Transcendentalism and Into the Wile - Essay Example

The Relationship between Transcendentalism and “Into the Wild” Transcendentalism refers to a religious, spiritual, andphilosophical society that started at the Harvard University. It started as a result of a protest against the religious movements in place during the Nineteenth Century. The protest was primarily against the Unitarian concept and the state of intellectualism that was being practised in the eastern part of the United States during that period. This religion so to say, has strong convictions on the inborn goodness of nature and people.

The movement believes that society and all the elements that constitute it are what degrade a person’s virtues mainly their purity. These elements include political parties and religious systems that a person is exposed to. The religion advocates for independence and self-dependence among persons, as opposed to interdependence and communal participation in a person’s life. It is one of their beliefs that only from such a setup can a truly functioning community be formed.Chris McCandless was truly a transcendentalist because he lived many of the religion’s beliefs.

These included non-conformity to the other religions, appreciation of nature and upholding the teachings of Thoreau and Emerson of a non-materialistic lifestyle, which include living a simplistic and contented life (Krakauer 174). He lived the lifestyle of a transcendentalist and practised their teachings. His appreciation of nature is well encapsulated by his adventure especially the adventure into the wilderness and his formal procedure of passage ascertained an understanding of his personal growth.

During his life, Chris exhibited a remarkable independence coupled with his ideas and actions that directly link him to the transcendentalist movement (Krakauer 67).There are many benefits linked to transcendentalism. One of the core things emphasized by transcendentalism is reflective practice and meditation. This helps a lot in a person’s health as they help reduce stress, anxiety, hyperactivity, effects of depression, attention deficiency. It also helps improve a person’s critical thinking skills thus helping in problem-solving and ensuring a more positive and clear outlook on life.

Meditation plays a major role in improving a person’s memory, thus developing decision-making and imaginative thinking. There are varieties of benefits that apply to children too. These include restoring balance and calmness, enhancing memory, increasing confidence, developing creativity, and increasing learning capability. The religion helps in the conservation of nature through efforts that sensitize the society of eco-friendly ways of doing things by taking care of wildlife and encouraging the general appreciation of nature as a whole.

The religion helps an individual to be able to think their way out of many of life situations by encouraging and emphasizing self-reliance. This helps in producing responsible individuals that are then able to make relevant and meaningful contribution to the growth of the society.Some aspects of the religion are still in the application in our modern society. These include appreciation of nature, the aspect of self-reliance and mediation. These are still being applied in society for they have a wide spectrum of applicability thus are being embraced by individuals, institutions and other religions.

According to Krakauer (2007), a person’s life is well lived if he or she accomplishes his or her purpose for their existence in a manner that is most fulfilling to them while improving the lives of those around them (Krakauer 75).Work CitedKrakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. London: Pan Books, 2007. Print.