Monday, March 8, 2010
I think Chris McCandless is very similar to the Transcendentalists. His beliefs are very similar to those of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. McCandless writes, in a letter to Ron Franz, "We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle..." (Krakauer 57). Chris is telling Franz to disregard society's principles and to lead a life he can enjoy. Emerson once said, "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Like many Transcendentalists, Emerson urges others to be themselves and make their own path. Similarly, Chris urges people to ignore society's perception of a normal life. It's hard for me to relate to Chris and the Transcendentalists because I'm a conformist and I lead a very conventional life. I've never really been one to question authority, unlike Thoreau, and I've never challanged my family's or society's expectations for me.
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In my post I also found the similarities between Thoreau, Chris, and transcendentalism. I liked how you compared Chris in urging Ron to do his own thing with Emerson influencing others. I thought it was a good comparison, considering i never even thought of Emerson, even though he was a very influential person in Thoreau's life. Likewise how Chris is very influential in Franz's life. i like how at the end you say that you are the basically the complete opposite to McCandless, and i would also consider myself to be the same way.
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ReplyDeleteI can relate to you in how I also live a very conventional life, not questioning why things are they way they are and just going with it. It’s interesting, though, imagining what it would be like to live a life without any of the worries that a normal person in society has. I think at first it would feel somewhat invigorating, but after a while I think I would become even more stressed than before, as I would have to worry about how I would survive to the next day. I would never give up the life I have to take up a challenge like that. Like you said, McCandless lives a life similar to the transcendentalists that he admires. I think one of his goals through this lifestyle is to teach others to think outside of the box and take new risks. He challenges Franz to take up the difficult journey, and through this changes the mans life. I'm not sure if he means to do this, but through trying to get away from everybody, he is actually effecting others in a bigger way than he did through living a normal life. His new lifestyle is having a positive impact that I think he never meant for it to have.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see a similarity between Chris and Emerson because they both urge people to follow them. But I think many people find their ideas hard to follow because we don't want to leave everything behind and follow nature. We just want to live, enjoy our lives and achieve our goals. For me personally, I would never risk everything to make my own trail. I would much rather just follow "where the path may lead".
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that Chris encourages Ron to follow his ideas, because if lived to get more followers then he could have formed his own mini-society. And society is what Chris hates the most.