Into the wild is about a young man named Chris McCandless otherwise known as Alex, who is transcendental. At the beginning of the book, Alex is raised in a very puritanical family, but Alex becomes rebellious and transcendentalist as he runs away from his family and his life as Christopher McCandless. Alex, growing up in the 80s, created a different outlook on life because there weren't many rebellious people at that time. None (overall) were truly transcendental. Alex was the first modern transcendental hero. At that time people were still living according to Puritan beliefs, so it was very unlikely and unheard of for a person to go and do all the things Alex had done. When Alex floated down the river it was romantic. He knew he shouldn't have done it, he could have turned back and gone home, but when he did, he enjoyed it and didn't care too much about the consequences. Chris wasn't completely out of his mind, he had gone to college, had maintained near-perfect grades, had never partied and made the mistakes that teenagers usually make, and was very focused on the things he wanted to achieve in life. He lived by the phrase “If you want something in this life, reach out and take it.” Alex has made many mistakes, as everyone does in life, but unlike many people who give up on things they want or are afraid to pursue what they want because they are afraid of what society will say, Alex hasn't. He went after everything he wanted and didn't let anyone tell him otherwise. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In chapter 11, his family mentions “always tries to push him away from the edge.” In chapters 4 and 5 Alex gets arrested, visits Arizona, goes to Mexico, spends a night in jail, and quits his job at McDonald's because they made him wear socks, and not once has Alex shown any remorse in running away. Chapters 7 and 8 show how Alex is a romantic as he builds many close relationships with the people he comes in contact with. Although it is easy for him to let go and move on from these people's lives, he is fond because he tells them he will return when he returns from Alaska. I think Alex encounters realism when he comes to the reality that everything can't go as he plans and he starts to die. When Westberg tells Alex he can buy him a plane ticket to Fairbanks to work a little longer and get to Alaska by the end of April, Alex tells him, “No, I want to hitchhike north. Flying would be cheating. It would ruin the whole trip.” Alex saying that this is a scam and that he wants to do things on his own shows that Alex is transcendental. Ultimately is where the puritanical, realist side of Alex comes out as he signs his name one last time and as Chris McCandless. Right now, he wants life. He wants his life back. The Thing They Carried is about Tim O'Brien, a very puritanical young man who represents realism and rational beliefs. Tim O'Brien grew up in a Puritan family, graduated from high school and attended college. Tim receives a letter telling him that he must continue to fight in a war. Tim O'Brien is not at all happy when he hears about this. He doesn't want to fight in the war because he feels he is too good for war. Tim O'Brien claimed he was too good for war because he is smart and because he hated camping. Because of Tim's puritanical beliefs and fear of being despised, he fights in the war. Tim is very lucky to have survived the war, but in his mind he is dead. He suffers deeply from the things he had to see and the things he.