The Attainment of Physical and Psychological Freedoms in Support of an Enhanced Identity and Voice

Nabeel Quryshi
Jul 28, 2017 · 12 min read

For human beings, freedom is often characterized as a core component of any conventional society. Defined as the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint, freedoms allows individuals to expand their voice within society. In parallel, freedom exists in many forms. According to William Gairdner, author of The Great Divide, there are 6 main types of freedom for human beings: internal freedom, self-freedom, external freedom, political freedom, collective or “higher” freedom, and spiritual freedom (Gairdner). Although the characters in Into the Wild written by Jon Krakauer and Benito Cereno written by Herman Melville each live in distinct societies, environments and time periods, the base motive behind the ir discrete undertakings remains the same and echoes the transcendentalist ideology explored in Walden , written by Henry David Thoreau and Self-Reliance, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson as they all strive to enhance at least one specific type of freedom. A society, an intended ensemble of order, is often seen as a positive and healthy environment for individuals; however, through the actions of Chris Mccandless, Don Benito and the Transcendentalists Emerson and Thoreau, we are able to witness their search for freedom outside the bounds of a society. The enhancement of voice and identity is directly related to the quest for freedom as individuals similar to those present in Into the Wild, Benito Cereno, as well as Emerson and Thoreau start their search for freedom because of the initial inhibition of their individuality. An underlying theme present in all the texts is the pursuit of physical and psychological freedoms which in turn strengthens the inner voice and identity of the various transcendentalist/nonconformist based characters.

One of the most common freedoms sought after within the lives of Chris Mccandless, Don Benito and Henry David Thoreau is physical freedom. The inhibition of physical freedom in comparison to the hindrance of other freedoms is more noticeable within a work of literature. Due to its superior visibility within the text, it consequently has a profound impact on the growth of the characters as well as their voice and individuality. Amidst his life, Thoreau felt compelled to focus and devote more effort to his publications. During a time in March 1845, the foremost Unitarian preacher, Ellery Channing, instructed Thoreau to “Go out upon that, build yourself a hut, and there begin the grand process of devouring yourself alive” (University of Georgia). Taking the words to heart, Thoreau undertook his well known two year simple living adventure. On July 4, 1845, Thoreau moved into a “pretty pasture and woodlot” of a house in a forest surrounding Walden Pond which he had previously constructed on land that Emerson, another leading transcendentalist owned (University of Georgia). He often “got up early and bathed in the pond” and therefore “renew[ed] thyself completely each day” (Thoreau). His escape from conventional society demonstrates his physical liberation from the fetters of a conformist driven community and the negative components which society contains such as fighting, jealousy, and hypocrisy. Throughout Walden , one of Thoreau’s most well known books, he reminisces about his feeling of solitariness. Subsequently, Thoreau elucidates how desolateness can spawn even among the presence of others if one does not fully invest time, energy, and compassion. However his freedom from the physical bonds of conventional society allowed him to experience “every morning as a cheerful invitation to make my [his] life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself” (Thoreau).

Similarly, within Into the Wild, Chris’s Alaskan trekking adventure mimics the previous undertaking of Henry David Thoreau through his disbandment from conventional society. Although Chris is often seen and depicted as a nonconf ormist, one could argue that he d oes indeed embody a conformist mindset. Despite his detachment from society, Mccandless is conforming to a higher divinity through his search for transcendence. The question becomes: Can anyone truly embrace and follow the practice of strict nonconformity? Within his personal journal while on his big trip, Mccandless in the third person writes the following: “Two years he walks the earth, no phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return, ’cause “the West is the best.” And now after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure, the climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual revolution. Ten days and nights of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him to the great white North. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild” (Krakauer: 163). This excerpt details the feelings McCandless has towards his embarkment shortly after the commencement of his trek into the Alaskan wilderness. He describes his newly attained physical freedom and his views on his previous experience with society as he states that he “no longer [has] to be poisoned by civilization” (Krakauer: 163). However, similar to Thoreau and his eventual reentry within conventional society following his time in the woods, an underlying and often missed message within McCandless’s journal entry is that Chris intends to also rejoin civilization at a later date as he describes his Alaska trip as his “final” adventure, which will “conclude the[his] spiritual revolution” (Krakauer: 163). Although he does say that “Thou shalt not return”, McCandless truly means that he does not intend to return to the East as “the West is the best” and not that he intends to journey into the wilderness to die (Krakauer: 163). Finally, the quotation details the interplay between his desire for independence and his lack of more intimate relationships as he fully embraces his wilderness journey and is finally able to experience “ultimate freedom” (Krakauer: 163).

