Zombies Ruin Everything

You’ve got your nerdy scientist and he’s alright, right? He’s smart, he’s a nice guy, he does stuff with lab coats and whatnot; you know what scientists do.

But then he’s got this alter ego that’s waaay more fun. He doesn’t hold you up with long, boring conversations. He’s always doing something worth noticing, and he’s the best there is at what he does (Smashing things. That’s what he does). Get ready for the ESFP, sucka!

We’ve discussed the split personality many times before. Here, here, and definitely here. Ooh, here too!

Fiction just has a crush on alter egos and split personalities. So while Bruce Banner definitely doesn’t fall into the fun loving, fast paced Artisan lifestyle, is there any type that could fit his exact opposite any better? The Hulk is loud, violent, destructive and childlike. All these things don’t necessarily make an ESFP but let’s continue, shall we?

SKKAAAAR-DOOSCHHH

ESFPs and their lead function is what? Did I hear Se? Yes, I did. We all know what Se as far as the user is concerned but how does the Hulk use it? Look at him. All he does is exactly what he’s feeling right then. Of course, it’s usually to smash things because it’s that uncontrollable urge to fight back that brought him out in the first place. ESFPs can often have a sort of child-like temper that people around them are highly familiar with. When something doesn’t go there way, whatever the scenario may be, they freak out.

And it’s not until they’ve made their escape or drained themselves completely do they cease. ESTPs have lead Se too, right? Why can’t the Hulk (if he is to be typed) be typed ESTP?

If you’ve ever met an ESTP, you know that while they may show their angry side more often than say, an ENTP or ISTP, they generally keep their composure. Getting pissed off and yelling and screaming doesn’t really mesh so well with their auxiliary function of Ti, which is usually non-confrontational. So while outbursts may occur, ESTPs aren’t the boiling pot of emotions that the ESFP can be. An ESTP outburst may have, dare I say, more of a point.

See what I mean? No point here. Just “cuz.”

The ESFP outburst is like a human volcano. There’s no reason or rhyme, there’s not telling where it will, and often times, the actual act of freaking out may go for so long and get so crazy, nobody remembers how it began.

And what is it the Hulk likes to do again?

You’ve got the idea.

He’s often boasted (by phrases of course) that nobody is better than him at it (Smashing and all). Well, does anybody else really argue with him? Nope, he’s got something of a competition in his own mind about it. ESFPs will also often have the tendency to see things that aren’t there with other people. A certain look from a passerby may be seen as judgmental or a joke from a friend may have the ESFP feel as though the friend is trying to make them feel stupid when it really was just a joke.

The ESFP’s Fi as their auxiliary function can be a helpful tool but can also serve to simply back up the ESFP’s own bias and confirm their fears that the world is paying attention to something that they aren’t. But God help you if you try to talk to them about it. They’ve made up their mind and you’re only making things worse.

“Guys…guys, just stop.”

An ESFP friend, we’ll call him John, told me a story about a series of jokes he was telling at the expense of another friend. By the middle of the story, one where John had been laughing about his friend’s negative reaction to his jokes, John began to tell how his friend has flipped the joke around and started mocking John, who then proceeded to become very pissed off that his friend was not taking him seriously.

John began to get so worked up as he was talking that I actually had to bring it to his attention that he need calm down and that he’d admitted he started the banter in the first place.

But generally the ESFP just wants to have fun. They want to get along with everyone around them and don’t want to fight. Notice that the way the Hulk turns back into Banner is by calming down. When he does, he’s shown to be a real friendly guy with the intelligence of a kid; stopping to pet dogs, or save a bystander.

He’s just one of those guys where like, everything he touches DIES.

And like the ESFP, the Hulk is just as likely to be an antagonist to the Avengers as much as he is be the most useful member of the team. It would good for the ESFP to recognize their destructive behavior before they really get themselves going in a tantrum, and think of the consequences instead of allowing their emotions to get the better of them.

This entry was posted on 12/01/2013 at 3:09 am and is filed under MBTI Artisans, MBTI Stuff with tags avengers, esfp, marvel, mbti in fiction, the hulk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.