Myers-Brigg Saiyuki Post of DOOM - SP (2/15)
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........Individuals of the Sensation-Perceiving temperament make up about 38% of the population. As an SP, one desires freedom and doesn’t want to be tied down, confined, or obligated. Such a person is known for living in the moment, with “action” as his ideal: he does what he wants on his own terms, and his actions serve as an end in of themselves. (These actions may in fact contribute to the ends of others, but this is never the SP’s reason for doing them.)
........Of the four ikkou members, Gojyo is definitely the one who cultivates the image of the 'free spirit.' Whatever personal reasons he may have had in agreeing to come along on the mission to India, it'd be a safe bet to say it didn't have much to do with the fact that Sanzo was ordered by the Sanbustusjin to include him in the party. <-- This would have been about as effective in coercing him into joining ranks, had he been adamantly against it, as the lack of holy sanction would have been in stopping him if he'd made up his mind to tag along. ',:)
........More so than any other temperament, the SP is impulsive and wants to be. For him, this impulsiveness is what allows him to feel truly alive. As Keirsey and Bates’ put it in their book, “SPs covet their impulses, enjoy feeling them well up within; and they love discharging them, like setting off an explosion.” ....
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........It’s not that individuals with the SP temperament don’t acquire goals like everyone else, but that they are less inclined to do so, and these goals are generally fewer and more loosely held. If ties, even those self-made, become too numerous or restricting, the SP tends to get restless and feels the urge to “take off for ‘somewhere else.’”
........We can see this facet of Gojyo's personality when he was younger and had first met Hakkai. Things were horribly awkward between the two of them in the beginning, as Gojyo struggled to adjust to the situation and his inherent dislike of feeling tied down. Though he agreed himself to let Hakkai live with him after the death of "Gonou," Gojyo soon became extremely distant and restless, and was constantly 'taking off for somewhere else,' most often the nearest bar.
........Gojyo had been alone most of his life, not accustomed to anyone sticking around for the long haul--not parents or brothers or partners in crime--and Hakkai's unassuming arrival smack in the center of his life threw everything off balance. Whether due to some ingrained part of his temperament or the fact that he'd learned better from experience, Gojyo had been living a life without attachments, with no goal other than getting by. Learning to accept Hakkai's constant, solicitous company took some time (and the assurance that Hakkai was going to be there for the long haul), but the two of them eventually managed to settle into a strong friendship which has weathered everything fate, karma, and the trip to India throws at them.
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........The SP is the type of person who doesn’t like to practice in preparation for later events, but prefers to wing it and “do” according his urges. Whatever action these urges may lead to can be extensive and last many hours without pause; however, this isn’t ‘discipline’ so much as ‘compulsion.’ He has to do it because impulse dictates, and he’ll keep it up as long as the urge is still there. When the urge lets up, he no longer “‘feels like’ racing, climbing, or whatever.”
........More so than any of the other three temperament types, the SP is subject to ‘function lust’: “a hunger for action without fetter or constraint, an exploratory action without the necessity for rules or practice.”....
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........An SP also thrives in situations where the outcome is unknown and there is the freedom to test limits. Gojyo's gambling certainly allows him to do this--what cards will be dealt? can he cheat and get away with it? then get away with it again?--but the biggest charge would undoubtedly come from the frequent fighting for his life, now and in the past. Whatever Gojyo's occasional gripes during the trip, they're never about having to fight the seemingly endless stream of "cannon fodder." Not only this, but it is unlikely anyone other than an SP would be able to do what Gojyo did in getting through adolescence as a street punk, and being successful at it.
........Of all the temperaments, the SP works best in crises; the deeper the crisis, the more likely he is to respond quickly and dramatically. Gojyo may insist he doesn’t know what he’s doing, or that he feels useless, but he does seem to always respond quickly to crisis without a second thought, whether it’s Goku becoming the Seiten Taisei, a friend or townsperson getting grabbed, or an enemy getting the drop on them. Whatever disparaging comments Sanzo may make about him, at least Gojyo’s not the type to just freeze up in shock when the shit hits the fan... ',:3
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........Of course, this also means that when things get too dull or routine, the SP may create a crisis of his own, just to “liven things up a little.” ...Gojyo? Cause trouble to ‘liven things up?’ D:,’
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......The SP also has a natural attraction for tools, whatever form they may take; something in his character is drawn to tools, almost as if it were an addiction. As K&B put it, “Somehow, the tool becomes an extension of the self, augmenting, amplifying, and sharpening the effects of action--and this gives a greater kick to the discharge of impulse.” <-- This immediately reminded us of Gojyo’s Shakujou and the way he uses it, and the fact that it’s definitely the showiest weapon wielded by any of the ikkou. (I’ll come back to this a little later in talking about the SP’s unique ability for “perfection in action.”)
