ESFP 7w8 Characters
Dominant Extroverted Sensing – living in the moment, hands-on opportunism, and learning by doing: Jack initially shows some of the good things about Se when he meets Ally and gets into a relationship with her. He sees her in a drag show, agrees to meet her, invites her out to drinks, talks to her all night, and falls in love, but also sees that he can put her on stage and transform her into a star, because she has the potential to make it big with her voice. Jack convinces her to sing with him by starting in on her song (“I’m going to sing it with or without you”) and exposing her talent to the world. But as the movie goes on, he becomes increasingly over-dependent on momentary pleasures and ways of escaping reality through drugs and drinking. He shows up drunk to most of her special occasions, and winds up hanging himself in the garage because he doesn’t want to live anymore.
Auxiliary Introverted Feeling – a self-knowledge and a desire to live in accordance with one’s personal values: Jack is emotional and wants everything to be meaningful. He reminds Ally never to compromise on her lyrics or her music, because those things are important and should “say” something that is truthful to the world. When drunk, he picks on her lyrics because in his mind, they hold no depth and are shallow—just a chorus of repeated lines, rather than telling the story of her soul or what she feels. He doesn’t need to tell her how much he loves her so much as he acts on his feelings, by inviting her to live with him, share the stage, and marry him. But all the decisions he makes are ultimately about what he thinks and feels would be best for him, her, and their relationship. He becomes angry when his manager Bobby sells off his father’s ranch, because of the personal meaning it holds to him.
Tertiary Extroverted Thinking – a desire to assess the facts of a situation and get things done efficiently: Jack is, unfortunately, a mean drunk. He can be blunt and rude when under the influence, making nasty comments about his wife’s face out of jealousy, trash talking her songs, and resenting her fame, which has now outshined his own. But when sober, he’s a successful musician who rakes in the money, manages to show up to his tours on time, and who wants to make an impact on the world.
Inferior Introverted Intuition – a desire to experience deeper meaning and a singular path, but sometimes being wrong in their intuitive conclusions: Jack wants to strive for something “more” and “meaningful” with his lyrics, but doesn’t always know what that means for his life, and can’t picture anything beyond the present moment.
Enneagram: 7w8
Enneagram 7 – a playful and quick-witted optimist who stays in constant motion and is always looking to the future: Jack starts out a good-natured, funny man who wins Ally over by being charming, encouraging, pushing her to share herself, and insisting that she has potential. He makes her laugh and feel good about herself, but with this peppy personality comes hedonism and over-indulgence. He drinks far too much to escape from his pain, to ignore the world around him, and to avoid his resentments. It is a way to escape, and he finds it hard to apologize for it. Jack is also easily disappointed by life, and prone to criticizing it or finding fault with it when it doesn’t live up to his expectations or his idealism.
8 wing brings in gut-energy to assert themselves to get what they want, and a fearless ability to defy others: He starts off wanting encounters to be pleasant, but if people get in his face or push him around, he blows up at them, or uses force to make his point. Rather than back down in an argument, Jack becomes more insistent and defiant and hits below the belt. When his wife doesn’t want to hear that her lyrics are “shallow” (in his mind), he then figures out what will hurt her and uses it (“you’re just ugly!”). He knows full well that she is self-conscious about her nose. His tendency to want things to excess and to not look weak makes it hard for him to admit he needs help for his addictions.
