• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

Strong, interesting fictional characters... help!

Tamske

Writing...
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,764
MBTI Type
ENTP
Please help me out on this!

I am searching for strong, interesting fictional characters of every type. I want to use them as examples of the types, so they have to be quite clear.

So far, I've got (mostly of Harry Potter - can you correct if I'm wrong about their type?):

ESTJ: Vernon Dursley (Harry Potter)
ISTJ: ???
ESFJ: Molly Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart (Harry Potter)
ISFJ: Don José (opera Carmen)

ENTJ: Stach (Koning van Katoren)
INTJ: Voldemort (Harry Potter)
ENTP: prof. Gobelijn (Jommeke)
INTP: ???

ESTP: Horace Slughorn (Harry Potter)
ISTP: Arthur Weasley (Harry Potter)
ESFP: Ludo Bagman (Harry Potter), Lambik (Suske & Wiske)
ISFP: Harry Potter (Harry Potter)

ENFJ: Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter)
INFJ: ???
ENFP: Carmen (opera Carmen)
INFP: Bastian Bux (Neverending Story)

Thank you!
 

compulsiverambler

New member
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
446
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
Hermione might be ISTJ, though I don't know how clear that would be as I'm not a huge Potter fan.

Piggy from The Lord of the Flies probably was ISTJ. You'll be able to find lots of essays analysing him because it's a classic often studied in schools.

Adrian Monk is almost definitely ISTJ IMO, interesting and most would argue strong in his own way. He's heavily complicated by other factors though.

Javert from Les Mis, certainly strong and interesting, though he might be too unhealthy for this (then again, you've got Delores Umbridge and Voldemort in there, so perhaps you're not bothered :D).

I'll post some of other types if I think of them.
 

Xander

Lex Parsimoniae
Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
4,463
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
9w8
ENTJ - Insp Morse
INTP - Sherlock Homes (this one's famous but complex in interpretation)

Can't think of any more of the top of my head...

Btw, I would have thought Harry was a T. The reason being he seems more interested in theory than emotion usually and he's quite explosive with his emotion when he's upset which would be more indicative of an F shadow wouldn't it?
 

wildcat

New member
Joined
Jun 8, 2007
Messages
3,622
MBTI Type
INTP
ENTJ - Insp Morse
INTP - Sherlock Homes (this one's famous but complex in interpretation)

Can't think of any more of the top of my head...

Btw, I would have thought Harry was a T. The reason being he seems more interested in theory than emotion usually and he's quite explosive with his emotion when he's upset which would be more indicative of an F shadow wouldn't it?
Close. But not quite there.
Morse is an introvert. INTX.
Sherlock is IXTP.

You were a way more right than wrong. :)
 

Xander

Lex Parsimoniae
Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
4,463
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
9w8
Close. But not quite there.
Morse is an introvert. INTX.
Sherlock is IXTP.

You were a way more right than wrong. :)
Oh initially I would agree but I've spent long hours on these two. Apparently Morse was the subject of a discussion in an MBTI course and they argued it out to ENTJ. The way I see it the proof is in the shadow. Morse has no ESFP at all. He does appear introverted though but I know plenty of extroverts who buck the sociable trend.

As for Holmes, it's not in that he notices everything because he doesn't. He misses out the right things for an NT. If you had a friend who acted like that (without the superhero detective bit) you'd probably think him an INTP. The thing is that investigation is his thing, so he is the master of it. Like so many INTPs where we're interested we seek to gain total mastery. I, at one point, developed a fascination with modern small arms. Now there's not too many people who would know what a STANAG magazine is or that it comes in 45 round capacity. Such are details but because I'm interested they are indelibly marked... I only wish I could say the same about people's birthdays :doh:
 

Tamske

Writing...
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,764
MBTI Type
ENTP
Thanks for these!
Unfortunately, as I'm Dutch-speaking, I don't know Lord of the Flies, Adrian Monk and Javert...

Harry Potter... I see more Fi than Fe in him... a lot more Fi.
Holmes INTP: hell yes. "The earth is round? Right, now I'll forget it right away, 'cause I'm interested in crime solving and I don't want to fill my memory with other details."

I, at one point, developed a fascination with modern small arms. Now there's not too many people who would know what a STANAG magazine is or that it comes in 45 round capacity. Such are details but because I'm interested they are indelibly marked... I only wish I could say the same about people's birthdays :doh:
I can cite the first few sentences of every book that I like. I can't remember faces and names. :doh:
 

Xander

Lex Parsimoniae
Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
4,463
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
9w8
Harry Potter... I see more Fi than Fe in him... a lot more Fi.
I really need to find a decent description for positive feedback versus negative feedback... See I'm positive feedback and to most people who aren't very familiar with me I seem much more like an F than I am. I reckon he's a T who cares what people think rather than an F.
Holmes INTP: hell yes. "The earth is round? Right, now I'll forget it right away, 'cause I'm interested in crime solving and I don't want to fill my memory with other details."
Oh ISTJs can get very offended by that sentiment :rofl1:
I can cite the first few sentences of every book that I like. I can't remember faces and names. :doh:
Why the first?