......More than anything, a person of this temperament wants others to see him as a ‘free spirit.’ He prides himself (solely) on his freedom and “spends” life as freely as he can. The SP tends to be a witty and charming conversationalist with an inexhaustible supply of jokes and stories. ("They're pretty late, huh? They should've let me take the girls home--I'm a pro at that by now. Badum bum ching!") Likewise, the SP can become easily bored with the status quo and likes to vary his work and living patterns.....
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According to Keirsey and Bates, one of the SP’s greatest strengths lies in that he can only be temporarily defeated, having the ability to survive setbacks which may leave other types permanently devastated. While Sanzo, Hakkai, and Goku, each in his own way, probably give Gojyo a run for his money in the Who’s Had The Most Fucked-Up Life competition, Gojyo definitely had to deal with the most shit growing up: a dad who abandoned him (arguably to commit double suicide with his human mom), a step-mother who wanted him dead, an older brother--his only male role model--who was screwing their mom, and then watching said brother kill the axe-wielding psycho-bitch, all on top of being a half-blood “abomination of nature.” Gojyo’s obviously got his share of problems, but a lesser person never would have made it to adulthood--hell, ever since Hakkai gave him a reason to live an honest life kicked his ass into gear, Gojyo’s been living on the up-and-up, even.
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........For the SP, a life of action which makes a point of rejecting long term goals or objectives is the freest and most intense. Another thing Bates and Keirsey's book mentions about people of this temperament is that their language is operational and functional--meaning their vocabulary is not punctuated with “goal-dominated” words. So, as an example, the SP doesn’t tend to see hardships as something which have to be ‘endured’ or ‘put up with;’ no mater how hungry, tired, or painful an adventure may be, it’s still an adventure, and not something which “must be” done..
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........“Oddly, the SP seems to have endurance beyond that of other types; he seems able to put up with discomfort, deprivation, hunger, fatigue, pain, and show courage in a way other types do not. But this is because other types are goal oriented, reluctant to exert themselves unless there is a reason. ... [But] since the SP is not moving toward a goal, he does not experience his action as duration, as a distance to endure, never questioning his capacity to do so. He simply continues--often beyond reasonable limits for other types.”
........Gojyo is definitely made of sterner stuff than most people. While all the Saiyuki boys are able to take a beating and come back for more, it's Gojyo who's the type to continue coming back, to the point of what someone like Sanzo would surely call 'idiocy' (Goku's own endurance beyond most others is due to characteristics a bit different from the SP's tendency not to be goal-oriented, but we'll wait to get into these until Goku's post).
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......SPs also have an inclination for becoming the world’s greatest performing artists (painters, instrumentalists, photographers, athletes, hunters, gamblers) by virtue of their ability for excited concentration on an activity for long periods. What’s interesting about these people is that they tend toward mastery of their particular skill(s), despite the fact that they are never the type to practice--especially practice which has the goal of perfectionism in mind. It’s the SP’s ability to engage in action compulsively, for hours on end and often long past the point when anyone else would have given up, that makes them the only ones capable of what K&B call “perfection in action.”
........Unlike the NT who seeks perfection (yet finds it constantly evades him), the SP “simply and spontaneously acts, endlessly, tirelessly, caught up and possessed by the act itself, having no end beyond the doing. Somehow caring about perfection and working for it only get in the way; the act-in-itself alone realizes perfection.”
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........The SP’s affinity for tools/weapons and the role of these tools as a kind of extension of the self can definitely be seen in Shakujou, and the fact that out of the four guys, Gojyo’s weapon is the most complex and tool-like. A weapon like Gojyo’s--and we’ve seen him chop to pieces several demons at once without touching a hair on the head of whichever companion or innocent bystander happens to be in the midst of it all--would require an incredibly precise control and grasp of the slightest nuance in any number of factors which could effect how the chain reels out, how the blade swings and slices, how the blade and chain retract.
........While I can’t imagine Gojyo practicing diligently with Shakujou every day in order to perfect his technique, he is an expert at what he does, and it seems much more likely that he would have achieved this through hour after hour of tooling around with his weapon in the backyard while Hakkai watches from the porch. :D
........In line with the fact that the SP doesn’t really ‘practice,’ neither does he ‘work.’ He has no desire for closure or completion, and is more “process-oriented” since he doesn’t care much for goals. For the SP, work is play.
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........Individuals of the SP temperament are the most likely of all types to “answer the call to wander;” they can sever social ties more easily than others, being as these ties are more tentatively held in the first place, as mentioned earlier. Though the SP may be aware of the distress his cutting-of-ties causes, this in itself won’t be enough to stop him, and he can abruptly abandon either an activity or a pattern of living and walk away without looking back.
........Gojyo's no stranger to abandoning a particular moe of living without looking back. From his tenuous family life with Jien and his step-mother, to his days of fending for himself on the streets, to his rooming in 'bachelor splendor' with Banri, to his relationship with Hakkai which promises more permanence than Gojyo's been accustomed to and a practically interminable demon-killing road trip, Gojyo doesn't present himself as the type to be too firmly anchored in any one spot.
