Into The Wild Transcendentalism-Self Reliance In Into the Wild, Christopher Mishandles, displays self-reliance very nearly to the point of self-absorption. It was not until he took off on his Alaskan Odyssey however, that those closest to him realized how real Chrism’s independence was. Chris infant did not let many people close. To assert his independence and become entirely self-reliant, Mishandles took extreme measures to uncover the truth. The increasingly common theme of self- reliance and independence is something that people still value.
Some of the values that many people in society seem to have forgotten are; the journey for personal knowledge, the pursuit of happiness, not gaining your happiness from other people, and above all, the ability to be comforTABLE being alone and that independence. Chris believes that he will not be one to conform to society like everyone else. To maintain his independence Chris Mishandles threw away delicacy and put himself in the values he thought were worthwhile and pursued the ideals that he felt were important. He left his Emily, gave himself a new name, and created a new life as Alexander Superstars.
Many thought his actions were selfish, but others believe that while it may have been self-centered, it was a necessary and good change for him. With him not even communicating with his sister, Chris made it obvious that he did not want to be found. Chris was always pushing himself through school athletically and academically. Then later he pushed himself to be completely self-reliant because: “… It was important for him to see how independent he could be” (125). This shows that he was going to see how self- reliant and independent he really could be.
Christopher Mishandles saw the world in all different yet common point of views, rather like a child does. The way he reacted to his family secret about the circumstances surrounding his parents’ marriage meant he could not forgive his father for the mistakes he made in the past. What made matters worse for his father, Wall’s, relationship with Chris was that he hid the fact that Walt had a relationship with Chris’ mother and took care of Chris, while still being involved with his first wife. With Chris being somewhat childish, he was very judgmental and didn’t seem to care about the whole situation.
Chris needed to be his own person, with his own vision and way of thinking so that others would not influence him along the way. He recognized that the only way for him to find his own truth would be to be self-centered and focus on his own being first, without others being involved with him. His goal was to test and challenge himself every step of the way, and so he did. He knew the risk and what might happen to him, but it was important for him to be truly lone, without human companionship or human resources, to provide an honest test of his independence.
He wanted to live simply, in the harsh wilderness and he did. Because of Chris’ strongly opinionated, idealistic, and rather stubborn mindset, the only way his life would have been meaningful is if he was doing exactly what he wanted for himself, and he does. Since Chris made sure that everything he gained was through his own efforts and the success of his abilities, he maintained true self-reliance throughout his Alaskan odyssey. Chris’ idealism, independence, and true self-reliance, he was TABLE to create a new life for himself.
He felt as if he had a purpose. This life meant more to Chris than anything or anyone ever could. The idealism and searing self-reliance are seen as unattainTABLE qualities that are mysterious and breathtaking but frightening and dangerous all the same. Christopher Mishandles found greatness in himself, the world, and the people in it on his Alaskan odyssey. This was all on his great deal of self-reliance, how he survived on nature, and him living his life and overcoming his fears.