Oh and doesn't "Oi you" work where you are? :newwink:
 

Tamske

Writing...
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,764
MBTI Type
ENTP
Why the first?
Mostly because I'm a wannabe writer and I like to study beginning phrases. Of course, I can cite random phrases out of the middle and the ending, too! And tell about almost every character, even the minor ones.
Oh and doesn't "Oi you" work where you are? :newwink:
It's difficult to manage a class with "oi you, stop looking around"...
 

Xander

Lex Parsimoniae
Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
4,463
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
9w8
Mostly because I'm a wannabe writer and I like to study beginning phrases. Of course, I can cite random phrases out of the middle and the ending, too! And tell about almost every character, even the minor ones.
Ah. I guess the opening page is a bummer. Too much blank space, what first impression to give. I can imagine the anxiety attack now!! :cry:
It's difficult to manage a class with "oi you, stop looking around"...
:thinking: Isn't that what the board eraser was mean't for? With appropriate training you can "pick" any child out you like :devil:
 

Tamske

Writing...
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,764
MBTI Type
ENTP
Thanks...
But... (points to original topic)...?
 

Space_Oddity

New member
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
359
MBTI Type
CAT
Instinctual Variant
so
Please help me out on this!

I am searching for strong, interesting fictional characters of every type. I want to use them as examples of the types, so they have to be quite clear.

So far, I've got (mostly of Harry Potter - can you correct if I'm wrong about their type?):

ESTJ: Vernon Dursley (Harry Potter)
ISTJ: ???
ESFJ: Molly Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart (Harry Potter)
ISFJ: Don José (opera Carmen)

ENTJ: Stach (Koning van Katoren)
INTJ: Voldemort (Harry Potter)
ENTP: prof. Gobelijn (Jommeke)
INTP: ???

ESTP: Horace Slughorn (Harry Potter)
ISTP: Arthur Weasley (Harry Potter)
ESFP: Ludo Bagman (Harry Potter), Lambik (Suske & Wiske)
ISFP: Harry Potter (Harry Potter)

ENFJ: Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter)
INFJ: ???
ENFP: Carmen (opera Carmen)
INFP: Bastian Bux (Neverending Story)

Thank you!

Hmm, I'm not sure if I agree with all your choices so far... It seems to me that a few of your examples are quite disputable. It's not like it isn't possible they are that type, but I'm not sure if they are typical representatives of that type. But then, there will be always discussion about this, so what.;)

A few ideas (do you want only books, or movies as well, by the way?):

ESTJ - Marilla Cuthbert (Anne of Green Gables), Granny Weatherwax (Discworld)
ISTJ - Charles Bovary (Madame Bovary), Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby) ... perhaps more romantic than the 'typical' one, though
ESFJ - Mrs Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)
ISFJ - Sonia (Crime and Punishment), Amelia Sedley (Vanity Fair)

ENTJ - Lord Asriel (His Dark Materials)
INTJ - Mr Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), Severus Snape (Harry Potter)
ENTP - Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice), Becky Sharp (Vanity Fair)
INTP - Raskolnikov (Crime and Punishment), Mr Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)

ESTP - Fred and George Weasley (Harry Potter)
ISTP - ?
ESFP - Ron Weasley (Harry Potter)
ISFP - Marry Lennox (The Secret Garden)

ENFJ - Genji (Tale of Genji)
INFJ - Sethe (Beloved)
ENFP - Marianne (Sense and Sensibility), Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany's)
INFP - Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables), Frodo Baggins (The Lord of the Rings), Tereza (Unbearable Lightness of Being)

This is fun, all hail procrastination :devil:
 

Kool Keith

New member
Joined
Dec 6, 2009
Messages
38
MBTI Type
INFP
Mostly from American Movies. Sorry, I am not that well read in the classics. I am curious if you all agree or disagree with these. I am new at this.

Lieutenant John Dunbar, a/k/a Dances With Wolves -- ENFP

R. P. McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) -- ESTP

The Departed:
Billy Costigan (Leonardo) -- INFP
Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) -- ESTJ
Frank Costello (Nicholson) -- ESFP

Michael Clayton -- ???? somebody tell me

Andy DuFresne (Shawshank Redemption) -- ISTJ

Jerry Maguire (difficult because he undergoes a major transformation) -- ESTP?
 

