Use the Transcendentalism quote packet and ideas you got from our seminar discussion to help you formulate a response to ONE of the ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS for Into the Wild.
Post your response UNDER the question you are responding to. You MUST use one of the quotes from the packet to help you develop your response. You should also use relevant details from Into the Wild to develop ideas and connections. LENGTH = approx. 150 words.
***Remember to use the pattern of development as you incorporate the quote in your writing!!!
After you post your response, read some of the responses posted by your classmates and reply to 1 or 2 others. Your reply can be shorter (about 2 or 3 sentences).
In your reply you can do any of the following:
* relate their ideas to another example from the book or the quote packet* offer a different perspective
* ask a question about something
* talk about connections or insights that came to you after reading the post
Who is Chris McCandless? Is he a hero trying to live life according to his beliefs? Is he selfish? Is he afraid of commitment? Is a lunatic? Is he an idealist or an idiot? Is he just suicidal?
ReplyDeleteChris McCandless is an interesting individual. He lives to a beat from a different drummer. Chris likes the challenge of survival without the use of unnecessary materials or tool, just the bare minimum. Chris embodies the quote, “I do not wish to be any more busy with my hands than is necessary” perfectly. Chris burns his money, abandons his car, only has a bag of rice for food, and so on. To trained outdoorsmen, the professionals would say that Chris is underdressed or unprepared to survive correctly. But to Chris, he thinks he’s surviving tho only right way, with minimal help from the outside world. The quote from Thoreau that Chris takes to heart almost gives Chris an excuse to cut out his family and friends and live his life like a lone wolf. This is what I believe makes him selfish. He doesn’t believe that he needs people or materialistic things in life because to him, they are not necessary.
DeleteI agree. He went about his day messaging back those he met for 2 or 3 days, but he didn't make any effort to contact his family that has been there for him since he was born. that also makes him selfish.
DeleteI believe that Chris is just selfish. He decided to drop everything and go live life as the Transcendentalist writers wrote, without thinking twice and thinking about how it would affect all of the people that cared for him. He believed in the writings of Thoreau, which called for man to give up a routine and go live a simple wholesome life in the wilderness. Thoreau says in one of his quotes that “an honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes”. In this he is saying that we, as human beings, should not overthink the things that happen in our lives. Chris takes this to heart and while he is on his journey, he does not think too far ahead and just lives in the moment and never looks back. He never calls his family to tell them that he is ok, never returns to the same place, except Carthage, and just leaves everything behind attempting to live the simplest life possible. While this is a noble thing to do, dropping everything and just following your heart, it is also a very selfish thing to do because he hurt the ones that loved him.
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DeleteI agree with Liam and Rebecca as well. Despite the fact that he had not had the best relationship with his family, they were still there for him. They were deeply distraught when he went missing, thinking the worst happened, while he was traveling around the country, only thinking about himself
DeleteAnton, I agree with you but only to a certain degree. Yes he did die doing something that he could have avoided. But he died doing something that he wanted. According to himself he had meaning to his life. He finished his bucket list. How many people can say they did that and mean it? Personally I don't think that the idea of dying even scared him compared to how it would scare us. He did what he wanted. He had no worries.
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DeleteChris McCandless is a young man who didn’t fall under your stereotypical kid, he struggled with family issues as a kid which caused him to maybe be a little extreme with his actions to get back at his. He never really agreed with the choices his parents made, he always felt that they weren’t doing the right thing for him and all those things are believed to be part of the reason he went on his journey. Chris McCandles isn’t what I would define as a hero, I do admire what he he did as a far as him following his dream and believing in something so strongly, but I think the way he did things was a selfish act. He just abandoned so many people that cared so much about him and he would walk away from them, not explaining a thing to any of them. I think that if he explained things to his friends and family he walked away from, they would’ve not liked it but they would feel less abandoned. I don’t think he is a lunatic or an idiot, he was someone who had very strong opinions and this caused him to go to extremes to prove it. I don’t think he was suicidal but when it came to his journey if he died on his journey i don’t think he would’ve called that journey a failure, just like in the Transcendentalist Philosophy packet quote 20 says “ If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected” this quote really follows Chris’s beliefs that if you follow your dreams and do what you want you will find success, and this is exactly what Chris did.
