Faraon, Samantha Romelle P.
On
2012-20020
ENG 4-C
Into the Wild | Jon Krakauer
I. INTRODUCTION
Jon Krakauers Into the Wild is a
non-fiction account of principal character
Christopher McCandless, an Emory
graduate and a member of a rather
privileged family who decided to detach
himself from the entrapment of what he sees
as an artificial consumer society through
abandoning his family and his possessions,
donating his entire college savings to
charity, and embarking on a quest to live off
the land in the Alaskan wilderness. He
abandoned his identity and changed his
name to Alexander Supertramp in the course
of his odyssey. Included in this account are
McCandlesss stories with people he met
along his journey that partook in his survival
in the span of time he left home until right
before he finally embarked on his long-
planned solo camping to Alaska. By August
1992, McCandless had died of starvation,
four months after he had walked into the
Alaskan wilderness thus proving his quest
fatal.
Christopher McCandlesss body was
discovered in his sleeping bag September
1993 by Alaskan hikers and moose hunters.
A distress note was also discovered right
outside the bus of McCandlesss site of
death, implying that he suffered starvation.
After his body was flown out of the
wilderness, an autopsy determined that it
weighed sixty-seven pounds and lacked
discernible subcutaneous fat, thus proving
starvation as his chief cause of death.
January 1993, Outside magazine published
Death of an Innocent, an approximately
nine-thousand-word article that recounted
Christophers last life chapters based on his
diary, and accounts of people that testified to
have encountered him. Said article served as
framework for the release of Into the Wild in
1996.
Jon Krakauers Into the Wild explored
Transcendentalism movement in
contemporary and explored the extremities
between self-liberation and the impending
threat of death as both palpable and
symbolic consequences through principal
character Christopher McCandless.
This essay was written to explain how
literature revolutionizes ones way of
looking into things, and how it may
drastically affect ones future, both for the
good and bad.
II. REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
Transcendentalism is an American
literary, political, and philosophical
movement of the early nineteenth century
that considers individual intuition as a
central means of understanding reality. The
term was coined by Immanuel Kant, a
German philosopher who wrote of the innate
ability of individuals to transcend the
limits of their physical environments in
order to perceive inherent truths. Developing
between 1820s-1830s in the eastern United
States, Transcendentalism became an
intelligible movement and a sacred
organization with the founding of
the Transcendental Club. It was founded
September 8, 1836 in Cambridge,
Massachusetts by prominent New England
intellectuals including George Putnam,
Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Frederic Henry
Hedge. Other members of the club
included Bronson Alcott, Orestes Brownson,
Theodore Parker, William Henry Channing,
James Freeman Clarke, Christopher Pearse
Cranch, Convers Francis, Sylvester Judd,
Jones Very, and Henry David Thoreau, who
later served as McCandlesss greatest
inspiration.
Although Transcendentalism never
structured as truly an organized body of
thought, transcendentalism primarily
embodied these schools of thoughts: Neo-
Platonism and the belief in an ideal state of
existence; British Romanticism, with its
emphasis on individualism. Thus, the
guiding principle of this movement is that
the man will only be his best when he is
self-reliant, instead of living according to
the norm and teachings of social institutions
such as religion and politics. Emerson's
1842 lecture "The Transcendentalist"
summed up the movement's values. In the
essay, Emerson discussed transcendentalism
as a form of idealism and contrasts it with
materialism. Thus, advocates of this
movement tend to embody characteristics
such as nonconformity, simplistic living,
self-reliance, and high regard for nature and
spirituality.
Transcendentalism thus advocated
promotion of universal equality. Regardless
of race, gender or class, Transcendentalists
believed that every human being owns the
same innate potential. This belief system
rose awareness among Transcendentalists to
see the injustices in current social
institution. It provided courage to fight the
oppresionist nature that is thriving around
them. Emerson and Thoreau spoke out
against the displacement of Native
Americans from their land and they fought,
along with fellow Transcendentalist
Theodore Parker, against the institution of
slavery. Their belief in human equality
shaped the abolitionist movement in later
years, which continues to this day.
