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Into the Wild

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Into the Wild Argumentative Essay Into the Wild is a 1996 non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It is an expansion of Krakauer's 9,000-word article on Christopher McCandless titled "Death of an Innocent", which appeared in the January 1993 issue of Outside. Christopher Johnson McCandless was an intelligent, idealistic young man who believed that life was best lived alone, in nature. He spent two years testing his theory throughout the western United States before he entered the wilds of Alaska unprepared and starved to death. Chris had a very bright, hopeful future and why he left it all behind confuses most people. After analyzing Chris's personality traits, it helps things make sense. This makes many people ask the question, what was Christopher McCandless's temperament type? The theory of temperament type was introduced in the 1920s by Carl G. Jung. The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment. Based on evidence from the story, Chris McCandless was most likely an INTP (introverted, intuitive, thinking, and perceiving) temperament type. This means he was focused internally, where he dealt with things rationally and logically. Some people would diagree wiht this position and would argue that Chris McCandless leaned towards the preference of sensing and feeling. There is some evidence provided in the story that Chris demonstrated the preference of sensing. According to MBTI basics, a person with a sensing personality type pays attention to physical reality; what they see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. They're concerned with what is actual, present, current, and real. They notice facts and remember details that are important. They like to see the practical use of things and experience speaks to them louder than words. At one time in the story Gallien tells about how "Alex admitted that the only food in his pack was a ten-pound bag of rice. His gear seemed exceedingly minimal for the harsh conditions of the interior (Krakauer 2)." The story also tells us about how "He hid his car and buried its license plates along with his rifle. He piled his paper money together — about $120 — and set it on fire(17)." Based on this information about Chris, it would appear that he is a person who only pays attention to present problems and may not be too concerened about future situations. This example shows how Chris demonstrates the sensing personality characteristic but he was more intuitive, for example in the story Wayne Westerberg talks about how Chris was "mechanicaly minded." Other people might also argue that Chris McCandless demonstrated the feeling preference based on some of the behavior Chris engaged in. The feeling preference is described by MBTI basics as a person who believes they can make the best decisions by weighing what people care about and the points-of-view of persons involved in a situation. They are concerned with values and what is the best for the people involved. They are sometimes considered “soft hearted”. In the story Wayne Westerberg recounts about how "Before leaving Carthage, McCandless gave Westerberg a 1942 edition of Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, signing it "from Alexander."(12)." The story also tells the reader about how "He (Chris McCandless) had received a bequest from a family friend, but instead of using the money that remained (about $24,000) to attend law school, as McCandless's parents assumed he would, he donated it to OXFAM America, a charity dedicated to fighting hunger(12)." Both of these accounts show how Chris can be "soft-hearted" and can be concerned with moral values. These examples show how Chris can have some characteristics of the feeling preference but he was much more thinking, because he used logical analysis to make decisions. When Chris worked at the ranch for 11 days and, McCandless realized that Crazy Ernie was never going to pay him, he left the ranch and resumed hitchhiking. Nevertheless, with all of the evidence projected throughout the story, Chris has an INTP temperament type. First, when it comes to the extroversion and introversion preferences, Chis McCandless prefered introversion. According to MBTI's Basics, introverted people may have fewer friends but deeper relationships and enjoy working individually or in small groups. In the story "before leaving Carthage, McCandless gave Wayne Westerberg a 1942 edition of Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, signing it "from Alexander."(12)." Additionally, when Franz was interviewed about Chris, he tells us about when he "tells McCandless that he wants to adopt him.(35)" Both of these examples therefore demonstrate that Chris may have not had many friends but he had strong relationships with the friends he did have. However a person who prefers to be extroverted may not have developed such close relationships with people as Chris. Further, when Jan and Bob were interviewed we learned that "McCandless stays with Jan and Bob at "the Slabs." There he helps Jan and Bob sell used books at the local flea market.