Into The Wild Transcendentalism Essay Sample

Oftentimes, people surround themselves by an idea or set of ideas that they wish to abide by, in order to convince themselves that they do embody those ideals. However, just because one attempts to live by an idea does not mean they will succeed. In “Into the Wild”, Chris McCandless is not a transcendentalist, and his abandonment of society is a direct result of his inability to resolve his personal problems. McCandless proves this through his constant relying on society, and the author John Krakauer explains that McCandless likely left because of his desire to fix familial issues.

Chris McCandless, at his core, is not a transcendentalist. McCandless parts from the rest of society in a desperate attempt to solve his personal problems, not because he wishes to uncover great moral truths about the world, or follow in the footsteps of transcendentalist thinkers. Chris McCandless is unprepared for his journey, immature, and violates basic principles of transcendentalism at every step of his journey. He can be seen at many times, acting in a way that bears almost no resemblance to that of a typical transcendentalist. Krakauer writes about one instance where Chris McCandless is ver immersed in society writing that “After working there eleven days with six other vagabonds, it became clear to McCandless that Ernie had no intention of ever paying him, so he stole a red ten-speed bicycle from the clutter in the yard, pedaled into Chico, and ditched the bike in a mall parking lot”. In instances like these, Chris McCandless does not honor a transcendentalist way of life, intending to obtain money and material possessions through working in society, not relying on himself but relying on others to help him live. On another occasion, when Chris leaves to reenter the wilderness after having gone back into society again, Westerberg, one of those he had been staying with explains that “When McCandless hugged Borah good-bye…’I noticed he was crying’” (Krakauer 54). This once again demonstrates through the fact that Chris McCandless enjoys and benefits from social interactions and relationships with others that he does not truly align with the ideas he says he wishes to live by. The author of the book, John Krakauer, compares himself to McCandless in chapter 15, describing the time when he climbed the devil's thumb. He states that “like Chris McCandless, I was a raw youth who mistook passion for insight and acted according to an obscure, gap-ridden logic. I thought climbing the Devil's Thumb would fix all that was wrong with my life. In the end, of course, it changed almost nothing” (Krakauer 155). Here, Krakaeur concedes that Chris's actions were essentially an impulsive last attempt to find a solution to his familial issues, and not necessarily a brave transcendentalist adventure. Krakauer acknowledges the immaturity of McCandless and makes it clear that intention behind the journey was not what chris attempted to convince himself it was. 

There is merit to the claim that Chris McCandless does qualify as a transcendentalist due to his obvious love of transcendentalist thinking and the works of writers like Thoreau. At many points in the book, McCandless references the works of Thoreau, and appears to adore his works, one of which being on page 23 where Krakauer describes Chris as a “latter-day adherent of Henry David Thoreau” who “took as gospel the essay "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" and thus considered it his moral responsibility to flout the laws of the state” (Krakauer 23). One could deduce from this that Chris would inevitably have to be a transcendentalist as well, and it is seemingly obvious from this description and his constant references to transcendentalist writers that he aligns almost completely with their thought process. However, it is important to note that one can consume as much material on a specific world view as they want, but not hold that view themselves. If Chris were truly a transcendentalist he would not participate in the normal societal interactions that he does so often even during his supposed abandonment of civilization. McCandless could drown himself in as many works from Thoreau as he wanted, but he would still only qualify as a true transcendentalist if his actions matched the words that he read and spoke about so often.

Overall Chris McCandless demonstrates throughout the book that he cannot be considered a transcendentalist. Chris does not follow a transcendentalist way of life and his constant relying on others and the rest of society proves that. McCandless appears to be a transcendentalist at first glance, but after a thorough analysis of his actions, the motivation behind them becomes clear. His action demonstrates that just because one does something that appears to be genuine, it does not mean that the motivation behind that action is consistent with the way it looks from the outside.