III. ANALYSIS
Into the Wilds principal character
Christopher McCandless showed great
interest in classic literary pieces. Krakauer
noted that he was and extremely intense
young man and possessed a streak of
stubborn idealism that did not mesh readily
with modern existence.
Principal works that served as
inspiration for McCandless included Louis
L'Amours Education of a Wandering Man,
the famous Henry David Thoreaus Walden,
Michael Crichtons The Terminal Man,
Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierres O
Jerusalem, Leo Tolstoys The Death of Ivan
Ilyich, and Family Happiness and Other
Stories, Boris Pasternaks Doctor Zchivago,
and Nikolai Gogals Taras Bulbo. Long
captivated by the writing of Leo Tolstoy,
McCandless particularly admired how the
great novelist had forsaken a life of wealth
and privilege to wander among the destitute.
When the boy headed off into the Alaska
bush, he entertained no illusions that he was
trekking into a land of milk and honey; peril,
adversity, and Tolstoyan renunciation were
precisely what he was seeking.
While it was long established that the
authors that served as the greatest
inspirations to Christopher were indeed
transcendentalists and even founders of this
movement, here are some excerpts from
some of their books to support it;
Whoso would be a man, must be a
nonconformist. He who would gather
immortal palms must not be hindered by the
name of goodness, but must explore it if it be
goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the
integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to
yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of
the world.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance
Rather than love, than money, than
fame, give me truth. Sat at a table where
were rich food and wine in abundance, an
obsequious attendance, but sincerity and
truth were not; and I went away hungry
from the inhospitable board. The hospitality
was as cold as the ices.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Both authors asserted how they would
rather live their lives lived. Emerson defined
being a man as being nonconformist.
Thoreau would rather have truth than riches.
As mentioned earlier, these are key
characteristics of a transcendentalist. Some
other passages relating to transcendentalism
will be discussed in the later part of this
essay. The following excerpts above were
highlighted in Chriss own copy, thus
inferring that the following phrases had a
strong effect on him or it was that moving
and special to have deserved to be
remembered through highlight.
Alexander Supertramp was the epitome
of non-conformity. That is the reason Chris
created him. To symbolize his complete
severance from his previous life, he even
adopted a new name. No longer would he
answer to Chris McCandless; he was now
Alexander Supertramp, master of his own
destiny. (Krakauer 23) He denounced his
own identity feeling as though he accepted
society too deeply into his life to regain
happiness into his life as Chris. He
understood that finally living the life he
wanted for himself took him everything
even his name. So he created this person that
was a completely new individual, and did
everything he wanted to do. The Chris he
grew up into wasnt, he believed that he
accepted the society. Alex was a totally
independent man who was in control of
himself.
Chris's life in college also reflected
transcendental qualities. "During that final
year in Atlanta, Chris had lived off campus
in a monkish room furnished with little more
than a thin mattress on the floor, milk crates,
and a table. He kept it as orderly and
spotless as a military barracks. And he
didn't have a phone, so Walt and Billie
[Chris's parents] had no way of calling
him." (Krakauer 22) Looking into it, Chris
wanted to be peaceful as a monk. Monks, as
entirely spiritual and peacefully silent
individuals was probably what enticed Chris
to live like it. Monks also live simplistically,
which reflected in Chriss off-campus monk-
like vacation. In addition, colleges have the
tendencies to provide much emotional,
physical and mental noise and stress that
everyone, especially Chris, can get fed up
about. He lived off campus for that while in
pursuit of figuratively hearing and feeling
himself again, away from everyone and
everything that might cause him otherwise.
