NAME:___________________________________________
In-class Notes for Into The Wild
Consider for note-taking:
How is this film transcendental? What aspects of Emerson’s philosophy in “The American Scholar”, “Self-Reliance”, “The
Transcendentalist”, and “Nature” does this film address? What aspects of Thoreau’s Walden does this film contain? This
film suggests many things. Are the lessons contained in this film consistent with the teachings of Emerson and the lessons of
Thoreau? How does it prove them right, wrong, both, etc., and in what ways? Does it add more to Transcendentalism for the
Modern Person?
You will be required to write an in-class essay in which you demonstrate your understanding of Transcendentalist philosophy
by identifying it in the text Into The Wild by John Krakauer and/or the film of the same name written and directed by Sean
Penn.
The following are some things to take note of while watching the film:
Imagery
“genius”
Time
Symbols
Nature
“survival”
Characterization
self-reliance
travel
Situations
Over-soul
work
friendships/ influences
originality
“direct living”
“lives of quiet desperation”
Necessity
Art
Beauty