Chris McCandless was a brave and fearless young man who took the fate of his life into his own hands. Instead of following social norms and living how society, his parents, and those around him told him to, Chris ventured out into the world on his own to live his life by his own rules. Chris did not care what other people thought of him and he did not want to live the way society taught him to. By rejecting money, cars, maps, and other things that could have kept him alive, he proved himself to be an independent and adventurous young man. “I can almost understand why he rejected maps, common sense, conventional wisdom and local knowledge before embarking on his venture. Occasionally when I hear others make fun of Christopher McCandless, I fall quiet” (Sherry Simpson).
In the summer of 1992, the body of a young man was discovered inside a derelict bus miles away from civilization. Christopher Johnson McCandless was born in a “well-to-do family” from the East Coast. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer documents the life and adventures of McCandless. McCandless donated all the money in his college fund to Oxfam America, a charity dedicated to fighting hunger, shortly after graduating from Emory University. In 1990, he left his apartment in Atlanta and headed west on a solo odyssey that would ultimately end in the Alaskan wilderness.
Many have endeavored to understand why McCandless gave up his possessions and way of life to wander the wilderness. Others are unable to understand why he chose to do what he did. Analyzing his actions, thoughts, and feelings throughout the story allows us to better understand his personality. A person’s personality can be broken down into four dichotomous groups of preferences. Four of these preferences can be used to create a distinctive personality (temperament) type. Understanding McCandless’ temperament type will make his choices and actions clearer. So, what was his temperament type? Based on evidence from the story, the temperament type of McCandless was likely INTP – (I)ntroverted, i(N)tuition, (T)hinking, and (P)erceiving.
