Chris Mccandless is a transcendentalist at Chris...

    Transcendentalism is living and communicating simply and in nature to find yourself. Chris McCandless can be considered a transcendentalist in the book Into the Wild. Jon Krakauer tells the story of Christopher McCandless, who, in June 1990, embarked on an adventure across the continent. After traveling everywhere and living alone for two years, Chris decides to hitchhike up north to live on the land of Alaska. 4 months later, Christopher was found dead. Although Chris's adventure was fatal, his beliefs and actions throughout the book were undoubtedly those of a transcendentalist. Chris McCandless is considered a transcendentalist for many reasons, one of them being his self-reliance. One of the main concepts of Transcendentalism is relying on the choice to live deliberately to find true happiness. While at college, Chris lived off campus in a spartan apartment, with a few checkouts, electricity, and water. After graduating from college, he left behind a middle-class life full of education and materialistic objects to embark on an adventure that would allow him to go into nature to find his true self. Which most people in society would call crazy. A quote from Henry David Thoreau says: “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!” » (Walden) Thoreau said that people should live simple lives, without material possessions controlling their happiness. Chris understood that materialism does not create true happiness or satisfaction. He left the comfort of his home to get out into nature. He gives away his possessions, which society values ​​too much. He gives his money to charity and burns the money he left in his wallet. He began a simple life hitchhiking, finding food and shelter in nature and being adventurous with the land and sights around him. Thus stating that he rejects social views and property values ​​in search of a higher purpose within. Besides many of Chris's books, Walden, a book about thinking about simple life immersed in nature, was found among his belongings, giving people a better understanding of Chris's mind. “Rather than love, than money, than glory, give me the truth” (Chapter 18, Walden); this passage was highlighted in Chris's copy of the book in which he wrote "TRUTH" on it. These words represent the morality he preached and practiced. The “truth” for him was an answer he wanted to know to discover his life’s purpose. The truth of life and existence is only achievable by personally satisfying one's goals and moving away from societal expectations. Chris was not one to sit back and let society define his path. Instead, he took control of his own destiny and found his own "truth." Overall, Chris McCandless should be considered a transcendentalist. He chose to live a simple life, with a spartan apartment and living in the woods, lived a simple life in an off-campus apartment until he left to live on the land in the Alaskan wilderness and relies on himself and his skills and talents to succeed. he. Although he was unhappy and did not live to tell the tale, his beliefs and ideas will be remembered as those of a transcendentalist. Someone who believes that one must live and communicate simply and in nature to find