THE AMERICAN SPIRIT

Into the Wild

Jon Krakauer Born April 12, 1954 American writer and

mountaineer Mostly known for writing

about the outdoors and/or mountain climbing

Other works include Into Thin Air & Under the Banner of Heaven

Wrote for Outside and Rolling Stone magazines

Published Into the Wild in 1996

About Into the Wild

Into the Wild is a non-fiction account of Chris McCandless’s trek into the Alaskan wilderness

and his resulting death.

About Into the Wild McCandless was a

young, idealistic guy who forms a life philosophy based on his upbringing and his reading in college.

It is important to know that Alex = Chris.

Let’s read the Author’s Note together.

The American Spirit Motif

A motif is a recurring structure in a literary (or, artistic) work that helps to establish the major themes.

This one, however, is very prominent in real life American culture.

The American Spirit is embodied by:1. irreverence (a lack of due respect)2. breaking away from tradition3. seeking adventure4. striking out on one’s own5. the desire to be completely free6. the belief in the individual to

overcome any obstacle7. questioning authority

Quotable Quotes Over the course of this

unit, I am going to present you with a variety of meaningful quotes. I want you to reflect on these quotes in your blue packet. (1)Put the quote in your

own words.(2)Discuss its meaning.(3)Apply it to your life.

STAY HUNGRY

.STAY

FOOLISH.

-Steve Jobs, at a commencement address at Stanford University in 2005

Green Line #1

More from Jobs

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s

thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner

voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and

intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Think, Pair, Share

Who else, besides Jobs,

embodies this idea of

the American Spirit?

The Transcendentalists: Walt Whitman

Born 1819; died 1892 One of the most influential

poets in American literature

In between Transcendentalism and Realism (the era that came next); he incorporated both styles in his work.

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were admirers of his writing.

“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”

When I heard the learn’d astronomer, When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add,

divide, and measure them, When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

Questions1. Circle any words that you do not know. 2. The poem has two distinct, divergent parts. If you

had to divide it in half, where would you draw the line? Do it now.

3. Underline all of the traditional math/science/school words you see in part one.

4. Why does the persona get tired and sick?5. Why do the lines in part one all start with the

repetition of “when”?6. How would the persona prefer to examine the

natural world? 7. Where do you see any of the seven elements of

“The American Spirit” in this poem?

Transcendentalism1830-1860

American Literary Movements

Puritanism

1472 - 1750

Rationalism

1750 - 1800

Romanticism1820 - 1860

Transcendenta

lism1830 - 1860

Realism

Naturalism

Regionalism

1860 - 1920

Imagism1912 - 1927

The Harlem

Renaissance

1920 - 1935

POSTMODERNISM

1940s - TODAY

The Lost Generation1920 - 1930

MODERNISM1900-1940s

Transcendent Defined…

transcendent: going beyond ordinary limits; surpassing; exceeding

Chris McCandless walked into the woods to have a “raw and

transcendent experience.”

What is Transcendentalism?

It’s a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s as a protest to the general state of culture and society. McCandless was an avid reader of works by the American Transcendentalists.

Transcendental Beliefs1. Humankind is inherently good.2. Nature is a doorway to the spiritual world. God’s

spirit can be revealed through nature.3. Society and its institutions—namely

organized religion and political parties—corrupt the purity of the individual.

4. Adhering to authority is only second to maintaining true individualism. Be yourself first.

5. Humankind is at its best when truly self-reliant and independent.

6. Intuition is more important than rationalism. Living in the moment is key.

The Transcendentalists: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Born 1803; died 1882 He was a key contributor

and founder to the American Transcendentalist Movement.

He was exhilarated by nature’s beauty and tranquility.

He felt he was in tune with himself when he communed with nature.

He encourages his readers to look directly at nature for this same purpose: to find yourself.

Day 2

“To speak truly, few

adult persons can see nature.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson (from “Nature”)Green Line #2

The Transparent Eyeball

“Standing on the bare ground—my head bathed by the [carefree] air, and

uplifted into infinite space—all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent

eyeball. I am nothing. I see all.”

Emerson had the desire to absorb—and be absorbed

into—nature.

