Kayla Chalmers
As I was reading Into the Wild I kept wondering why McCandless was doing what he was doing. Why would he leave everything he had for the adventures of traveling? Even knowing he had a college education and enough money to start him off successfully, thing didn’t make sense. Soon realizing that he was inspired by Thoreau and his transcendentalism ways seemed to be an excuse for his actions. He was a modern transcendentalist at the time. He loved the simple life, even when he was at college as quoted “[He] lived off campus in a monkish room furnished with little more than a thing mattress on the floor, milk crates, and a table…and he didn’t have a phone” (22). We can see the similarities between Thoreau himself and McCandless. They both loved the beauties of nature, getting away from the conformities in society, and being self-reliant. At one point in the book McCandless describes conformity and being in society as,
“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” (57).
We can tell McCandless wants to be nothing like these people. So at this point I wondered I McCandless was still alive today and if he had the luxury of owing an iPod (which he probably would not have even if he had the money) what type of music he would he would have and listen too. So I went through my iPod and looked up some lyrics. I found that many of the Beatle song and John Lennon songs had ideas of transcendentalism that McCandless would most likely agree upon. How a more modern song, “gone going” by the Black eye peas ft. Jack Johnson really described how I think McCandless thought of the world. The lyrics talk about materialistic things, and how conforming will get you nowhere in life. And that all these materialistic things cover you soul and you can’t really find who you really are as person. Basically saying conforming to society is bad and that ”You need to go out to life and look Cause... what happens when they take your material You already sold your soul and its...”. This song sums up the feeling I believed McCandless had about society.
Here is a link to a YouTube video of the song, “Gone going” by black eyed peas with the lyrics.
"Gone Going" lyrics
Johnny wanna be a big star
Get on stage and play the guitar
Make a little money, buy a fancy car
Big old house and an alligator
Just to match with them alligator shoes
He's a rich man so he's no longer singing the blues
He's singing songs about material things
And platinum rings and watches that go bling
But, diamonds don't bling in the dark
He a star now, but he ain't singing from the heart
Sooner or later he's just gonna fall apart
Cause his fans can't relate to his new found art
He ain't doing what he did from the start
And that's putting in some feeling and thought
He decided to live his life shallow
Cash in his love for material
[Chorus]
And its gone... gone... going...
Gone... everything gone... give a damn...
Gone be the birds when they don't want to sing...
Gone people... all awkward with their things... gone.
You see yourself in the mirror
And you feel safe cause it looks familiar
But you afraid to open up your soul
Cause you don't really know, don't really know
Who he is, the person that's deep within
Cause you are content with just being the name-brand man
And you fail to see that its trivial
Insignificant, you addicted to material
I've seen your kind before
You're the type that thinks souls is sold in a store
Packaged up with incense sticks
With them vegetarian meals
To you that's righteous
You're fiction like books
You need to go out to life and look
Cause... what happens when they take your material
You already sold your soul and its...
[Chorus]
You say that time is money and money is time
So you got mind in your money and your money on your mind
But what about... that crime that you did to get paid
And what about... that bid, you can't take it to your brain
What about those shoes you'll wear today
They'll do no good on the bridges you burnt along the way
All that money that you got gonna be gone
That gear that you rock gonna be gone
The house up on the hill gonna be gone
The gold purse on your grill gonna be gone
The ice on your wrist gonna be gone
That nice little Miss gonna be gone
That whip that you roll gonna be gone
And what's worst is your soul's already gone
[Chorus]
Johnny wanna be a big star
Get on stage and play the guitar
Make a little money, buy a fancy car
Big old house and an alligator
Just to match with them alligator shoes
He's a rich man so he's no longer singing the blues
He's singing songs about material things
And platinum rings and watches that go bling
But, diamonds don't bling in the dark
He a star now, but he ain't singing from the heart
Sooner or later he's just gonna fall apart
Cause his fans can't relate to his new found art
He ain't doing what he did from the start
And that's putting in some feeling and thought
He decided to live his life shallow
Cash in his love for material
[Chorus]
And its gone... gone... going...
Gone... everything gone... give a damn...
Gone be the birds when they don't want to sing...
Gone people... all awkward with their things... gone.
You see yourself in the mirror
And you feel safe cause it looks familiar
But you afraid to open up your soul
Cause you don't really know, don't really know
Who he is, the person that's deep within
Cause you are content with just being the name-brand man
And you fail to see that its trivial
Insignificant, you addicted to material
I've seen your kind before
You're the type that thinks souls is sold in a store
Packaged up with incense sticks
With them vegetarian meals
To you that's righteous
You're fiction like books
You need to go out to life and look
Cause... what happens when they take your material
You already sold your soul and its...
[Chorus]
You say that time is money and money is time
So you got mind in your money and your money on your mind
But what about... that crime that you did to get paid
And what about... that bid, you can't take it to your brain
What about those shoes you'll wear today
They'll do no good on the bridges you burnt along the way
All that money that you got gonna be gone
That gear that you rock gonna be gone
The house up on the hill gonna be gone
The gold purse on your grill gonna be gone
The ice on your wrist gonna be gone
That nice little Miss gonna be gone
That whip that you roll gonna be gone
And what's worst is your soul's already gone
[Chorus]
I was really interested when I read this entry because I love the song "Gone Going" and I had been listening to it last night. After we started reading "Into the Wild" I also realized how the song's lyrics relate to the life of McCandless and his Transcendentalist way of living. To me, that part of the song that says, "I've seen your kind before
ReplyDeleteYou're the type that thinks souls is sold in a store
Packaged up with incense sticks
With them vegetarian meals
To you that's righteous
You're fiction like books
You need to go out to life and look..." reminded me of the quote by Thoreau we read yesterday that says, "A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting." The man in the song just goes along living life the way society thinks is the right way, and he doesn't go out and find out what living really means to him. Similarly, Thoreau's quote says how you need to go out and take what you've learned and live your life your own way. McCandless' life choice reflects the ideas of Thoreau and the song "Gone Going".