In conjunction with the search for physical freedom, Don Benito and Henry David Thoreau both experience an impediment of their physical freedom which induces their own quest to attain such physical freedom. Within Benito Cereno, written by Herman Melville, Babo has complete control over Don Benito. However, Don Benito’s experience with a forced inhibition of his physical freedom is unique in that Benito is falsely portrayed as in control in order to carry out the deceit aboard the San Dominick. A prime example of Don Benito’s lack of physical freedom is during the shaving scene in which Babo yields a blade close to Benito’s vulnerable throat. Babo’s description that “master always shakes when I shave him” is ironic as Babo is actually the one in control and it also demonstrates Don Benito’s inhibition of physical freedom through his nervous shuddering (Herman Melville: 85). The fact that Benito Cereno is forced to comply with Babo and carry out this masterful deceit is also an example of the impediment of Don Benito’s physical freedom. Likewise, Thoreau also experienced his own version of inhibited physical freedom during his time in jail. During late July in 1846, Thoreau met up with his tax collector Sam Staples who commanded him to pay the 6 years worth of poll taxes he owed. However, Henry David Thoreau declined due to his staunch disapproval for the Mexican-American War and the institution of slavery for which the taxes supported. Due to his non compliance, he was jailed for a night yet freed against his wishes the next day by an aunt who paid the taxes. His time in jail allowed Thoreau to fully experience one of the harsher forms of restricted physical freedom as his ability to “move about, to speak, to do things, to work and especially to act on the physical world” which constitute the main components of physical freedom, were in some form limited (Dickey). However, although he was denied his physical freedom, Thoreau was still able to maintain and in some respects even enhance his more abstract freedoms, such as his psychological and emotional freedoms, during his imprisonment. His experience influenced Thoreau profoundly as he later went on to orate lectures on “The Rights and Duties of the Individual in relation to Government” (Columbia University Press).

Aside from a restraint and quest for physical freedom, Chris McCandless, Don Benito as well as the transcendentalists Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson experience in some form an obstruction of their psychological freedom which subsequently prompts their escape from their respective former communities. However, although the characters experience damage to their respective psychological freedoms, it is never fully taken away from them. Instead, it is severely limited which consequently makes the characters seek ways to restore it. This type of more abstract freedom differs from physical freedom as “normal human beings are born and remain free in the most important sense that they are forever and at every conscious moment freely-choosing beings” (Gairdner). However, it is impossible to erase this style of freedom completely as the act of even choosing a medium of escape exercises this type of freedom.

Henry David Thoreau and Chris McCandless retained roughly around the same magnitude of freedom within their former societies. However, their escape from their respective societies and communities demonstrates their search for psychological freedom which was not, in their opinion, a priority of their former communities. During an explanation of the motive behind his escape into the woods, Henry David Thoreau states that he journeyed into the woods to “live deliberately” and not “live what was not life” (Thoreau). He describes that although he was “living” in his former society, he did not experience the benefits of psychological freedom. Moreover, Thoreau asserts that the “man who does not believe that each day contains an earlier, more sacred, and auroral hour than he has yet profaned, has despaired of life, and is pursuing a descending and darkening way” (Thoreau). Similar to his use of life as a method to talk about more abstract freedoms, Thoreau uses the notion of a day to describe an individual’s life and the “auroral hour” to describe psychological freedom. Although Thoreau’s wording is different in various parts of Walden , his base ideology remains constant as his underlying message describes his desire to pursue these often overlooked freedoms within the woods. Similar to Henry David Thoreau, Chris McCandless is also in pursuit of psychological freedom. His journey into the Alaskan wilderness demonstrates his desire to free his mind of the clutter accumulated in his former society and his embracement of the transcendentalist ideology of Thoreau. However, McCandless differs slightly from Thoreau as he heightens his desire to have psychological freedom to another level. Although the base essence of his quest to attain such freedom remains the same, his lack of and distaste towards personal relationships with others slightly differentiates McCandless and Thoreau. As McCandless is leaving Ron Franz, who awaits for McCandless’s return for about a year, Krakauer states that “McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well — relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it” (Krakauer: 55). The passage describes Chris’s dislike and lack of intimacy which are central throughout his adventurous yet fatal search for transcendence. Moreover, during the two years of his major journey, McCandless has no contact with his sister with whom he was previously very close and makes special effort to remain distant from the many people he encounters. By allowing himself to eliminate the distractions and duties one has in all intimate relationships, McCandless is oblivious to the harm done to those who care for him during the times when he risks his life and safety. For example, following his death, Walt McCandless (Chris’s father) states, “How is it that a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain?” (Krakauer: 103–104). His father’s comment strongly suggests that Chris is ignorant to the feelings of others during the periods where he risks his well being as his father had no control over Chris’s Alaskan adventure.

