INTJ 9w1 Characters
Dominant Introverted Intuition—strong and specific personal plans, insights, or predictions that lead them to set their ideas in motion far in advance: McKay gets the lay of the land quickly once he arrives on the major’s ranch, and he draws specific personal insights from the situation no one else has drawn or has the guts to say to people’s faces. He rapidly realizes that paying back the Hannasseys for abusing him the day before is an excuse for the major to abuse them; it’s not about him, it’s about them. He sees the major and old man Hannassey as similar. He also realizes instantly that the ranch foreman, Leech, is in love with Pat (“You’re gambling, Leech. You’re gambling that if we fight, we can beat me. And you’re gambling that if you beat me, Miss Terrill will admire you for it.”) He also sees an immediate solution; that if he buys the Big Muddy, he can force peace with everyone by having a rancher worth his salt in control of the water, who invites all of his neighbors to come and take what they need in a dry spell (“I don’t intend to keep living in the middle of a civil war”). He also grasps that Pat does not understand him or his principles, and that they are unsuited to one another, so when he decides it’s over, he doesn’t reconsider.
Auxiliary Extroverted Thinking—relying on facts, drawing logical conclusions, being efficient and straightforward: McKay makes all of his decisions based on the rational implications of his choices; he knows if he reacts against the cowboys bullying him, they may use it as an excuse to beat him up for real, so he diffuses the situation with passivity. Faced with the major’s thirst for violence and vengeful attitude against his neighbors, he knows the only way to stop the feud is if he puts himself between them, from a power position (he wants to purchase the ranch whose water both of them are fighting over, and he’s also willing to go against the major despite marrying his daughter by allowing his enemies to water their cattle there). When thinking about how best to go about this, he questions Julie about what he will need to run a ranch, and makes her a fair offer. He then records the deed quickly to make it legal. McKay also trusts himself to find his way around the big country with his compass. He sometimes contradicts people with the facts (“Have you ever seen anything so big?” “Yes. The sea!”).
Tertiary Introverted Feeling—unwilling to go against their personal values and self-contained in their feelings: McKay shows what tert-Fi is like in that he doesn’t really feel a need to please or impress anyone except himself. He refuses to ride Old Thunder in front of anyone, knowing it would only entertain the cowhands, but he tames him in private, after they’ve all ridden out—showing a stubborn refusal to quit until the horse submits, even if he gets bucked off a dozen times. Then he tells nobody about it except Julie, and it’s not to boast. He does the same when Leech calls him a liar and challenges him to a fight; he has no interest in making a spectacle of his personal feelings, but wants to settle them in private—at night, when nobody can see them. His stoic principles make him oppose the major, and Pat when he doesn’t like her actions, and draw the line for what he will tolerate.
Inferior Extroverted Sensing—impulsive and hedonistic under stress, often miscalculates when they act rashly: McKay likes to study things before he takes part in them; he stands around and watches and thinks about Big Thunder before saddling him and riding him, and then, he refuses to give up until he tames the horse. It is a little reckless for him to go off for two days alone in a strange territory, knowing the neighbors might want to take out their rage on him, but he goes anyway. And he can act with immediacy—after Buck slaps Julie, McKay lunges at him and the two men fight.
Enneagram: 9w1
Enneagram 9—desires freedom from others’ influences, by going along with them and being tolerant, until it matters not to: McKay is laid back, calm, and handles things without getting angry, which is what causes his girlfriend to fall out of love with him. Attempts to get him to react fail, he won’t stand up for himself against several cowboys who abuse him, he won’t fight when someone calls him a liar (except two hours later, on his terms, with no audience to watch them). He fights because he must, but also finds it pointless (“Tell me, what did we prove?”). The violence disturbs him; he reacts badly when told the men are going “hunting” for the neighboring ranch hands, and doesn’t want them to stand up for him. When Pat demands to know if he’s angry at being humiliated, he shakes his head and says not really, they were just having a little fun and he’s endured worse hazing elsewhere. He wants to purchase the Big Muddy Ranch to force the two feuding cattle owners to stop, since then he will give each equal access to the water, and none of them can prevent the other one from using it. In every situation that calls for force, he chooses “peace-making” instead. McKay is also stubborn—when he fights Leech, he does so for hours without ever conceding, until neither one of them can stand up any longer.
1 wing brings in a desire for moral rightness and perfection: One reason he’s so laid back is that he’s holding all his anger internally, to use it in more productive ways, and he doesn’t want to “show off” or prove himself to anyone but himself. Yet, he is firm in his convictions and sure of his own opinions; he tells Pat it is over and there’s no more chance for them, because she does not understand his character. The few times he’s provoked to tell someone off or challenge them, McKay has sharp words about their behavior, or judgments about their motives (you’re not doing this for me, I’m an excuse for you to cause trouble!). His word is his bond, and he stands by it, even if others dislike it.