I thought your connection to the black eyed peas song was really interesting. However I can also see the connection between Chris and Henery Thoreau. Not only how they both removed themselves for society for a time to live near nature, but i think Henry Thoreau's Civil disobedience ideas of not following laws that don't benifit you is specific to Chris. Clearly Chris ignors the no hitchiking law when he gets ticketed for doing so, and then continues to after that because hitchikning is something he has to do to get to where he needs. Also there must have been people who disagreed with Chris' decision to live alone in the whild, but Chris follows Henrys lead of doing what he thinks is right, dispite how others feel about it.
ReplyDeleteI am a big Jack Johnson fan and a fan of this song. I found it extremely insightful how you connected the book to these lyrics. The song does take a negative approach to the materialism that surrounds us today, saying that we should not "live [our] life shallow, cash in [our] love for material." In the novel, it is apparent that McCandless shares similar views. When he has the opportunity to get rid of material objects, he feels "exhilarated" even. This is how he feels when his Datsun breaks down. The proceeds to then burn all of his money. In the book it describes "One hundred twenty-three dollars was promptly reduced to ash and smoke" (29). Clearly, it is easy to see that McCandless cares for much more than "love for material."
ReplyDelete-Mitchell Ward
I like how you used this song to describe Chris and the connections that it has with his lifestyle. I personally believe that he is going through with this transcendentalist lifestyle because he wants to be able to find out more about himself and who he is. I think his lifestyle filled with simplicity will help him reach that goal. This is similar to the song where it says "Cause you don't really know, don't really know who he is, the person that's deep within". To really find out who he is, he has to get away from society where material possessions are a part of life and just be on his own, away from any distractions. I think he believes that this is the only way to find out who somebody truly is. This also reflects the influence Thoreau has on him, as Thoreau made the similar decision of living out on his own when he chose to live in Walden.
ReplyDeleteYou made some good points in your post, and as you and others have mentioned Chris based many of his thoughts on the work of Thoreau and Transcendentalism in general. I had not heard that song before but looked it up and listened to it. It outlines some of the teachings of Thoreau but in a more modern form. I think one reason that we don’t really understand Chris’ motives or logic in going out to Alaska to live off the land is that the lifestyle he lived and the environment in which he lived it was much different than ours. His parents did not neglect him but didn’t seem to reinforce to him the importance of school and why he was there. Despite getting great grades, he hated going and couldn’t wait to get out, looking for more of a challenge in his life. Today, we are constantly being challenged, whether it be in school or on the practice field. Many of us are planning to go to college because we know we will need advanced skills in order to face the challenges of our future and the future of society. The importance of a higher education (and succeeding in high school to get there) has been something that many of our parents have shared with us countless times. I think Chris failed to consider these possible challenges, or just felt they were not important enough to undertake. Times have changed since April of 1992, and for this reason it is difficult for us to understand his risky adventure into the wild.
ReplyDeleteI think the lyrics to the song really do speak to how McCandless feels about society. I never would have thought about what songs he would have on his iPod, and even if I did I doubt I would have thought about this song. The lyrics really remind me of McCandless' letter to Ron, when he tells Ron that he won't be happy until he is living more McCandless himself is. He basically says that you need to go out and live a more sporatic and spontaneous life without materialistc possesions to be happy, and similarly the Black Eyed Peas sing "you need to go out to life and look cause what happens when they take your material". They are really saying the same thing, that there is far more to life than material things if you go out to look for it.
ReplyDeleteThis song really relates to the way Chris must have felt. I love this song by the black eyed peas, and I feel like it can connect to everyone when they feel like getting out of the place. The quote "Cause you don't really know, don't really know. Who he is, the person that's deep within" really explains Chris' feelings, because he is leaving this material society to try to find himself.Also, the connection with Thoreau is one that i thought of as well, because they both had very similar thoughts. They both did not like society the way it was, and they both fled to find themselves. They knew the only person they could change was themselves, so they went out and did it. I think Thoreau (in modern times) would also like "going gone" because it explains his life as well. Thoreau and Chris could listen to this song together, while out in the wilderness. This was a really good connection to a song, that I never would have thought of!
ReplyDeleteI also noticed the connection between McCandless and the Transcendentalists. There are quite a few quotes by Thoreau in the book. I like the connection you made to the song. The song also relates to the theme of materialism. Many musicians, like "Johnny," are attracted to the wealth associated with their profession. They start playing music to make the most profit instead of playing what they enjoy. Some people think material riches will bring them hapiness, which I think usually isn't true. On the other hand, I think that the choices McCandless and Thoreau made can only be made by people who are born wealthy. People in war torn countries and people who struggle to feed their children don't have the luxury to consider following nature and blazing their own trail. In many ways the Transcendentalist ideals are elitist.
ReplyDelete