Here is a passage from the long letter
Chris sent Franz in April, right before Chris
went away to camp into the Alaskan
wilderness:
I think you really should make a
radical change in your lifestyle and begin to
boldly do things which you may previously
never have thought of doing, or been too
hesitant to attempt. So many people live
within unhappy circumstances and yet will
not take the initiative to change their
situation because they are conditioned to a
life of security, conformity, and
conservatism, all of which may appear to
give one peace of mind, but in reality
nothing is more damaging to the
adventurous spirit within a man than a
secure future. The very basic core of a mans
living spirit is his passion for adventure
In his letter, he openly condemned the
life inside conformity and security. Franz
became a special friend to him it almost
felt like he was family and he was the
closest, based on the relationship they had.
Chris might have feared that old Franz may
never find happiness in life, that is, on
Chriss perspective, meant adventure.
Although he may appear somewhat nagging
in this letter, Chris only wanted what was
best for his good friend. Chris was intensely
pleased with the life that he chose and only
wanted Franz to experience it, as well.
Another example of Chriss
transcendental personality reflected in his
letter to Carine, his sister, where he
complained about his parents trying to buy
him a new car as a graduation gift. He
insisted how he loved his yellow Datsun
with all his heart and thus do not need a new
one, and how it became special to him
because it served as a close companion on
his travels. While it may infer that
Christopher may also be materialistic
because of his strong attachment to his
Datsun, it was later disproved when
Christopher abandoned his Datsun in
Arizona. In addition, while it was also
possible for Chris to turn around and get his
car fixed before he moves on with his
odyssey, Chris decided to abandon his car in
his preoccupation with his Alaskan
endeavor. Before leaving his car, he left a
note that read, "This piece of shit has been
abandoned. Whoever can get it out of here
can have it. a highly contradictory
statement to his strong attachment to his car.
Chris concluded his complaint by saying
that he will carefully not accept gifts from
his parents to avoid them from believing that
they have bought Christophers respect. This
proves the contempt for his parents, and how
he was one with his principles.
The abandonment of his Datsun can be
seen in the perspective that it became the
determining factor that Chris was really one
with his principles. Although one may ask
why it wasnt his abandonment of his family
that proved it, and although one might say
that he may be proved otherwise
materialistic from this perspective, the
answer was pretty clear Chris had despised
his parents, all this time. It will never be too
hard for him to abandon them that easy. On
the other hand, he grew a strong attachment
with his car, not in a physical, materialistic
sense that he never cared whether he could
easily have a new and better car awaiting
him after graduation, but on an emotional
sense that he couldnt give the car up due to
the memories he had with it. It was as if the
car was his special companion that reminded
him of his every journey. That gesture was
deemed the most promising factor that he
was really one with his journey, because it
was the most special for him, and it thus
took guts to do it.
Chris, together when he left his car, also
burned down the cash left on him when the
man he hitchhiked into refused to take it.
This gesture clearly showed a willful disgust
towards materialism. On a shallow note,
while he may also appear otherwise
materialistic by later working at a fast food
chain for money, he only worked for what
he needed for his survival. Christopher did it
with a somewhat heavy heart to once again
be consumed by a capitalist consumer
society. Looking at a bigger picture, Chris
could have easily abandoned his principles,
and it would somehow be understandable
because he had no home, he had to really
struggle to be able to feed himself, and
hygiene became a mere luxury. Chris
couldve easily turned his back and headed
home, where a well-to-do family was
waiting for him, but he didnt.
Chris put it simply, "The only person
you are fighting is yourself and your
stubbornness to engage in new
circumstances." (Krakauer 58). If one
studies Chris's life, like much this account
does, it can be seen that Chris would never
let himself of his life stand in the way of
something he wanted to accomplish. Like a
true transcendentalist, Chris McCandless let
his individualism flow through his dreams
and adventures and refused to conform to
our society. "Stubbornness referred to our
inner struggle to finally try to achieve what
we want in life, and that was what he aimed
to eliminate in each one of us.
