MBTI Type: ESFJ

Bob is a warm, personable, and outgoing man, who tries to include himself in the Byers family and to make Will feel included; who worries that Jonathan doesn’t much like him and asks Joyce how to change that; and who is so compassionate, and gentle-hearted that instead of being angry that Will banged up his camera, instead gently tells Joyce that her son is being bullied and he’s worried about Will being “okay.” Bob tries to constantly uplift people’s spirits, by involving them in games, by dressing up for Halloween, and by paying attention to their emotions; he senses that Will is afraid and changes his feelings by being honest about his own personal struggles. He also opens up emotionally to Joyce, in talking about when he was bullied as a child. Bob’s inferior Ti gets a regular workout; he’s an intelligent, competent computer programmer who knows systems, but finds it hard to explain to other people; it’s simpler if he does it. But it doesn’t take him long to simply accept the radical ideas others tell him. Everything in Bob’s life comes back to a personal experience, and his sensory awareness of the world he operates in; Bob has a powerful Si/Ne dynamic. He tries to compare Will’s bullying to his own experiences, and shares what he did to help make it stop, in the hope it can help Will. He freely talks about his own past, and the bullies that made him miserable. He quickly figures out that Will’s “vines” follow the shapes of local landmarks – lakes, and such, and reasons that they may be tunnels. Bob enjoys mental exercises and games, and started a club at the school to promote nerd-ism.

Enneagram: 2w1 sp/so

Bob is highly sociable and out-reaching to others. He wants to help where he can, and comes rushing over to assist whenever Joyce or one of the kids needs him. When he finds out Will is having nightmares, he helpfully recounts a story from his childhood, in the hope that Will can learn from it and chase away his bad dreams. When he sees other kids bullying Will on video, he tells Joyce about it and offers to do something about it. He is warm, inviting, and giving, but also principled and concerned with doing the right thing. Bob is willing to put his life on the line to help save the kids.