When thinking of transcendentalism, one may see it as being defined as a theory in which someone does not need or want anything from others, they live to make themselves happy and genuinely free, to achieve their goal they must leave society and lose themselves, most of the time in nature, which will result in them finding themselves spiritually. In other words, a transcendentalist is one that does not desire the feeling of fitting in, they always remain true to their innermost roots and do not fall victim to the false image of happiness that society portrays, they long for ultimate freedom from the outside world.
In Chip Browns Article Now I walk into the Wild, the main character Chris McCandless is a young, independent, adventureseeking man, who one could recognize as a true transcendentalist. One may feel this way because Chris surrendered all material items, began relying solely on nature for survival and proved to show himself to be self-reliant. After reading Now I walk into the Wild, one could conclude that the Now I walk into the Wild is indeed considered to be a transcendental text.
First of all, in the essay Now I walk into the Wild, Chris had decided he wanted to be free, which caused him to come to the conclusion he had to give up all material items. While reading this essay one will come across Chip Brown saying, “Two Years He Walks The Earth. No Phone, No Pool, No Pets, No Cigarettes. Ultimate Freedom. ” (33). Chip Brown is saying that for his two-year long journey he had ditched the material items most human beings in this day in age would not be able to live without, Chris was able to excommunicate himself from the distractions of false happiness and discovered authentic freedom.
This quote shows Chris as a transcendentalist because he had a goal to achieve ultimate freedom from the outside world. He reached his goal by cutting off what people think is needed to be happy; he found happiness in the world by creating adventures for himself rather than smoking or laying by the pool talking on the phone. Chris had also showed himself to have lived life as a true transcendentalist when he abandoned the new car his parents had bought him, buried some of his belongings and set fire to his last hundred and twenty-three dollars as said by Chip Brown, “he had abandoned his car in an outwash plain near Lake Meadow… (28) and “He buried some of his belongings, burned the last of his money – a hundred and twenty-three dollars… ” (Chip Brown, 27).
These actions may not have been seen as a big deal to Chris, but to most people in society, it could be viewed as a ridiculous action and to some, who do not understand what he had planned for his life, cause outrage and anger. Those who find themselves feeling rage when hearing about Chris’ actions are often the ones questioning why would he do that when he could give the money or car to someone who is in desperate need of it, why did he not keep the money to buy food or necessary supplies.
The ones who question his actions are those who do not understand the mentality of a transcendentalist. As Ralph Waldo Emerson, who is looked at as the creator of the transcendentalism, says in the essay Nature; “To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. ” (2). The quote is talking about how for one to truly be alone in this world they must do away with material things to locate ultimate freedom. This is what Chris is trying to accomplish when he buried his belongings and burned the remains of his cash; it was a symbolic gesture that signified his pursuit of finding himself, happiness, and freedom.
Chris wanted to take nature unfiltered, unscreened, alone, and he found a characteristic solution to the problem of maps without blank spots: he threw the maps away. ” (Chip Brown, 27). In 2016 no one knows what it’s like to live life without a smartphone, computer, TV, or tablet. These devices are what defines most of us. Statistically, it is estimated that 83% of the United States could not go one day without the use of their smartphone and social media. When someone has a phone, they are not truly ever alone, with the power of social media, texting, and calling you’re always one touch away from someone.
This was not how Chris would ever think of think of living his life, he wanted freedom from the fakeness of the world, he wanted to be off rid. At the start of his journey he wanted to be in control of where he ended up, the thought of not knowing where he was going was all Chris wanted; he was looking to get lost. The same reasoning applies when Chris offers his watch to Gallien saying, “I’m just going to throw it away. I don’t want to know what day it is, or what time it is. ” (Chris McCandless, 31), this signifies his actual departure from society, he is finally giving up the thought of time.
Time is what seems to define the life of many, how many days until a holiday, a birthday, till a new life is started, or till a life is ended. Chris had come to the realization that his last step before the start of his journey was to relieve himself officially from the world he so desperately wanted to be estranged from. Chris has proven himself as a transcendentalist by getting rid of the distractions in life and objects that are not needed, it was all done in hopes of escaping the corrupt society and finding who he was meant to be.
Second of all, as mentioned previously for one to be seen as a transcendentalist they must leave society and lose themselves, most of the time in nature, to find who they really are spiritually. In the essay “Now | Walk into the Wild”, Chris decided to set out on an adventure in the woods where he would; hunt for his meals, seek a dry place to lay his head at night, and be provided with the basic essentials needed for survival. He had gone into the wilderness only bringing rice as he planned for nature to provide the rest. “I’ve got ten pounds of rice and that’s all I need,” he said.