Upon finding the old bus where he spent
his final days, his journal entry read: Two
years he walks the Earth. No phone, no
pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate
freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager
whose home is the road. Escaped from
Atlanta. Thou shalt not return, 'cause "the
West is the best." And now after two
rambling years comes the final and greatest
adventure. The climactic battle to kill the
false being within and victoriously conclude
the spiritual revolution. Ten days and nights
of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him
to the great white north. No longer to be
poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks
alone upon the land to become lost in the
wild.
His spiritual revolution meant the
journey he took to get away and be one with
nature, alone. This meant all the measures
he took to show value in his beliefs, to listen
to himself and to live the life that cost
disconnection from this society, including
the institutions, his family, and even his
identity. Poisoned, in this context, meant
alienation with his true self, and lost in the
wild meant finding his innate identity
Alexander Supertramp, not Chris
McCandless.
IV. CONCLUSION
Symbolisms were clearly not
intentionally used especially that the story
was fictional, and basically an
autobiographical account. However, one
perspective of reading into the story is that
the character of Christopher McCandless
served as a metaphor of Transcendentalism.
As the most optimal outcome, he achieved
self-liberation and discovered the new
dimension of self-actualization and freedom.
His odyssey gradually taught him the other
perspectives of life lived outside conformity
and materialistic motives. Self-liberation is
fulfilling in a sense that one feels that he/she
has control on his/her own self. It is
fulfilling in the sense that nobody could tell
you what to do or be than you. It releases
one from the oppresionist nature of social
institutions and matters. Money, for
example, gives people differences based on
how much and how less they have. It divides
societies into classes, and thus eliminates
connections from different classes by
making richer people believe that they must
limit communication to those who have less,
and by making poor people believe that they
may be less of a person. Without money,
everyone loses an avenue to measure and
compare themselves from others, and thus
promote equality. It promotes being one
with nature, and disgusts the
commercialization of a capitalist consumer
society.
On the other hand, his fatal death
symbolized the costs of his transcendentalist
endeavors: denouncement of long
established social institutions in order to
embody Transcendentalism on a holistic
level. Christophers death concretized the
impending danger there may be for someone
that turns his/her back on social institutions
and conventions after all, most, if not all
of it were established in pursuit of a more
rational and systematized living. The
government protects the welfare of society,
enforces laws, and protects society from
external threats. Religion, furnishes a
psychological diversion from unwanted life
situations, and provides solutions for
unexplained natural phenomena. Education
transmits culture, improves abilities of
person through knowledge that may be
applied to real-life situations, and aims to
produce high competitive and functional
individuals. Once one turns its back
completely on these institutions, one also
denounces how these affect his/her life, and
continues to live a life outside all of these
which is nothing, but being alone and totally
unequipped. Death could be seen as the
redeeming quality of these social institutions
and the extreme transcendentalist endeavors:
without these, ones identity, capabilities,
and self as a whole, inevitably dies.
Therefore, it can then be inferred that
Jon Krakauers Into the Wild explored
Transcendentalism in contemporary and
explored the extremities between self-
liberation and the impending threat of death
as both palpable and symbolic consequences
through principal character Christopher
McCandless.
V. WORKS CITED
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-Reliance. New
York City: Skyhorse, 1887. Print
Finseth, Ian Frederick. The Emergence of
Transcendentalism. The University of
Virginia. The University of Virginia Press.
N.d. print
Gura, Philip F. American
Transcendentalism: A History. New York.
Hill and Wang Publishing. 2007. print
Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. Thorndike,
Me.: G.K. Hall, 1997. Print.
Miller, Perry. The Transcendentalists: An
Anthology. Cambridge, USA. Harvard
University Press. 1950. Print
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden.
Philadelphia, PA: Courage, 1990. Print.
Velsuis, Arthur. American
Transcendentalism and Asian Countries.
Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press. 1993.
Print
Wayne, Tiffany K. Encyclopedia of
Transcendentalism: The Essential Guide to
the Lives and Works of Transcendentalist
Writers. Facts on File Inc. March 2007. print