To me, Chris is just another person in the world who is trying to get in touch with himself and basically just escape his problems. In no way is he a hero because it’s not like he did anything to make a difference in society, all he did was leave, abandon his life. I honestly don’t get why he would do something like that, like yes I understand it can be hard to find out something about your family, but that’s in the past and it’s not his mistake. Shouldn’t he try and at least move on from it, without physically leaving? I believe that Chris is somewhat selfish due to the fact that there are people in this world that only have one parent, divorced parents, or no parents at all, and in his situation he has parents that are constantly there for him, that love him. Thoreau states that ”As he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex” which ties in with Chris because he just wants to let go, he wants to be free and do what he wants to do, and by doing this he doesn’t think of anyone but himself.
DeleteChris McCandless was a guy who had so much potential in this world.He was really smart and could've gone to any school in the world but instead went on a bogus journey that had no meaning in my opinion. While he was traveling, he said "I enjoy being penniless and waiting for my next meal to come." That belief led to his death. I think he is a big idiot throwing everything he had away. He wanted to get away from society and structure and he ended up dying according to his own ideals. Chris basically believed that “Government is best when it doesn’t govern at all” But the people that he ended up kinda getting close to was devastating when they found out about his death. His journey wasn't even right to Alaska, he traveled to South Dakota, and a bunch of other places before he went to Alaska. A journey without a certain meaning is pointless to me so to me, he's an idiot and also a selfish person that only thought of himself and didn't think how his sudden dissappearence would affect the lives of others and his family.
DeleteI disagree Anton. I believe that chris’ journey was justified based on his home situation and he lived his life to the fullest. I also think that although chris’ intent was to go to alaska that was not the only reason for the adventure. It is about the journey not the destination to chris and it had become apparent that the longer he waited to leave on this trip the harder it would be to leave. Although he hurt some people this journey was necessary for him to live a meaningful life.
DeleteTo Liam: I agree that what he did was selfish and wrong, but i disagree that his family would have been more understanding. It was very wrong of him to turn his back on his family and his life with them, so I believe that if he had told them they would do everything they could to stop him. You're right he didn't take any time or consideration making this decision and that's what made it selfish, he didn't care he just did it.
DeleteI agree with Lindsey. Chris did not make a necessarily positive impact as a whole on society. He was struggling with internal issues as most people do, but he made the problems bigger than just himself when he left his family for good. It was selfish that Chris did not think about the impact it would put on this family while he was gone.
DeleteChris Mccandless is very determined. Chris had one goal and it was to get to Alaska, but when he left, he left his car, and burned all his money. Chris would hitch rides from other people, and find ways to get food without money. The quote that relates to Chris is “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected”. I picked this quote because Chris would cut people out of his life, because they might try to stop him from pursuing his dream to get to Alaska . But I also think that Chris is very selfish, because he leaves his family without saying anything. Chris would also meet these people that he would meet when he is going on his journey, and gets very close to them and then leaves them like nothing happened.
DeleteI agree with Liam. Chris was not a lunatic or an idiot. Chris was a guy who wanted to leave all his problems, and do something that made him happy. But the thing that made him happy was a thing that not that many people would want to do.
DeleteI very much agree with what Chris says, i think he that he had a goal to get to Alaska and no person or possible relationship would stop him from that.
DeleteWhat does Krakauer want us to think about him and his choices?
ReplyDeleteWhy would Krakauer think his story needs to be told?
Based on the fact that Krakauer fought to prove media wrong about Chris’s intentions says that he understood and respected Chris’s choices. Now if Krakauer believed and respected Chris, Krakauer would not have taken the time to discourage people and give them an opinion to the readers that says otherwise about what Krakauer believes. When Chris left on his trip he was full of determination and adventure. “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected,” (Quote 20). Krakauer saw the confidence that Chris presented everywhere throughout his journey and he then saw the success that Chris accomplished. This story was told because the success of Chris is on going. Even in death Chris inspires, Krakauer just got the ball rolling for Chris.
DeleteWhat is accomplished by Chris's journey? What meaning can we take away from the way he lived his life?
ReplyDeleteChris accomplished a lot by his long trek to leave society. On his long sporadic journey he meets many people and does many things. He accomplishes many things, one being not having any disturbances or any burdens no responsibilities at all. When Chris got to the bus he felt free from anything he could just sit outside and take in the view, when Thoreau says, “Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation.” This quote from Walden suggest that you should wake up early and take in the view and be able to not have any disturbances, agitation, no burdens on your day. You shouldn't have a routine for your day. Just to get up and live life to the fullest. The whole meaning of how he lived his life was just to live a simple life with no obligations to do anything other than to eat, sleep, and take in the wonderful view. He lived Thoreau’s quote.
