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Self-discovery and Societal Expectations - Coggle Diagram
Self-discovery and Societal Expectations
The movie "Into the Wild" was a very impactful part of this course to me. We watched the movie after reading Thoreau and was able to compare and contrast the two.
Both these two true stories include deep self-discovery for the characters.
Taking notice of detail was important to both these men.
Interactions between nature and other characters served as learning points for both Thoreau and McCandless.
Large takeaways from this were that nature is a great equalizer of all things. Society is what categorizes people into these man-made groups, but naturally, we are all just humans.
A naturalist vision can include that "less is better."
Living a simplistic life does not mean you are "simple."
Thoreau and McCanless (from the movie) both attempted to live this life or a season.
They both faced many challenges but were happy to break free from the societal barriers they faced previously.
Both described society as being like a prison. McCandless especially found this to be true.
Society may see living a simplistic life in nature as crazy.
Thoreau has been criticized as being a hermit among other things.
McCanless was criticized by people in Alaska as one of the "crackpots" that come to die in the wild.
We however know that choosing to value nature is not a "crazy" idea. You can find yourself by breaking free from the barriers society may place on you. Immersing your self in nature brings about a level of understanding that can rarely be found elsewhere.
Money and Economics
Economics was mentioned in this course through many different lenses. In this case, a naturalist and simplistic view found that money holds very little importance.
Thoreau's
Economy
section challenged this very topic.
In
Economy
we saw that Thoreau brought about a challenging idea that said the more you have, the more problems it creates in return.
There was a theme that excess material is not necessary for your health or survival.
Outside very basic needs like food and shelter of course.
We looked at the question of what do you actually need to survive? How does nature impact your needs and happiness?
The following quote from Thoreau stuck with me and is related to this very topic. "Most men appear never to have considered what a house is, and are actually though needlessly poor all their lives because they think they must have such a one as their neighbors have.”