In contrast to both McCandless and Thoreau, Don Benito’s experience with obstructions to his freedom are different in that he is primarily fighting for his survival. Although he desires to enhance his identity and voice, he intends to accomplish this by jumping overboard and claiming physical freedom. His actions demonstrate his focus upon attaining physical freedom as opposed to psychological freedom. Consequently, this demonstrates the necessity of having a substantial level of physical freedom before pursuing psychological freedom like McCandless and Thoreau. In conjunction with this assertion, one could postulate as to whether Chris McCandless and Thoreau would act similarly to Don Benito if their physical freedom was more directly inhibited. Moreover, Don Benito’s experiences elucidate the idea that the different kinds of freedom can be organized in a bottom up triangular hierarchy system similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, with physical freedom constituting the base and psychological freedom more towards the top. The system would detail which freedoms were needed in order to pursue other more complex ones and would be centered upon physical freedom as the basis of all freedoms.

The strengthening of voice and identity is a direct product of the enhancement of freedom. Similarly, in order to “be” yourself and possess a keen voice and identity, one must possess freedom in some fashion. Often times, the exploration of one’s identity and societal voice is met with a misunderstanding from the public and community. However this misunderstanding is key to enhancing one’s voice and identity. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, another leading transcendentalist, “To be great is to misunderstood” (Emerson). The actions of Chris McCandless and Don Benito provide a literary example for Emerson’s claim as their actions are frequently questioned and often perplex other characters within their respective social circles. The actions of McCandless perplex his father specifically as he is confused as to how “a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain” (Krakauer: 103–104). His father provides an example of this misunderstanding as he is not aware of his son’s quest for transcendence and his pursuit for psychological freedom. Moreover, Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild, often stays up “well past midnight, trying to make sense of McCandless’s life and death, yet his essence remains slippery, vague and elusive” to the curious and passionate writer (Krakauer: 186). Similarly, Don Benito’s actions are misunderstood by Captain Delano at first as he is slow to realize that not himself, but “Don Benito, the black, in leaping into the boat, had intended to stab” (Herman Melville: 97). Although he does eventually make sense of Don Benito’s actions, his slow realization is characteristic of his misunderstanding of Don Benito’s intentions to escape the San Dominick. The misunderstanding surrounding the actions of Chris McCandless and Don Benito is a representation of their great strides in enhancing their identity and voice by the attainment of the specific types of freedom they actively seek.

Ultimately, through the actions and ideologies of Chris McCandless, Don Benito and the Transcendentalists Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, we are able to witness their search for various forms of freedom that directly enhance their respective identity and voice. However, their respective journeys should not be confined merely to works of literature as identity, voice and freedom are themes that are extremely prevalent in the modern century and pertain to all individuals regardless of age, race, gender or religion. The growth of technology and social media provide a great platform for the enhancement of our identity and voice as the freedom to express our thoughts, feelings, and views is not obstructed online. However, it is up to us as independent individuals to use this tool and resource in healthy and positive ways.


Nabeel Quryshi is 17 years old and a rising senior at the University School of Milwaukee. His award-winning research focuses on developing novel therapeutics to combat coronary artery disease and the detrimental effects of chemotherapy upon the cardiovascular system. In addition, his current research goals include creating and utilizing a novel mathematical model of the human cell to understand the complexity of cellular systems.

He has presented his research and findings at state, national and international conferences and competitions. Having won the Best of Fair — 1st Place Grand Award at the Badger State Science & Engineering Fair, Nabeel most recently was awarded the prestigious First Place Grand Award in the Biomedical & Health Sciences category at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair. This places his research in the top 40 projects in the world and bestows the privilege of having an asteroid/minor planet named in his honor.

Aside from his passion for all things science, he is captain of the varsity tennis team, concertmaster of the orchestra and founder and president of Harmonies for Health, a community orchestral performance ensemble. He is an ardent advocate of STEM education for all and was recently invited as a keynote speaker at the inaugural March for Science Milwaukee. Nabeel will also share his love for science as an invited TEDx speaker later this August.

Nabeel is also passionate about his religion. As a director of AMAN (American Muslims Assisting Neighbors), he has a desire to fix the way Islam is portrayed in the modern media.

Companies:
Annulata LLC — annulata.com
— lifescitechnologies.com
— tetradgraphics.com
— geneowl.com

Nabeel Quryshi

Written by

Scientist, Social Activist, Entrepreneur, Harvard 2022, 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Candidate #30Under30 #forbes

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