Matilda: INTJ

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Guest Post by E.J., INTJ

Matilda, Roald Dahl

Dominant Introverted Intuition (Ni): Most young children with parents like Matilda’s would accept their behavior as normal, as Matilda’s older brother does. Matilda, however, figures out that her father is being dishonest and correctly guesses that his behavior may get him in trouble. She also sees that her mother’s belief that women should be primarily interested in their looks has gotten her mother nowhere, and Matilda–not yet six years old–knows that she wants her life to be different. Matilda correctly intuits Miss Trunchbull’s past misdeeds and develops an out-of-the-box plan to deal with her. Matilda has an incredible ability to concentrate, which she applies both to her academic interests and in strategies she develops for daily life. Although Matilda is deeply unconventional, she understands the long-term value of blending into society. As a result, most adults overlook her more nefarious plots.

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Gilderoy Lockhart: ENFP

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Guest Post by Andrew, ENTJ

Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling

Dominant Extroverted Thinking (Ne): Lockhart presents himself as an expert on everything, whether duelling, defeating dark creatures, getting rid of household pests, or the game of Quidditch. He is a prolific author, and always seems to have a new book out, usually about one of his supposed exploits. He relates his stories in fanciful ways, with digressions concerning his personal preferences (favorite color, etc.). Lockhart lives his life in a spontaneous fashion, doing things that many people don’t expect (like taking a teaching job at Hogwarts). He originally has an idealized view of what the experience of teaching is like, and he quickly revises his teaching style after publicly making a fool of himself. All of the things Lockhart says are about trying to maintain and enhance his reputation rather than necessarily doing anything useful, making him appear (with much justification) out of touch with reality.

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Harley – Pokémon: INFP

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Guest Post by Andrew, ENTJ

Pokémon Anime Franchise

Dominant Introverted Feeling (Fi): Harley lives in a reality where feelings are paramount – and only his own, not anyone else’s. In fact, he has a tendency to blow trivial hurts out of proportion and to hold grudges for ridiculous reasons. He doesn’t only hate the girl who stole his snack in school, but also the girl who looks exactly like her (May). He has a vendetta against May for no other reason than this; he does everything in his power to humiliate her in public and derives pleasure from her embarrassment. Harley gives captivating contest performances which engage the emotions of the audience, but he opts to work with their fear and shock rather than their wonder and admiration. He is individualistic in both his clothing style (derived from his favorite Pokemon, Cacturne) and his effeminate mannerisms.

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Homer Hickam: ENFP

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Guest Post by Jessica Prescott, INFJ

October Sky

Dominant Extroverted Intuition (Ne): Homer Hickam is nothing if not a dreamer. He loves new ideas, hates to be cooped up in a small mining town, and, more than anything, longs for a glimpse of the “outside world.” His original (and strongest) motivation to carry out his rocketry project is not a desire to understand how rocket science works, but simply a romantic fascination with the mere idea of rocketry—the idea that human beings can be capable of sending objects up into space. He isn’t shy about sharing his dreams with others, either, but is perfectly willing to blurt out his latest plan at the breakfast table: “I’m gonna build a rocket.” One of Homer’s greatest assets is his optimism—his ability to see possibilities where others see only obstacles. Even though no student from Coalwood has ever won the science fair before, Homer is firmly convinced that he and his friends can pull it off—and he manages to convince them to believe it, too.

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Prince Caspian: INFJ

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Guest Post by E.J., INTJ

The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis

Dominant Introverted Intuition (Ni): Caspian is a dreamer. As a little boy, his nurse’s stories of Old Narnia capture his imagination, and Caspian’s view of the world is shaped by the stories. Rather than basing his value system on what he sees his uncle Miraz doing, Caspian’s ideals are formed by the heroic legends his nurse repeats to him. Caspian has no strong reason to believe that the old days could return until after he wakes up in the dugout of Trufflehunter, Trumpkin, and Nikabrik. Regardless, he prefers the Narnian moral code, even if he never meets a full-blooded Old Narnian. From a relatively young age, Caspian is driven to accomplish things that other people consider impossible. He successfully defeats Miraz and reawakens Old Narnia—despite the initial superiority of the Telmarine forces—and, as king, he goes on a difficult voyage to find seven Telmarine lords who disappeared when he was a small child. Near the world’s end, Caspian’s imagination almost gets the better of him. He is so fascinated by the thought of traveling to Aslan’s country that he wants to abandon his kingship and continue eastward. Aslan must directly intervene to prevent Caspian from abandoning his responsibilities to follow his imagination.

