Zombies Ruin Everything

Hopefully you’re familiar with Keirsey and the absolutely bangin’ work he’d done over the course of his 91-year life. Keirsey passed away last July but isn’t that normally when a person’s work really begins to become appreciated?

For all the character typing we’ve done, much of the research goes back to Keirsey as well as the idea for typing characters in the first place. And who did Keirsey use as model for his different groups? The Wizard of OZ of course. Each of the core characters played a specific part in the story much like each group (no matter who annoys you the most) plays an important role in society.

Dorothy- Guardian (SJ)

“I’ll be home in time for supper!”

While Dorothy longed for life over the rainbow, once she got there, what did she want to do? Yep- leave. Life outside of the farm turned out to be a little too much for her and all Ms. Gale wanted was to get back to her family. Keirsey insisted that Guardians prize security above all else and will do much to get it.

Security for most will consist of a place to stay, people you know, things you’re familiar with and hopefully, enjoy. It’s why so many Guardian characters discussed here come across as annoyed or rigid; they’re often dealing with things far outside of their comfort zone. Lynard Skynard’s “Simple Man” often strikes me as Guardian-esque song in it’s description of a guy who just likes to keep things…well…simple.

While Guardians are often prodded for being boring or generic in their taste, activities, etc., there’s also something to be said for a type that doesn’t want fame and attention for what they do but rather the necessities and a book, a TV, or something else that isn’t too much to ask for.

The Cowardly Lion- Artisan (SP)

“…I’ll be king of the forest! Long live the king!”

Pretending to be a ravenous carnivore whose bite is even worse than his roar, it’s the cowardly lion who best fits the Artisan group. And as it turned out, neither his roar nor his bite were that effective.

The lion was on his way to the wizard for courage, something he felt he needed more than anything else. This is similar to the Artisans prizing freedom, it’s interesting that many believe that to do what we really want to do is what we fear more than we do failure. In failure, everything can stay the same and we don’t have to make any changes to ourselves.

This could be why Artisans choose freedom over other pathways because in true freedom, anything is possible and it does take courage.

It’s not really difficult to see why Hollywood-ites are often typed as Artisans; it’s a place where being yourself doesn’t matter as much as doing what you want does. And while Hollywood is an entirely different animal, Artisans generally are fine with the world at large as long as their world isn’t interrupted.

Tin Man- Idealist (NF)

“I can barely hear my heartbeat!”

Before I was aware of Keirsey’s assessment of the OZ characters, I assumed the Tin Man to be a Rational, as needing a heart is something many Rationals could use seeing as how much of the problems in their life comes from how poorly they may treat others at times. And while this does have something to it, ultimately, what Tin Man wanted was a heart more so than what he needed. Had he been Rational, he would’ve been fine without it.

Idealist like the Tin Man seek meaningful relationships in their life, as we hear in Tin Man’s song, “If I Only Had A Heart” where he talks of what he would do with such a vessel.

“I ‘d be tender, I’d be gentle and awful sentimental, regarding love and art… I’d be friends with the sparrows and the boy who shoots the arrows if I only had a heart.”

It’s the Idealist way of life to not only get along with everyone as often as possible but more importantly, for everyone to strive to be their best at all times; constantly searching yourself for the next little bit of information about yourself to dig up and use in your lifetime. It’s what they want for themselves as much as they want for you. Who else would wish for a heart if they were already alive without one?

Scarecrow- Rational (NT)

“I’ve as good as got my brain!”

Scarecrow’s desire for a brain reflects that of the Rational desire for knowledge. The comedian that has his finger on society’s problems or the scientist that seems a little of his rocker, the Rational often knows how to make others look wrong even if they are wrong. That’s due to the Rational putting all their time and effort into knowing everything they can about whatever field they’re interested in; the terms, the understanding, etc.

But intelligence doesn’t always yield wisdom and Rationals are known for being such as weird as they are intelligent; their oddities drawing as many people into their ideas as they do turn others away.

You may know a Rational if the person that comes to mind comes across as knowledgeable n their areas of study but offensive in their sense of humor. It’s generally unintended but Rationals are so involved in their process of thought that they often forget that others don’t immediately understand their intention. 

Why would someone who’s alive want a brain? Well, the brain allows you to be intelligent, doesn’t it? There you go!

This entry was posted on 02/27/2014 at 4:17 am and is filed under MBTI Artisans, MBTI Guardians, MBTI Idealists, MBTI Rationals, MBTI Stuff, MBTI Whatever with tags artisans, guardians, idealists, keirsey, mbti in fiction, rationals, the wizard of oz. 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.