Henry David Thoreau vs. Christopher Mccandless

Before reading from "Walden; or, Life in the Woods" the only thing I really knew about Henry David Thoreau is that he found nature inspiring. This seems to be the trait people relate to him. Now I see why. Reading about nature through Thoreau's voice made me find his inspiration myself. His vivid descriptions of of the ice on th pond and the slight flurries of snow paint a picture of peace and serenity hidden among the trees in the winter time. He wants to be out there among nature, thats why he intends to build a house rather than just live in a tent. This is one way that, we'll call him Supertramp, and Thoreau seem to differ in ideals. In all of the adventures I have seen Supertramp undertake in the movie he never does anything to make a more permanent home. He lives in other people's trailers, and builds insufficient tents,It seems to me that he wouldn't want to chop down a whole tree in order to make a home for himself. He wants to live in the wild, but he wants to move through it, he is trying to get to Alaska, and even when there I don't think he would take down trees, an essential part of nature in order to build a place for himself. Thoreau however, looks at this a little differently. He says "It is difficult to begin without borrowing." To Supertramp, the trees aren't his to cut down, it would be too close to the brutality of society that he is trying to escape. Thoreau sees chopping down the trees to create a home for himself as borrowing, he has every right to borrow, for he intends to give back to the land, to the woods by Walden Pond, in the careful and respectful way he will live there, which is unlike most Americans.
Despite this vast difference in ideals, Supertramp and Thoreau do share some like-minded views. One strong example being their ideas about travel. When I first watched Supertramp abandon his car and burn his identity and money I thought he was absolutely crazy. My very first thought was "why wouldn't he just go to law school and make money so he can travel?" To him, this wouldn't be worth it. He wants to escape societal norms and travel into the wild on his own, finding his food and his way using his own instincts and strength. Tour buses and hotels never would have made Supertramp happy, he never would have been able to become part of the wild as he has by traveling on foot. Throeau shares this sentiment. It seems other people viewed his situation the way I first viewed Supertramp's they asked why he didn't just take cars to go see what he wanted. He explains that he has learned that "the swiftest traveler is he that goes afoot." This sentiment easily could have been said by Supertramp.
As Throreau writes about his intentions upon going into the woods and his hopes for learning and living before death, i am very strongly reminded of Supertramp and his strong driven journey. The two men differ in some ideals and the way that they view nature, but their similarities are far stronger than their differences. They both seem to find nature inspiring. Now, I can say that statement with true understanding of what it means.