Experiential Learning Where: Soccer Field Bring: Notebook and writing utensil—nothing

else! Do Now: Write the following across the top of a

notebook page and sign it:

I AM A TRANSPARENT EYEBALL. Do Outside: Journal about your experience

outside. What do you notice? What do you feel? What are you thinking about? How in tune with yourself are you?

Length: a notebook page; due at the end of the hour

CharacterizationHow does an author tell us about a character?1. Speech

o dialogue – conversation between characters

2. Appearance3. Private Thoughts4. How Other Characters Feel 5. Actions

o motivation – the reason a character thinks, feels, or acts the way he/she does

Characterization

Direct – a writer tells us directly what a character is like or what a person’s motives are

Indirect – a writer shows us a character but allows us to interpret for ourselves the kind of person we are meeting

Internal Citations When you directly quote from a text, you must

add an internal citation to the end of the quote. It is the author’s last name and page number

you found the quote inside parentheses.

“And he wasn’t a nutcase, he wasn’t a sociopath, he wasn’t an outcast.

McCandless was something else—although precisely what is hard to say.

A pilgrim, perhaps” (Krakauer 85).

Envy is ignorance. Imitation is suicide.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson (from “Self-Reliance”)Green Line #3

“Self-Reliance” This is one of Emerson’s most famous

essays. It was published in 1841. It contains the most emphatic

statement of three of Emerson’s ongoing themes: oAvoid conformity!oAvoid foolish consistency!oFollow your own instincts and ideas!

Literary Terms: Aphorism

Emerson is famous for a multitude of highly quotable aphorisms.

An aphorism is a short and sweet saying that communicates a general truth, or perceptive observation.

Internal Citations When you directly quote from a text, you must

add an internal citation to the end of the quote. It is the author’s last name and page number

you found the quote inside parentheses.

“And he wasn’t a nutcase, he wasn’t a sociopath, he wasn’t an outcast.

McCandless was something else—although precisely what is hard to say.

A pilgrim, perhaps” (Krakauer 85).

“It has become

appallingly obvious that

our technology

has exceeded our humanity.”

-Albert Einstein (1879-1955)Green Line #4

Going off the Grid

Are the technological advancements we

have today helpful or harmful to humans

as a whole? Make two lists in your Literature notes: o At least five positives off the “going off the grid.” • Examples: living in a warm house, easy access to

food, etc.o At least five negatives of “going off the grid.” • Examples: reducing your carbon footprint, learning

self-reliance, etc.

Extra Credit: Cell Phone Challenge

Go one entire school day without your cell phone.

Drop it off with me Monday morning before the first bell. Pick it up right after school.

Write a ten-line reflection on the experience (due Tuesday). o What changed for you?o How did it affect you socially, emotionally,

and academically? You can receive up to 25 points of extra

credit.

“I went to the woods because I

wished to live deliberately… I wanted to live deep and suck

out all the marrow of life…”

-Henry David Thoreau from WaldenGreen Line #5

The Transcendentalists: Henry David Thoreau

Born 1817; died 1862 At the age of twenty-eight,

Thoreau—a Harvard graduate—seemed to be a failure. o failed attempt to be a

schoolteachero uninspiring oratoro his girlfriend denied his proposalo no interest in the family businesso close friends (like Emerson) had

strong doubts about his ambition

Walden After all these “failures,” Thoreau went to live on

his buddy Emerson’s land, near Walden Pond. This two-year experiment was designed so

Thoreau could rediscover “the grandeur and heroism of a simple life led close to nature” (Elements of Literature 231).

He wrote a book called Walden; in it, Thoreau explores what is necessary to have a rich and fulfilling life. o He found that he could give up most luxuries of life.o He found that most of his peers focused too much on

work.

“Sometimes a man wants to be stupid if it lets him do

a thing his cleverness forbids.”

-John Steinbeck from East of EdenGreen Line #6

“The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and, occasionally, the chance to feel strong. Now, I don't know much about the

sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also

know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong,

but to feel strong, to measure yourself at least once, to find yourself at least once in the

most ancient of human conditions, facing the blind,

deaf stone alone with nothing to help you but your hands and

your own head.”

-Primo Levi