Holden Caulfield

[dynamiteninja]

The infamous protagonist of JD Salinger's classic novel, Catcher In The Rye.

Personally I always saw him as a kind of INFP, whilst having no clear idea of his type. This could be a case of most readers projecting their own type onto him? However I think that the author is typed as INFP, and authors tend to write from the point of view of people like themselves

Here goes:

I: Hates almost everyone he meets; I'm not saying that Is are anti-social, but they don't require as much social interaction as Es.
N: Constantly making connections, hates sport (Ns are more likely to dislike sport)
F: Always reacts with feelings to situations
P: Pretty much aimless, goes against the grain, hates his schools, runs away etc

However Holden is under some interpretations of the book, insane, at least by the end of the book, which could affect his projected personality.

[placebo]

Haven't read it in a while, but INFP I think. Quite disillusioned isn't he.

Oh and from wikipedia:

The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it.
—Original book jacket copy, possibly partially written by Salinger[1]

Totally, totally...

[Usehername]

I always saw him as an immature ENFP just about ready to start maturing.

[dynamiteninja]

Originally Posted by Usehername

I always saw him as an immature ENFP just about ready to start maturing.

What do you mean by that?

[Usehername]

Originally Posted by dynamiteninja

What do you mean by that?

I mean you could tell he was beginning to start asking meaningful questions and get his life on track, but then he'd do something really stupid and knee-jerk and adolescent egocentric, etc.


He was beginning to be a healthy version of whatever his type was, but at the point of the story, he was still an adolescent egocentric and givethefingertotheman kinda kid.

ENFPs are said to be the most intraverted of the extraverts. Food for thought.

[Haphazard]

I always saw him as an ISTP.

A very, very fucked up ISTP.

[htb]

ISTP. A pretty normal one, actually.

[JivinJeffJones]

Definitely an XNFP imo, but I'm guessing he's an extravert despite the reclusive log-cabin fantasy. It exhausted me just reading the book how often he sought out people even when he'd finally reached a place of solitude. So I'm pegging him as an ENFP in the grip of a mighty fit of Fi. I really can't see him being a T at all.

[dynamiteninja]

I can see him as a fucked up ISTP, although he would seem quite a gregarious one. I think INFP fits better

[Haphazard]

Holden Caufield is pure bad Fe. Not a drop of Fi in 'im.