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DeleteThe only thing he did was went on a journey that hurt him, his loved ones and people he let in to his life during his journey. There was nothing accomplished or done to the world except promote stupidity on a new level
DeleteI do not believe that there was any impact or accomplishment achieved by Chris' journey. Chris just abandoned his family, loved ones, and friends and lived in the woods and died there due to being unprepared. He did not better the world or cure a disease or do anything worthwhile. In response to Presley.
DeleteI think that while there is some good things that came out of Chris' journey around the country, it predominately only produced unhappiness and despair. It was great that he made all of the new friendships with the people that he met along his journey and changed their lives, but in the end, he ended up abandoning them, just like his family
DeleteI agree, I believe that some good things did come out of Chris' journey, it opened everyone eye to how sick society really is and why Chris would go out and do something like this. He may have hurt his family in the process but Chris went on this trek to be free and he was until he died because of his fatal choices but he showed us not to conform like everyone else.
DeleteWhat does “the wild” represent for Chris? For others? How is nature important in the quest for self-knowledge, independence, freedom, peace, and/or meaning? Why do people seek out nature or "the wild?"
ReplyDeleteChris wanted an alternate lifestyle. He wanted a happier life, and he found it by escaping into nature and rejecting society; into the wild. The wild, to him, was away from his family and everyone he knew. Deep inside alaskan territory was the ultimate goal. Something about the draw of it that we will never know. People seek out the wild with their own draws to different places and sometimes other people won’t understand, but is it really that bad to be misunderstood? one outcome could be that you become wise.
Delete“to be great is to be misunderstood”. this quote suggests that eventually someone will figure out what you mean and find the meaning. Chris was and still is misunderstood. he was definitely a character.
Agreed. Especially since you see may interesting characters today. You will see many people on the road but we will probably never see another Chris McCandless
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DeleteFor Chris “the wild” represents freedom and a life away from a society that is controlled by material items. Most people go into the wild to escape their hectic lives and to live their life on their own terms. They want their existence to mean something more than just going to work for eight hours everyday. Chris relates to the quote “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if i could not learn what I had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” (Thoreau) Chris went into the wild to find purpose to his life and to learn useful skills that could not be taught to him. He wanted to be able to depend on himself and not let money or possessions control how he lived. He preferred to live for the experiences and relationships with some of the people he met along his journey.
DeleteI agree with with Rebecca in the sense that he wants to escape his family, but i believe he is running away from more. I think he is fleeing society and the expected role of his parents as well.
Delete“The wild” for Chris McCandless can be classified as an escape. Thoreau in Quote 18, described the unappealing factors of society. Chris despised the “ruts of tradition and conformity”. He encouraged people to get out of their comfort zones and routine of their everyday lives. In a letter to an older man who he met in his travels, named Ron, he explained his outlook on the wild and what he believed this escape could bring to an individual. Chris wrote, “You will see things and meet people and there is much to learn from them” and goes on to add that Ron would be a new man, with a “vast array of new adventures and experiences” behind him. (Krakauer 58). It seems plausible that many go into the wild for the entirely different environment away from society. The wild appealed to Chris not only due to the new experiences and people he would meet on the way, but the ability it would give him to start from scratch and create the life he wanted to live.
DeleteI agree with Liz. Chris wanted to escape society and all the rules that follow it, and going into the wild helped him do so. He wanted to discover what was out there, beyond societies walls, and found a new better way of living life.
DeleteThroughout Chris’s journey he spent what time he possibly could away from society, people, and anything that would prohibit him from making his trip the way he wanted to. From his ideological point of view, the wild is freedom from the “ *cough* *cough* *cough* sick society”. A place where he was in control of his own decisions, free of rules and regulations to tell him what he can and cannot do. One quote by Walden Thoreau that Chris represents almost perfectly is,” Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, not a hundred or a thousand.” He does this all along his journey. Everytime he meets someone new, he would stay long enough to make an impact on them, but not enough to make any strong emotional bonds. This allowed him to keep his problems minimal and life simple, as much as a person could with the way he did so. For most, “the wild” is a place away from responsibilities, somewhere you can go to forget the problems at hand and relax, a chance to relish in the peace that comes with it.
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DeleteI think that the quote that Liz chose relates to Chris's adventures in the ways that she mentioned, but I also think that Chris wanted to, as Thoreau said, "suck all the marrow out of life", and enjoy life in as complete a manner as possible. He felt that prior to his adventures, his life and happiness was being restrained by his family and school, so the only way to live the way that he wanted was to escape to the wild, which represented freedom and independence to him because of the romantacized way that the wilderness had been portrayed in the boks that he read before his adventure.