........Likewise, if there is something he feels must be taken care of, some great injustice which can't be ignored, we've already seen that Gojyo hasn't too many qualms about leaving the ikkou to 'do what needs to be done.'
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........Despite this, the SP is the most fiercely fraternal of all types, one who is “loyal to his brothers, and defends his group against all attacks.” One thing which has always struck me about Gojyo is his loyalty, and especially in the case of his step-mother and Banri, we’ve seen he can be loyal to a fault.
........Tied into this fidelity is the fact that SPs are masters of the “grand gesture,” though they can miss the subtler nuances of romance (he may show up with dozens of roses or expensive jewelry, and then forget a promised phone call or small word of affection). But whether romance or otherwise, he will use whatever resources are available and is more than willing to share, having the attitude of “share and share alike” or “make do with what we have” as the circumstances warrant.
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........Though Gojyo’s loyalty to the rest of the ikkou is never stated in so many words, some of the few times we see him truly emotionally hurt is when this unspoken group loyalty is called into question--like during the Kami-sama arc when Sanzo gets on his case for getting Goku and Hakkai’s souls sucked into the demon-gourd (“Was the kid telling the truth? He said you wanted this.”), or when Sanzo failed to be there when Goku needed him most.
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........Another trait of the SP discussed in K&B’s book is his ability to go along with rules and regulations obediently for long periods of time, until crisis or an impulse strikes, and then “apparently a new personality surfaces.”
........They write: “New situations demand new actions and earlier commitments may have to be jettisoned--with regret perhaps, but still abandoned. Today is today, and yesterday’s arrangements must give way in the face of more urgent demands.”
........While Gojyo isn’t really faced with any overt rules or regulations from Sanzo, there is the unspoken issue of Sanzo’s word being law, at least in theory. Sanzo determines where they stay, how long they stay, what they do while they’re there, who they help. This doesn’t mean Sanzo’s choices can’t be out-voted or baldly ignored, but there’s the knowledge that the four of them are on this journey because of Sanzo, and Sanzo’s presence is what legitimizes them in trekking all the way across China and killing demons as they go.
........Gojyo goes along with this, following their “boss man” despite the inconvenience of being stuck within reaching distance of three other guys, despite Sanzo’s small tyrannies, and despite the fact that he--along with Goku--gets treated as one of the “kids” at times by both Sanzo and Hakkai (“Even the wheels outrank me now?!”).
........We see the SP potential for this rebellion in a situation of crisis for the first time when Gojyo goes off on his own to deal with Kami-sama: when Kami-sama kills Kinkaku simply because he’d outlived his usefulness, Gojyo’s reaction is so dramatically different from his usual easy-going, ultimately accepting attitude that it gives even Hakkai pause.
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........Gojyo is willing to leave the group without notice to set out on his own and settle what amounts to a personal grudge with Kami-sama, knowing full well that if Sanzo decides the rest of them are moving on without him, he might never see them again.
........The latest, much more extreme example of this tendency to apparently take on a different personality when ‘new situations demand new actions’ is, of course, when Goku is severely injured and Sanzo drops the ball like a bitch. First Goku’s dying, then Hakkai’s dying because he tried to stop Goku, and Gojyo is understandably Not Calm, but the point (for him) is that he’s there, ready and willing to do whatever it takes to make sure his friends keep breathing--while for all purposes it appears that Sanzo has run off and abandoned Goku when he needs him most. To someone as “fiercely fraternal” as Gojyo, and who looked to Sanzo as their leader, this is an unforgivable betrayal; Gojyo loses his respect for Sanzo and his willingness to follow the other man anywhere, much less the rest of the way across China.
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........Hand in hand with the SP’s impulsiveness is his need to live more fully in the moment than any other type. However, this trait can irritate others who expect to (yet ultimately cannot) maintain the same level of intensity or activity. Consequently, the SP can be subject to belittlement as people who had found themselves charmed by the SP(’s way of life) become disappointed when he does not live up to the projections or expectations placed upon him.
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........Finally, the SP is not excited by complex problems of motivation, in himself or others. “Whatever is, is,” and it’s enough for him to know what to do, what to think, what to believe, without necessarily knowing why. The SPs are “super-realists” and do not need their actions to be governed by established policy, rules, or natural laws, as the other temperament types do. K&B explain: “Because the SP often leaps before looking, he is more subject to accidents than other temperaments; he injures himself through inattention to possible sources of defeat or accident, his optimism living on his abiding sense of luck.”
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........“SP” is only the designation of an underlying temperament. There is the possibility for quite a bit of variation when it comes to personality type. If the ways in which a particular SP expresses himself are unique and wide-ranging, there is still an overriding theme of the free spirit who desires to be both down-to-earth and flexible, and it is these qualities which define an SP.
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♪ Music: Kanye West, "Stronger"
(MBSPoD 1/15 - Intro)
(MBSPoD 3/15 - