Inherent in human nature are
unconscious factors that determine how individuals respond to situations
presented during the course of one’s experience. Many of these circumstances present
themselves unwittingly and provide the individual with the appropriate context
to express these archetypes. Carl Gustav
Jung identified numerous archetypes. He
defines these archetypes as instinctual reactions to certain human
experiences. One example of a typical
human experience involves a rebirth process.
Though this process can be seen amongst all human cultures throughout history
the type of rebirth and the instantiation of the process are unique for each
individual. Jon Krakauer in his book
“Into the Wild” passionately delves into the rebirth process that Chris
Mccandless experienced. Krakauer is an appropriate
author to analyze the life of Mr. Mccandless as he had successfully undergone a
rebirth process of his own. An avid
climber who peaked Mt. Everest, Krakauer relates his experience climbing Devil’s
Thumb to Alex’s attempt to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. This was an ambitious goal for Krakauer and
he identifies mutual experiences; challenge, adventure, and the need to prove
something to oneself. The book was
adapted into a motion picture and was beautifully directed by Sean Penn under
the same title “Into the Wild.” The film
approaches the story from a different perspective, accomplishing the director’s
goals effectively. The story is an
analysis, an observation of the need of certain individuals to pursue their own
rebirth narrative on a grandiose scale.
The film takes the perspective of Chris and poignantly idealizes his
experience up until the moment when Chris is seen succumbing to death. Erik Erikson is a psychoanalyst. He identifies the steps of the transformation
process whose blueprint is seen in humans.
The five phases cohere well with Chris’s story. In a recantation of a lecture Carl Jung gave
in 1939 entitled “Concerning Rebirth” the psychoanalyst articulates a
comprehensive analysis of the rebirth archetypal pattern in humans. A description of the types of rebirth must be
analyzed. Next it will be shown that
Chris’s narrative follows the initiation and transformation process well. Finally a comparative analysis of the book and
the movie will be explained. Chris
embarked on ambitious adventure. His naïveté
prohibited him from successfully completing the last phase of his
transformation process as death came before Chris could be reintegrated back
into society. This does not take away
from Chris’s successful conscious pursuit of truth. Though the tragedy of Chris’s death did not
allow him to experience reintegration with his enlarged personality, Chris
accomplished an internal transformation that marked the completion of his
rebirth process.
The most
comprehensive discussion of Jungian analysis of the rebirth process comes in Jung’s
article “Concerning Rebirth.” Jung
describes five individual types of rebirth processes. The first type of rebirth that Jung discusses
is the metempsychosis/transmigration of souls.
This is the belief that ones life is prolonged because their soul moves
into a different bodily existence. Jung
points to examples like the religion of Buddhism that hold this belief. The next type of rebirth is reincarnation. For reincarnation type rebirth to occur the personality
is continuous and accessible to memory so you remember your past-life’s experiences
(after reincarnation or birth). The
individual is in the same ego-form as that aspect of the soul was not left
behind when the reintegration phase occurs.
Jung goes on to describe the resurrection type of rebirth that has been
described through history. This is the
establishment of human existence after death.
The new existence has a new element. The Renovatio or Rebirth process is a rebirth
that occurs within the span of the individual’s life. Chris Mccandless experienced Rebirth or Renovatio. Rebirth is a renewal process. It has the capability to provide healing,
strengthening, and improvement for the individual. Carl Jung explains, “Rebirth may be a renewal
without any change of being, inasmuch as the personality which is renewed is
not changed in its essential nature, but only its functions, or parts of the
personality, are subjected to healing, strengthening, or improvement.” Chris
was dissatisfied with the status quo.
After completing his rebirth process he was able to come to terms with
the world around him. This provided
inner mental healing and was displayed poignantly in the last scene of the
movie. Chris is able to imagine the
possibility of returning to his roots and developing a satisfying relationship
with his parents built on forgiveness and his new acquired knowledge that true
happiness is shared with others. Finally
Jung describes an indirect rebirth process.
This can occur when one participates in a ceremony. Each of these five types of rebirth processes
is intricately related to the psyche.
According
to Carl Jung the rebirth process is a purely psychological process. The psychological aspect as opposed to the
physical aspect of the individual undergoes a transformation. This occurs in the psyche due to the inherent
subconscious human aspect of rebirth. Jung
describes rebirth as an actualization of the latent psychological forces in our
unconscious. He explains, “Rebirth is an
affirmation that must be counted among the primordial affirmation of
mankind.” He goes on to explain that the
primordial affirmations are based on what he defines as archetypes. These archetypes occur in everyone, found
amongst most widely differing people so it must be rooted in psychic
experiences.
This
psychological experience is made of up two aspects. The rebirth process endears itself to the
subject as the subject enjoys the experience of the transcendence of life. This type of psychological experience is induced
by ritual or a sacred rite, which reveals to him the perpetual continuation of
life through transformation and renewal.
The other aspect of ones psychological experience differs between
individuals as it is a subjective transformation. For some the individual experiences a
diminution of personality. This occurs
when the individual experiences a loss of their soul. This does not occur in Chris. This phenomenon is closely associated with
primitive thinking, as primitives lack a firm coherence of own. If this occurs in the individual the result is
of rising egocentricity. This narrows
the mental horizon and limits the receptive capability of outside forces. On the other hand enlargement of the
personality occurs in individuals during the rebirth process. This process occurs during a growth phase. External contents find their way into the
personality and assimilate into the psychological content. Individuals who experience an enlargement of
their personality tend to think that new content has come from within. Therefore it seems appropriate to engage in
the world as much as possible because it feels as though that during this
process we are allowing ourselves to internally develop aspects of this new
personality. Jung begs us to realize is
that anything that seems pleasant to us is really the aspect of our internal
psychic structure engaging in the outside world. For Chris this exposed itself in his need to
travel. He felt that those experiences
were part of the journey to discover truth rather then take the adventure deep
into his own internal structure to come to learn the truth he was looking to
discover. He traveled the country in
route to Alaska that served for him as the medium to attain truth. Chris did not recognize that in fact the
greatest journey he could have taken was into his own psychological components
and recognize that he was deprived of intimacy.
In fact Jung describes this process as the process of perhaps
discovering something inside ones own psyche.
For Jung, “Richness of mind consists in mental receptivity, not in the
accumulation of possessions.” Chris’s
influence on the outside world during his travels as displayed in the movie
should be analyzed as the directors take on Chris’s fatal flaw. His lack of intimacy during the crucial stage
of his development led Chris to engage in the world intimately. Chris searched for intimate experiences in
everything except for other people. Had
he recognized that his enjoyment in attaining an intimate relationship with the
outside world was substituting for his lack of intimacy with humans perhaps
Chris would not have allowed his naïveté to put him in such a perilous
situation but rather he would have accomplished his quest for truth earlier and
achieved the same desired result of rebirth through a more efficient and safer
medium. This process creates a new
persona, better then the first. An
individual could experience a change of internal structure during his rebirth
process. This means that some content or
aspect of the personality takes possession for one reason or another. For Chris this meant that he was following
internal aspects of his psyche that did not include his shadow. Chris repressed both material desires and any
form of intimacy with other people. Jung
goes on to pose another possible aspect of the rebirth process, identification
with a group. This means that the
individual identifies with a number of people who as a group have a collective
experience of transformation. Jung does
not mean an individual participating in a rite that many people witness, but
rather a group process. These types of
group experiences take place on a lower level of consciousness then the individual. Characteristics of this type of experience
include the participation mystique. This
means that the opinion of group coerces the individual to identify when in the
group, but when the individual leaves, he is still himself (it is essentially
an unconscious identity). The natural
transformation process that occurs coerces the individual to perceive
themselves as immortal. This is a very
intense process of individuation.
Chris’s minimal diet, underweight condition, and lack of common sense
practices are an indication that this process was occurring in Chris on a very intense
psychological level. This was very
apparent in Chris. Jung explains, “The intuition
of immortality which makes itself felt during the transformation is connected
with the peculiar nature of the unconscious.”
Jung identifies the danger in the process of individuation as
identification of ego-consciousness with the self. This produces an inflation, which threatens
consciousness with dissolution of the self.
Jung emphasizes that the environment has a very strong influence on
one’s development. Chris’s relationship
with his parents was limited by his defiant stubbornness to completely dissolve
any intimate relationship with his parents.
Chris did not allow himself to develop an intimate relationship with his
parents. This lack of intimacy during
his transition from adolescence to young adulthood led Chris to be comfortable
in isolation. For Chris this meant that
his relationship with his parents, or lack thereof, induced a lack of
intimacy.
The
initiation and transformation process is one that is similar across
humans. The anthropologists Victor
Turner and Arnold van Gennep identify five phases that an individual goes
through during an initiation and transformation. The psychologist Erik Erikson added that
during each transition to the next stage of life individuals must go through a
struggle to realize progressive “syntonic” values. If the subject is unsuccessful the individual
falls into a state of “dystonic” values.
Each life stage has unique sets of syntonic and dystonic values. Erikson goes on to explain that during the
adolescent phase people need to be provided with intimacy, otherwise that
individual could slip into isolation.
The first stage of
the initiation and transformation process is separation from home for sacred
ground. Chris Mccandless set out for the
Alaskan wilderness. He wanted to live
entirely off of the land in isolation.
This endeavor was idealized as the ultimate destination that would have
the capability to provide Chris with truth.