What does it mean to be your own person, to be an individual?
ReplyDeleteTo be an individual, you cannot let people tell you who you are. You have to let yourself do that. Being who you want to be, not who you are supposed to be, that is what makes an individual. Do not try to fit into the crowd. You will not be an individual, just a part of a larger group. This is what Chris McCandless is trying to avoid. He does not to be a part of something, he wants to be something. He hates the idea of conforming to what everyone thinks is right, he wants to do what he thinks is right. Chris wants to live his life in his own way. He hates relying on material things for happiness, and he hates how his parents, and everyone else do the same. He wants to be different. He wants to be an individual.
DeleteBeing your own person is being able to live within your own guidelines, living by what you want and what you want to do. Not by listening to everyone else and letting them decide what you want and and what you do. "What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think... It is the harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it." If you know what you need to be concerned about, if you know what you want, don't let someone else change your mind. They're only trying to change your mind because they can't get what they want or handle what they're concerned with themselves. Chris knows that people want and expect certain things of him and he's not happy about it. He hates being told what to do or how to do it and this is what makes him an individual and not a puppet of society. His parents expected him to go to law school, buy an apartment, a new car and to live the life they wanted him to live. He didn't want that...He is of himself and his own perspective and way of doing things and that's what makes Chris himself.
DeleteI thought his parents was trying to buy their love and respect with expensive possessions but he does not want that. He wanted to live the free life which he believed was his identity. It´s what he wanted people to know about him. I disagree with you on that part.
DeleteTo Brian: I like your definition of being an individual a lot, it is being who you are not who you are supposed to be. People need to do what fits their needs not what other people want them to do. Chris does a great job living up to this.
DeleteChris McCandless is a very independent and non-conforming man. Chris is able to ignore and disregard the crowds that tell him otherwise and stick to and believe in himself. Emerson’s quote fits into Chris’s lifestyle perfectly, “The greater man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude” (Emerson quote 25). How Chris reacts to these crowds is what makes him an independent and non-conforming man, because he can set aside all of the negatives and continue on his journey and what he believes in. As Emerson also states, “You will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it” (Emerson quote 25). As Chris continues on his exciting journey he comes across many people who both support his way of life and those who dislike what Chris is doing. As Wayne feels Chris may be going a little bit too far and to not think too hard about all that stuff, Chris just lets all of those words whistle right by. He is commited to his journey and keeps on with his independent lifestyle.
DeleteReply to Brian. I agree, many people try to fit in with others by doing things they usually wouldn't do and not being who they truly are. I agree what makes you an individual is being what you wanna be, and doing your own thing. This also helps you with growing as a person. A quote that relates to this is "Let him step to the music which he hears," and relates to the whole idea of being unique.
DeleteResponse to Alex: I agree with your thought that in order to be your own person you have to be able to live within your own guidelines. Chris is able to do just that and let every negative comment about his way of life swing by him and keep on keeping on.
DeleteBeing an individual or your own person involves living by your own rules and obeying the laws and boundaries that you set for yourself. Being unique and different from others and not conforming with society. Chris understood this and was not conforming to society, he decided to live his life like he thought he was supposed to. He was an individual and was unique in his passion for living life without conformity and abiding in the law. "Cast your whole vote, not a strip of paper merely, but your whole influence. A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority, it is not even a minority then, but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight." (quote #8). This quote shows us how we should be the minority and not conform to the majority so we clog the machine that is society. That is what Chris showed us and this is what it means to be an individual, not by living off the land but by being unique.
DeleteWhat does it mean to live meaningfully?
ReplyDeleteChris McCandless goes on his journey to create happiness for himself and to live the way he wants, which in his case is how he is living a meaningful life. I think a person lives a meaningful life to get something in the end. One of Thoreau’s quote says, “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected.” I think this means to go after your dreams in life, and if you do you will receive them in the end. All Chris wanted was to be happy, have freedom, and to live how he wanted, which he obtained by going on his journey to Alaska.