Quinlan

Intriguing....
Joined
Apr 6, 2008
Messages
3,004
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
9w1
Btw, I would have thought Harry was a T. The reason being he seems more interested in theory than emotion usually and he's quite explosive with his emotion when he's upset which would be more indicative of an F shadow wouldn't it?

Ok you have him.
 

Tamske

Writing...
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,764
MBTI Type
ENTP
Thank you a lot!

What about Mary Lennox (The secret garden)? INFJ?

Sebastian (Neverending Story), Isa (Isa's Dream), Anne (Anne of Green Gables), Frodo (Lord of the Rings), Ofelia (Pan's Labyrinth)...
Why is it (almost) always the INFPs who get to live those interesting adventures in those interesting fantasy worlds? I'm jealous...

:run: I'll go work on my novel. The fantasy genre clearly needs more ESTJ main characters!
 

Space_Oddity

New member
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
359
MBTI Type
CAT
Instinctual Variant
so
Tamske said:
What about Mary Lennox (The secret garden)? INFJ?

I'd say ISFP. Her feeling seems to be introverted and I wouldn't say she's intuitive. The whole book is about how she changes from a disagreeable, misanthropic child into a loving and wholesome one through the care of a garden, which seems to be very ISFP to me. Dickon is probably an ISFP as well - he gets on with all living creatures/things in an almost magical way, and Mary is fascinated by it. Colin might be an INTJ.

I would say, though, that Sara in The Little Princess is INFJ.
 

Tamske

Writing...
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,764
MBTI Type
ENTP
I'd say ISFP. Her feeling seems to be introverted and I wouldn't say she's intuitive. The whole book is about how she changes from a disagreeable, misanthropic child into a loving and wholesome one through the care of a garden, which seems to be very ISFP to me. Dickon is probably an ISFP as well - he gets on with all living creatures/things in an almost magical way, and Mary is fascinated by it. Colin might be an INTJ.

You're absolutely right about Mary. I skimmed through the book again... I guess I was a bit blinded by her hang to magic. But magic doesn't equal intuitive... She has heard a lot of stories about magic in India and she uses the words she knows. She sees magic in concrete details (pale green points in the garden,... ): Se at work.

I'm not sure about Dickon - I'm hesitating between ISFP and ESFP. True, he spends most of his time alone on the moor, but he feels connected to every living creature. He won't spend his time alone inside a house! He's very open, too... look at his way of keeping secrets. (Mother, I've got a secret to keep. It's not a bad one, you know...). He goes to the moor in order to observe things! Se again - and rather dominating, in my opinion.

What about Martha - ESFJ?
 

Space_Oddity

New member
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
359
MBTI Type
CAT
Instinctual Variant
so
I'm not sure about Dickon - I'm hesitating between ISFP and ESFP. True, he spends most of his time alone on the moor, but he feels connected to every living creature. He won't spend his time alone inside a house! He's very open, too... look at his way of keeping secrets. (Mother, I've got a secret to keep. It's not a bad one, you know...). He goes to the moor in order to observe things! Se again - and rather dominating, in my opinion.

What about Martha - ESFJ?

Yeah, you're right about Dickon. He doesn't seem introverted at all. ESFP didn't came to my mind right away because most of ESFPs I know IRL have pretty low Fi, i.e. aren't as 'good-hearted' as Dickon.:tongue: Dickon seems to be an 'ideal' ESFP :hug: He would indeed also make a good contrast to Colin, who might be an INTJ (but he isn't entirely mentally healthy most of the book, so it's hard to say).

Martha... Not so sure, I'd have to leaf through the book again I guess. I mostly remember her unfailingly warm-hearted nature and 'simplicity' (in the best sense of the word). Yeah, I guess she might be a very sweet kind of an ESFJ, because she's definitely a dominant extroverted feeler, also in the 'ideal' way.
 

Tamske

Writing...
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,764
MBTI Type
ENTP
^Feelers and Sensors seem to rule in that book :D. I love it - one of the ways to get all those interesting Se details through my thick skull is by reading about them instead of looking at them in real life :doh:
 

Space_Oddity

New member
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
359
MBTI Type
CAT
Instinctual Variant
so
I love it - one of the ways to get all those interesting Se details through my thick skull is by reading about them instead of looking at them in real life :doh:

I know EXACTLY what you mean! :D I really enjoy reading about 'sensory things' in books, but when I write something like that I pretty much use only my imagination (not observations) which is heavily based on what I read, not what I experienced. *headdesk*

My ISTJ boyfriend is pretty perplexed by it :blush: :

Me: "Wow, this is such a beautiful reference book on sewing and all different textures. I'd like to buy it and imagine all those things, I really love writing about dresses and textures!"
Bf: "And wouldn't you better like to learn how to sew...?!" :huh:

Damn intuition :D
 
Top