Alyosha, Dmitri, and Ivan Karamazov

[juggernaut]

I realize these characters aren't exactly pop culture figures and happen to be fictional, but I thought it would be fun to see what you guys think. Can we guess their types?

I'm guessing the following:

Ivan: INTJ
Alyosha (Alexei): INFP
Dmitri: ESFP

Anyone else want to take a stab?

(I apologize if this has been done before or belongs elsewhere)

 

[Sentura]

who are they again?

 

[juggernaut]

who are they again?

Characters in one of my all-time favorite novels

The Brothers Karamazov - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. Sentura, I think you are definitely someone who would get a great deal out of it. The writing style is a bit archaic, but with your interest in personality types and intellect I doubt it will bother you. A lot of people think that Crime & Punishment is Dostoevsky's best work, but I think this one provides a much more complete survey of human personality types and the way different people deal with the same philosophical questions. The main characters are very clear examples of the MBTI archetypes. Which ones, however, is a slightly trickier question.

 

[Sentura]

interesting, i will have to follow up on this. especially because i have nothing to do all summer.

thanks!

 

[jenocyde]

I think I agree with you Jugg. Ivan screams INTJ to me...

 

[hokie912]

That seems accurate to me. Alyosha is definitely INFP, and I also like ESFP for Dimitri.

 

[LunarMoon]

I must say that I agree. As I was reading Karamazov I kept thinking that the three brothers Ivan (Plegnmatic), Dmiti (Hedonistic Sanguine), and Aloysha (Melancholic) each fell into the three Temperaments respectively. INFP is definitely right for Aloysha but INFJ also seemed possible.

 

[juggernaut]

I must say that I agree. As I was reading Karamazov I kept thinking that the three brothers Ivan (Plegnmatic), Dmiti (Hedonistic Sanguine), and Aloysha (Melancholic) each fell into the three Temperaments respectively. INFP is definitely right for Aloysha but INFJ also seemed possible.

Tell me more about why you think INFJ, please.

Alyosha is my favorite character, despite the fact that I live like Ivan. His flexibility and willingness to adjust to the change in circumstances at the end struck me as more P. He never gives up his faith, he just accommodates his brothers idiosyncrasies. He's all heart. He's the perfect middle-ground between too much gut and too much reason.

 

[LunarMoon]

To be honest, I'm only up to page 320 but he so far seems to have an absurdly good grasp of other people that most INFPs don't possess. He's been well liked by everyone from an early age, regularly reconciles differences between groups trying to kill each other, and is able to predict the minute actions of individuals based on a single conversation. He had the Captain go from someone understandably suspicious of his bully's brother to acting as a trusted friend within five minutes of their meeting. His Fe seems almost godly.

With that said, I'm curious about the adaptability that you mentioned. N's in general can come off as unusually adaptable with INTJs being less so. So I'd be interested in hearing about what led you to that conclusion, preferably without too much of a spoiler though a bit wouldn't be too bad.

 

[juggernaut]

Well, let me know when you get to the end. I think you'll see the P in Alyosha, but I don't want to ruin the book so I'm going to hold off for now.

 

[Wunjo]

Ivan Karamazov, INTJ 5w4.
Dmitri "Mitya" Karamazov, ESFP? Not sure re: MBTI. But he's a 7w8 through and through.
Alexei "Alyosha" Karamazov, INFJ. His Ni-Fe is quite obvious to me, I can't see Ne or Si. 9w1.

Bonus:
Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, ESTP 3w2. I think, at least... Complex, very complex character.

 

[Wunjo]

Smerdyakov - ISTP 5w6. Inferior Fe is obvious when one looks at his interactions with people. Extremely cerebral, adaptative and tactical. A tactician, not a strategist. Does not have the "long-game" planning of a Ni dom, but his Ti-Se-Ni stack helps him to come up with very adaptive, flexible approaches. The "sensualism" of Se users manifests as being highly detail oriented with him; yet he's also very spontaneous and on-the-spot while planning his moves. Also has that kind of "literal" thinking associated with high Se users, when one looks at his narration of the Bible in the beginning of the book. Terrific villain.