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Molly Weasley: ESFJ

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Guest Post by Andrew, ENTJ

Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling

Dominant Extroverted Feeling (Fe): Molly is all about family, and she always tries her best to keep hers together. She arranges vacations to visit her sons who live abroad, and she takes it very hard when Percy cuts ties with everyone else. Her worst fear is losing loved ones, rather than suffering some misfortune herself. When she sees Harry by himself, Molly is immediately sensitive to what she thinks he must need (she forbids her children from staring at him like some mythical creature), and she all but adopts him into her family. Molly puts a lot of stock in social standing; she is glad when her husband gets a promotion to a big job that takes him away from his own passion, and she wants her children to have successful careers as well. Molly is openly emotional, and she will always make her feelings abundantly clear.

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Johanna Mason: ENTJ

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Guest Post by Kerissa, INFJ

The Hunger Games

Dominant Extroverted Thinking (Te): At the interviews for the 75th Hunger Games, Johanna is the first to directly question if the games could be changed. She’s very blunt. For example: when Katniss is explaining canaries in coal mines, Johanna asks, “What’s it do, die?” She also says, “I’m not like the rest of you. There’s no one left I love.” In District 13, she’s the one who makes Katniss stick with training through a mixture of ‘motivational insults’ and pushiness.

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Baron Vladimir Harkonnen: ENTJ

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Guest Post by Andrew, ENTJ

Dune, Frank Herbert

Dominant Extroverted Thinking (Te): Baron Harkonnen wants nothing less than the imperial throne, and he goes after it in a systematic fashion. His allies and even his family members (except maybe Feyd-Rautha) are mere pawns in his game, and his enemies are nothing more than obstacles to be overcome – or to be destroyed utterly. He has a brutal, ruthless way of dealing with everyone, and he gives direct orders to his subordinates. The baron is extremely resourceful, and he will add anyone whom he believes will be of use to his retinue; he even takes Thufir Hawat, the chief strategist of his slain arch-enemy, Leto Atredies, to be his adviser after the death of his own strategist.

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Odysseus: ENTP

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Guest Post by E.J., INTJ

The Iliad & The Odyssey

Dominant Intuition (Ne): Odysseus is a man of new ideas, and this accounts for his resilience during the Trojan War. When everyone else, even Agamemnon, is exhausted, Odysseus continues to see positive possibilities in their situation. He is the most insistent supporter of the war––not because of an Ni-style drive, but through his Ne focus on new potential. Odysseus’ Ne gives him the enthusiasm to put new energy in his war-weary fellow Greeks. After the war is over, Odysseus sails around, following a string of new ideas, rather than heading straight home like most of the other Greeks.

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INTJ: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Arvid Walton 9 Comments

This post is dedicated to my readers that want to understand INTJs, but are less familiar with Jungian cognitive functions. I understand that the functions are difficult for newbies to navigate, so I’m making your life easier.

Fact #1 People empty us.

When I say this, I don’t mean that we don’t value human companionship. In fact, I would argue to the contrary. However, our introversion causes us to drain our energy as we attempt to socialize. Our energy stems from within ourselves rather than from being with other people. We value solitude, silence and thought.

To us, silence truly is golden.

As a result, parties are definitely not our favourite place to be and when forced to be in such an environment, we tend to stick to the sides of the room rather than gravitating toward the centre. We are extremely conscious of our personal space and absolutely hate being touched (in any way, shape or form) without our permission. Likewise, incessant noise drives us mad, prevents us from thinking and makes us want to scream at everybody to “shut up.”

We find it astounding that some people can manage to say the same thing three times in different words or that someone can fill an hour of time with words that mean nothing. We value conciseness when it comes to speaking, such that we say nothing more than what needs to be said (and sometimes we can’t even say that much).

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