Chris was born in Annandale Virginia, a suburb of DC. His father Walter “Walt” was a NASA scientist
who was hired as a specialist who was hired to work on the project that would
ultimately be the United States response to Sputnik. His peers viewed him as a stubborn genius. These seem to be characteristics that Chris
shared with his father. Alex’s mother
was Walt’s mistress and eventually helped run a consulting firm out of the
family’s home. Chris’s sister Corinne
was an innocent and loving sister of whom Chris shared a bond. Chris was very
successful and talented growing up. He
was intellectually superior to many of his peers and excelled as captain of his
high school cross-country team. His
intellectual curiosity and distain for things his parents were associated with
led to his vehemence pursuit of intellectual happiness found in many
authors. Jack London, Leo Tolstoy, W.H.
Davies and Henry David Thoreau heavily influenced Chris. In 1986 Chris graduated from high school and
enrolled in Emory University in Atlanta Georgia. There he continued his success and graduated
with high grades with a degree in history and anthropology. During a road trip around the country
following his high school graduation Chris learned that in fact his mother was
his father’s mistress and that his father was still technically married to the
family he had abandoned in California.
This meant that technically Chris and his sister were bastard
children. The bond between siblings was
strengthened due to the fact that his parents were often fighting and even
considered divorce multiple times. The
bond also meant that Chris would be diametrically opposed to his parents. He despised material wealth and had no
respect for his parents. According to
the book this was a major reason Chris did not allow himself to share any type
of intimate relationship with his parents.
Chris went on to graduate from Emory University with excellent grades
and had promising career opportunities following graduation. In the movie during his travels Chris claims
multiple times that human relationships are not necessary to humans. This highlights the fact that Chris did not
have any developed intimacy with others.
Intimacy is imperative during the adolescent stage so as to not find
resolve in isolation. Chris ultimately
discovered this in his dying moments when he writes, “Happiness is only real
when shared with others.” Chris’s parents
constant fighting, their materialistic nature and his discovery that his
parents had lied to him, most likely contributed to Chris’s not allowing
himself to develop an intimate relationship with his parents. This led Chris to completely separate himself
from home. He did not write home during
his travels nor inform his family of his journey. Additionally Chris got rid of all of his identification
and buried or burned all of his materialistic items. He donated the remaining $24,000 in his life
saving to the Oxfam International charity. The separation phase often has the characteristics
of being overly dramatic. This is because
the separation phase must be complete.
Having said that, a complete and utter separation to that extent can be
dangerous. This was exemplified in
Chris’s experience.
After separation
has initiated the transformation process the subject must go through some type
of ordeal. Struggle is an important ingredient
to facilitate growth and continue the transformation process. Chris’s initial challenge occurred when he
narrowly survived a flash flood that occurred when he was camping on the
bedrock of Lake Mead, Nevada. Following
this experience Chris abandoned his car and hitchhiked his way to lake Tahoe
California traveling the Sierra Nevada mountain range. During his initial time travelling Chris
worked for Wayne Westerberg as a grain grower.
This was challenging work. Chris
embarked on a specific challenge that was displayed in the movie very
well. Chris’s final challenge before
engaging in the next phase occurred when Chris’s attempted to kayak, albeit
illegally, through the Grand Canyon into Mexico. There is a scene in the movie when Chris is
navigating the rocky whitewater conditions like a pro even though he admitted
has no experience on the water. This is
a metaphor for the challenge he faces to complete his initiation and
transformation. At the end of the scene
when Chris has completed that section of water he cries, “I am Alex
Supertramp!!” This marks his identifying
with himself in this new identity.
After the initiate
survives his ordeal phase, he assumes a new identity wearing the badge of his
struggle as an affirmation of this new persona.
Chris McCandless was now Alexander Supertramp. This new identity is an important part of the
subject’s development during the transformation phases. Ultimately when Chris is on the verge of
dying and affirms his newly acquired knowledge and wants to come home he refers
to himself as Chris. This is not to
minimize the role that the persona “Alex Supertramp” served, but rather to
acknowledge that the persona is not an aspect that helped enlarge Chris McCandless’s
psyche.
In the pursuit of
knowledge about the world one would be foolish not to respect the insight of an
elder. This type of person can provide
valuable information based on the experience that the mentee otherwise
lacks. New wisdom can be found in a
mentor. The mentor and the mentee embody
the roles of two archetypes that Jung describes relatively extensively. The elder mentor is known as the Senex and
the naïve mentee is referred to as the Puer.