That was half of what he carried on a trip to Mexico, he added. He had a book about edible plants and berries, “Tanaina Plantlore. ” But he didn’t have rubber boots, or waterproof gloves, or snowshoes, or an axe. ” (Chip Brown, 29). This quote is explaining how he did believe all he needed was his rice and book on what plants were safe to eat, that was what was going to be enough for him. Also in the essay nature, Emerson explains how nature will never harm you and is only there to help you and give you an escape from society.
If Emerson was correct then Chris believed, he could do it and succeed without all of the extras that he viewed as materialistic things society tricked you into thinking you needed. Brown then explains how lucky Chris was when he found the moose to hunt, in Alaska it was known as a major bonus to find a moose to eat due to the fact they are so big and when preserved correctly will last one a long time. “Around the ninth of June, the Aesthetic Voyager struck the subsistence equivalent of gold. “Moose! ” he [Chris] wrote, underlining the word twice. It was a major haul; cuts of moose have see many an Alaskan through lean times. (Chip Brown, 33).
A transcendentalist is one who doesn’t see the need to live by not doing for yourself they believe to understand yourself you must do for yourself, by going into the woods with the idea of using only natures resources for survival it is thought that you will truly know what its like to live life how it was intended to be lived. Lastly, when thinking of someone who, remains true to their innermost roots, without falling victim to the false image of happiness that society portrays, they long for ultimate freedom from the outside world one could often come to the conclusion they are self-reliant.
To say someone is self-reliant means they are independent, throughout their lives they rely on only themselves and their own personal powers and resources rather than those of others. Chris McCandless had proven himself to genuinely be a self-reliant man throughout his entire life. Chris was the type to think they could make it without any help from others, he wanted his life to his and did not want the words of others to influence his actions. While reading Now! Walk into the Wild, one will come across the quote that explains ust that “Chris McCandless chose his adventure; it was not compelled by a malfunctioning engine or a shift in the pack ice. ” (Chip Brown, 24). Chip Brown added this sentence to explain that many share a similar experience to Chris’ by accident rather than by choice.
It was obvious that Chris loved his lifestyle, he longed for his life long wilderness adventure he even said “My days were more exciting when I was penniless and had to Forage Around for my next meal… I’ve decided that I’m going to live this Life for some time to come. The Freedom and Simple Beauty of it is just too good to pass up. (Chris McCandless, 28). What Chris had meant by this was he rather have nothing because it offered him an adventure a way to live freely by seeing what he had to do for his next meal he saw unique beauty in the struggle, meaning he loved how he had to figure out everything on his own no one was going to just tell him what to do and how to do it, this was the life he did not want to give up.
This is also proven later on in the essay when Chip Brown informs the reader about an offer made to Chis, “Wayne offered to buy him a plane ticket, but Alex [Chris] preferred to hitchhike. (29). Chris had not wanted to take anything from anyone, like what was said before he longed for the adventure of living and he wanted did not want to miss out on anything, he was not one to take the easy way out. Chris had chosen to go into the woods with limited resources and without a way to signal the outside world, it was what he had decided to do, he wanted to find himself by getting lost and fending for all he had received. Since he had chosen this path of seclusion, many were against it and tried to talk him out of it, which upset him.
When Chris set on his fist adventure ever his, parents had required him to check in every so often, which soon angered him because he did just want to be his own person without the strings back home controlling him. That is proven in the essay when the following quote is stated: “He hated obliging his parents with call home every three days, and in subsequent summers he added those phone check-ins to the list of things he could do without. ” (Chip Brown, 26).
Another example of this is when Brown says, “He [Chris] pared away contact with his friends, with his mother and father and his sister, Carine. (24) this is explaining to the extent of how alone he really wanted to be, he of course loved his family but, he needed to live life for himself without distractions. This was not a new found trait from Chris, he had known his whole life he needed to be alone, he was someone who did not belong in society and would never be authentically happy living among the rest of the community. Chris had even said to his friend “Chris told me he thought he was going to be alone in his life,” (Don Springer, 26).
As he spent more time alone without dying or falling ill he saw it as success and, it caused him to get the boost needed to not give up and keep going. This is explained when Brown says; “His confidence grew as he mastered the hardships of the self-reliant life. ” (27). To be a transcendentalist one must be self-reliant and it was proven as time went on Chris had grew independently as time went on. In conclusion, after reading Now I walk into the Wild one could see that it in fact a transcendental text.
Chris had proven himself to have been a transcendentalist like the men who are looked at as being the creators of the word, Emerson and Thoreau. Starting with Chris throwing out and burning what he viewed as material objects in hopes of escaping society in order to find himself and ultimate freedom. Next he lived completely on earths resources to survive, similar to what Emerson wrote about in Nature. All ending with Chris’ showing of self-reliance throughout his journey, he had put all his trust into himself on deciding what was going to be the best decision for himself.