DeleteAs a child, Chris McCandless had a hard time finding meaning in his life. Krakauer details how he put only enough effort into school to do well, and how he went through college only to be done with it. When Chris went on his first adventure, to California, he found happiness. Chris loved the idea of setting out on a Journey with no plan, and nothing holding him back. Krakauer even connects this idea to his youth, he tells how Chris would lead his cross country team all over the place, trying to get lost, and then find their way back. Chris loved feeling free, and for him, a great Alaskan odyssey was the dream. According to Thoreau, “The only obligation which i have a right to assume is to do at any time what i think is right.” Here, Thoreau is essentially saying that doing anything contrary to what you want is a waste of time. Finding meaning in his life is simply finding what makes you happy.
DeleteI agree with Chrissy, people want something in the end of their lives. I like the quote you picked to represent living meaningfully. Chris definitely lived a very meaningful life in his perspective.
DeleteTo live meaningfully is to get the most out of life. My definition of living meaningfully would be living your life truthfully based on your own personal ideals and not caring about what people think about you. Chris achieves this goal fully. Living meaningfully as described by the Transcendentalists is being detached from a government and being fully immersed in nature. As quote 17 says “heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads... ”. I thought that this quote described the transcendentalists beliefs very well. I interpreted this as saying that although there may be a heaven in which we visit after death we should keep in mind that the world we live on is its own form of heaven and we should not forget that. It may be that we take for granted how much this world offers and we don’t appreciate it enough. This idea is what the transcendentalists keep in mind so they can live meaningfully.
DeleteI agree with Chrissy. That Thoreau quote strongly relates to Chris because I believe he was successful despite his tragic end. By following his "dreams", he found happiness in his own way and found much value in his independent journey.
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DeleteChris McCandless is an individual who was driven by his own visions and attempted to make them a reality. He is a boy with a troubled past, wanting to escape and be free of instruction. He left his family to go live life on his own, by his own rules and live an alternative lifestyle. Some people may say he is selfish for leaving his family and loved ones with no explanation, but in reality he was just trying to figure out what makes him happy. “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected.” (Thoreau 20). Chris longs for adventure, and a reckless lifestyle where he isn’t being told what to do, or how to do it. By following his dreams of this lifestyle, and accomplishing what he desires, he is free from restrictions and finds a greater happiness throughout his journey.
I agree with Aidan on how Chris wanted the most out of life and by doing that he got more involved with the surrounding nature. I also like the quote used because it really ties in with Chris' life.
DeleteI agree with Gabi. While some people might call Chris selfish for leaving his family ad friends, all he was really trying to do was to be happy. Everyone deserves to have a meaningful life and for Chris, going out into the wild and breaking free from society gave his life purpose.
DeleteResponse to Chrissy: I agree with your idea that Thoreau's quote explains that you should live and pursue your dreams, because in the end you will eventually receive them. Chris takes Thoreau's quote the same way. His goal and journey was based on his dream and idea of living with the wild and nature to be happy and away from society. Chris does just that, and achieves his goal.
DeleteOn page 37, a quote from McCandless’s journal explains that for him, “It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found.” By this he means that in order for him to feel that he is living a meaningful life, he must immerse himself completely in his experiences, seek out new adventures to experience everything that he possibly can, and make enjoyable memories. This definition of what makes life meaningful is similar to Thoreau’s definition in his book Walden. Thoreau said that he did not want to “take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains.” What Thoreau tried to convey in this quote is that he wanted to live in the woods and experience nature in order to live his life in a way that was more meaningful to him. For him, a meaningful life would have been obtained when he was fully immersed in nature and lived every day in a way that was enjoyable to him. Although this is what Thoreau personally thinks makes life meaningful, many people might say that volunteering or helping others makes life meaningful because it makes them feel good and feel like they are giving back to society. Therefore, the true definition of living meaningfully differs from person to person, but always involves doing something that makes them happy.
DeleteHow does Chris's story relate to the ideas of Transcendentalism that we have been studying?
ReplyDeleteSome of the quotes in the transcendentalism packet explain Chris and his way of living almost perfectly. Chris is the type of person that does not care what people think and will always do what he wants or what he thinks is right. Ralph Waldo Emerson says “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what people think... It is the harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion” Throughout Chris’s journey there were people who doubted him or thought that what he had planned was not right and over and over again Chris defended himself. For example when they are in the bar and Wayne asks him if he really wants to do this Chris gets pretty defensive and goes off about how it is going to be great. Chris does not want to live like everyone else and does not care about other people’s opinion even the slightest bit.
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DeleteI agree to an extent. I do believe that you should live your life to the fullest, with joy and passion and do what you want, but NOT at the expense of others. Chris almost single handedly destroyed his family by just disappearing into the woods and dying without contributing to society or anyone really. In response to Lucas.
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