These are archetypes. The Senex
can be fallible. Ronald Franz was an alcoholic
who was ironically similar to Chris in that he did not maintain any human
relationships but rather was a very introverted character. Since the death of his wife and child at the
hands of a drunk driver he spends most of his life alone working in his leather
shop. Chris advised him to transcend the
grief and to continue living, suggesting that adventure was integral for the
soul. In the movie this is accomplished
during a scene in which Chris challenges the old man to climb up a high
mountain in the desert. At the top of
the mountain Chris promises you can see clearly. This could be a metaphor that at the top of
the mountain both individuals will be able to see the light in the advice that
they are offering each other. This
advice ritual was reciprocated and the Senex attempted to make Chris realize
the err of his ways. The Senex is
typically very sensical. In the movie,
right before Chris sets out on his Alaskan adventure Franz gives him a box of
material possessions that are important to survive in the wild. Chris ultimately naively disregards some of
them. Chris personified a naïve Puer. His idealist mentality in his pursuit for
truth came at the expense of great risks.
Chris’s path to pursue truth was ignorant. The Senex character advised Chris based on
experience that his path was not the optimum way to achieve the solution to
what Chris was searching. Franz tells Chris
that there is Godliness in forgiveness and he should choose that path as
opposed to isolation. Forgiveness is a
virtue that necessary implies intimacy, for Chris this posed an initially
insurmountable challenge for this is what Chris lacked. Ultimately before Chris meets his untimely
death, Chris gains that wisdom when he realizes that the only true happiness is
that which is shared with others. At the
top of the mountain Chris advised old Franz to be adventurous and to engage in
the world again. Franz accomplishes this
temporarily and works up the courage to ask Chris to be his adopted son. Chris delayed responding to Franz until after
his returns from his successful completion of his goal to survive the Alaskan
wilderness. This is a very poignant
scene because you see that Chris is not taking the advice of his mentor figure. Had Chris taken the advice of his mentor
perhaps he would not have passed away before he could be reintegrated back into
society. This was an opportunity to
practice engaging in intimacy with Franz.
Like all humans the mentor figure is often fallible and when Franz
learns of Chris’s death he falls back into his alcoholism and renounces his
faith.
A complete
initiation and transformation process includes reintegration into society. Chris underwent a typical rebirth process as
described by Jung. The movie follows the
narrative of Chris’s experiences. This
follows five specific stages of the initiation and transformation process as
described by Turner and van Gennep. Though
Chris ultimately died alone in the Alaskan wild, he completed an internal transformation. Ultimately Chris recognized that holding
human relationships is imperative. Chris
explains that happiness is only real when shared with others. Sadly Chris was not able to reintegrate
himself into society but one should not allow the tragedy of the death at such
a young age completely overshadow the successful completion of an intense
psychological experience.
The book takes a
different perspective then the movie.
The book takes a journalistic perspective. There is also a lot of input from the author
including a section about the author’s experiences. This is there to provide a comparison and a
convenient example to put into perspective the gravity of this type of rebirth
process and the unique instantiation and medium to accomplish the process. It is Jon Krakauer’s project to discover what
Chris was attempting to accomplish both practically as well as psychologically. The movie is a portrayal of the narrative
from Chris’s perspective and his naïve idealism. The directing is cut in such a way so that
the movie is a celebration of Chris’s life.
The movie portrays a potentially
intimate relationship between Chris and a young girl in Slab City. This is a piece of land owned by the
California Teacher’s Union that has become a haven for societal recluses. On the other hand the book takes a journalist
perspective and notes that in reality Chris had a proclivity toward chastity. This is another indication of Chris’s
difficulty with maintaining intimate relationships. Additionally the movie barely touches on
Chris’s childhood. Corinne, Chris’s
sister, narrates the scenes of the movie that deal with effects of the events
that occurred in Chris’s childhood. This
is interesting because the movie also portrays Chris’s relationship with his
sister as loving but still relatively cold.
Chris does not inform his sister of his plan to travel to Alaska and Corinne
makes note of how that hurt her. In the
book Krakauer identifies with Chris and offers himself as an example. The entire sound track is by Eddie
Vedder. The songs are raw, young, and
self-centered. These lyrics and the aura
it creates mirror Chris’s experience. In
the movie his sister idolizes Chris. The
movie idealizes the transcendental experience of realizing he has accomplished
his goal of attaining truth, completing his transformation to the greatest
extent possible. Additionally the cause
of death is portrayed as a fact. The
book takes a more realistic and acknowledges that the cause of death remains
unknown and it is speculated as starvation.
WORKS CITED
1. "Erik Erikson's Theory of Identity
Development." Web.
<http://www.aui.ma/old/VPAA/cads/1204/cad-course-1204-rdg-erikerikson.pdf>.
2. Into
the Wild. Dir. Sean Penn. Perf. Emile Hirsch. Web.
<http://www.vantageguilds.com/itw/FinalScript_ITW.pdf>.
3. Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor, 1997. Print.
4. "The Collected Works of C. G. Jung
Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious."Collected Works of C. G. Jung Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious.
Web. 30 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.textbooksrus.com/search/bookdetail/?isbn=9780691018331>.
5. Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1977. Print.
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