Here are my quotes from Death of An Innocent, about Christopher McCandless. pulled
to support my idea that he was an INFJ.
"And although he wasn't burdened with a surfeit of common sense and possessed a
streak of stubborn idealism that did not readily mesh with the realities of
modern life.
"An extremely intense young man, McCandless had been captivated by the writing of
Leo Tolstoy. He particularly admired the fact that the great novelist had
forsaken a life of wealth and privilege to wander among the destitute. For
several years he had been emulating the count's asceticism and moral rigor to a
degree that astonished and occasionally alarmed those who knew him well.
"And totally honest–what you'd call extremely ethical. He set pretty high
standards for himself.
"In fact, I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too
much thinking. Sometimes he tried too hard to make sense of the world, to figure
out why people were bad to each other so often. A couple of times I tried to
tell him it was a mistake to get too deep into that kind of stuff, but Alex got
stuck on things. He always had to know the absolute right answer before he could
go on to the next thing."
"there was some $20,000 in this account at the time of his graduation, money his
parents thought he intended to use for law school. Instead, he donated the
entire sum to the Oxford Famine Relief Fund.
"Chris McCandless intended to invent a new life for himself, one in which he
would be free to wallow in unfiltered experience.
"How is it," he wonders aloud as he gazes blankly across Chesapeake Bay, "that a
kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain?"
As early as third grade, a bemused teacher was moved to pull Chris's parents
aside and inform them that their son "marched to a different drummer."
"He'd tell us to think about all the evil in the world, all the hatred, and
imagine ourselves running against the forces of darkness, the evil wall that was
trying to keep us from running our best. He believed doing well was all mental,
a simple matter of harnessing whatever energy was available.
"Chris didn't understand how people could possibly be allowed to go hungry,
especially in this country," says Billie McCandless, a small woman with large,
expressive eyes–the same eyes Chris is said to have had. "He would rave about
that kind of thing for hours."
For months he spoke seriously of traveling to South Africa and joining the
struggle to end apartheid. On weekends, when his high school pals were attending
keggers and trying to sneak into Georgetown bars, McCandless would wander the
seedier quarters of Washington, chatting with pimps and hookers and homeless
people, buying them meals, earnestly suggesting ways they might improve their
lives. Once, he actually picked up a homeless man from downtown D.C., brought
him to the leafy streets of Annandale, and secretly set him up in the Airstream
trailer that his parents kept parked in the driveway. Walt and Billie never even
knew they were hosting a vagrant.
McCandless's personality was puzzling in its complexity. He was intensely
private but could be convivial and gregarious in the extreme. And despite his
overdeveloped social conscience, he was no tight-lipped, perpetually grim
do-gooder who frowned on fun.
McCandless could be generous and caring to a fault, but he had a darker side as
well, characterized by monomania, impatience, and unwavering self-absorption...."
to support my idea that he was an INFJ.
"And although he wasn't burdened with a surfeit of common sense and possessed a
streak of stubborn idealism that did not readily mesh with the realities of
modern life.
"An extremely intense young man, McCandless had been captivated by the writing of
Leo Tolstoy. He particularly admired the fact that the great novelist had
forsaken a life of wealth and privilege to wander among the destitute. For
several years he had been emulating the count's asceticism and moral rigor to a
degree that astonished and occasionally alarmed those who knew him well.
"And totally honest–what you'd call extremely ethical. He set pretty high
standards for himself.
"In fact, I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too
much thinking. Sometimes he tried too hard to make sense of the world, to figure
out why people were bad to each other so often. A couple of times I tried to
tell him it was a mistake to get too deep into that kind of stuff, but Alex got
stuck on things. He always had to know the absolute right answer before he could
go on to the next thing."
"there was some $20,000 in this account at the time of his graduation, money his
parents thought he intended to use for law school. Instead, he donated the
entire sum to the Oxford Famine Relief Fund.
"Chris McCandless intended to invent a new life for himself, one in which he
would be free to wallow in unfiltered experience.
"How is it," he wonders aloud as he gazes blankly across Chesapeake Bay, "that a
kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain?"
As early as third grade, a bemused teacher was moved to pull Chris's parents
aside and inform them that their son "marched to a different drummer."
"He'd tell us to think about all the evil in the world, all the hatred, and
imagine ourselves running against the forces of darkness, the evil wall that was
trying to keep us from running our best. He believed doing well was all mental,
a simple matter of harnessing whatever energy was available.
"Chris didn't understand how people could possibly be allowed to go hungry,
especially in this country," says Billie McCandless, a small woman with large,
expressive eyes–the same eyes Chris is said to have had. "He would rave about
that kind of thing for hours."
For months he spoke seriously of traveling to South Africa and joining the
struggle to end apartheid. On weekends, when his high school pals were attending
keggers and trying to sneak into Georgetown bars, McCandless would wander the
seedier quarters of Washington, chatting with pimps and hookers and homeless
people, buying them meals, earnestly suggesting ways they might improve their
lives. Once, he actually picked up a homeless man from downtown D.C., brought
him to the leafy streets of Annandale, and secretly set him up in the Airstream
trailer that his parents kept parked in the driveway. Walt and Billie never even
knew they were hosting a vagrant.
McCandless's personality was puzzling in its complexity. He was intensely
private but could be convivial and gregarious in the extreme. And despite his
overdeveloped social conscience, he was no tight-lipped, perpetually grim
do-gooder who frowned on fun.
McCandless could be generous and caring to a fault, but he had a darker side as
well, characterized by monomania, impatience, and unwavering self-absorption...."