(27)" Thus, this is an demonstration of how Chris enjoyed working in smaller groups which strongly supports that he was an introvert. In contrast an extroverted person would have worked with a larger group of people unlike Chris. In summary, when deciding if Chris McCandless was extroverted or introverted, these facts strongly suggest that he was introverted. Secondly, when it comes to sensing and intuitive preferences, Chris McCandless prefered intuitive. According to MBTI's Basics, an intuitive person prefers patterns and meanings, attends to future possibilities and prefers a "big picture" approach to learning. For example, when being interviewed about Chris, Wayne Westerberg said, "Alex (Chris) definitely wasn't what you'd call mechanically minded." Others note that McCandless lacked common sense and the ability to see "the forest for the trees"(41)." Truly, this shows how Chris prefered to see the big picture instead of looking at the details. In contrast, a person with the sensing preference would be able to see the trees in the forest but not the big picture. Additionally, in the story we learn about how Chris had to make a decision to keep his damaged car or not and "He saw the flash flood as an opportunity to shed unnecessary baggage.(29)” Thus, Chris, being an intuitive person, saw the car as a future problem so he left it behind. Yet, if he were a person who prefered sensing, he may have stayed with the car and tried to have it fixed. Another person that meet Chris during his journey was Stuckey and "Stuckey buys a bag of rice for McCandless and then drives him to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, where McCandless wants to look up books on edible plants at the library.(105)" Hence, this is another example of Chris looking to the future by learning valuable information and gathering gear that will help him survive that Alaskan wilderness. Truly, all of these examples prove that Chris McCandless was an intuitive person. Next, when it comes to the thinking and feeling preferences, I believe that Chris McCandless prefered thinking. According to MBTI's Basics, a person with the thinking preference uses logical analysis to make decisions, appreciates objective and impersonal criteria and they are sometimes considered "tough minded". For instance, in his journal Chris wrote about "After working at the ranch for 11 days, however, McCandless realized that Crazy Ernie was never going to pay him, so he left the ranch and resumed hitchhiking.(18)" Therefore, this shows how Chris used logical analysis to make a decision; since he knew he wasn't going to get paid he left the job. Yet, a person with the feeling preference may have stayed at the ranch longer before not getting payed and leaving. In addition, another one of the people that meet Chris during his journey was Franz who "tries to convince McCandless to leave the encampment, which he believes is a bad influence, but the young man replies, "You don't need to worry about me. I have a college education. I'm not destitute. I'm living like this by choice."(32)" Hence, this account shows how tough minded Chris could be, because even though people are trying to convince him to go home, he refuses to do so. On the other hand, if Chris had the feeling preference he may have quit and gone home many times throughout his journey. Equally important, Gallien was another person that Chris meet while traveling and Gallien described Chris: "He was determined. Real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited. He couldn't wait to head out there and get started.(6)" Consequently, this is another example how tough minded and determined Chris could be. In the end all of these accounts support the idea that Chris prefered thinking over feeling. Finally, when it comes to the judging and perceiving preferences, I support the idea that Chris McCandless prefered perceiving. According to MBTI's a person with the perceiving preference prefers flexibility in the real world, resists closure and prefers remaining open to obtain additional information, and prefers activities that are less structured. For example, we learn through Chris's journal that "McCandless does not know — because he refused to obtain a map of the area — that the river is passable only one mile upstream.(112)" Therefore, Chris prefered perceiving and because of that he did not bring a map because he prefered less structured activities. In contrast, a person with the judging preference would have most likely brought a map with them. Equally important, before Chris went hitch hiking across the country we learned that he tried it before. "McCandless planned a road trip the summer before his freshman year of college and he promised to call his parents every three days but he stopped after a few calls.(78)" Consequently, this shows us that Chris tried to have an organized trip but because of his perceiving preference, he stopped calling his parents so that his trip was more flexible. Additionally, when Wayne Westerberg was being interviewed about Chris, he also says,""Alex"(Chris) " . . . just got stuck on something that happened between him and his dad and couldn't leave it be.(42)" Hence, this is an example of how Chris resisted closure in his relationship with his father, which supports the idea that he prefered perceiving. In the final analysis, all of these examples and accounts support the idea that between perceiving and judging, Chris prefered perceiving. Chris McCandless was introverted, intuitive, thinking, and perceiving when it came to his temperament type and this is clearly proved by the information that is provided in the story. He was introverted because he had fewer friends but he strong relationships with those friends. Chris was intuitive because he was always attending to future possibilities. I believe he had the thinking preference as well because he used logical analysis to make decisions and was "tough minded" at times. Finally he is the perceiving type because he resisted closure and prefered to obtain additional information. Chris McCandless was an intelligent, idealistic young man who believed that life is best lived alone, in nature, and he died living the life he wanted to live.

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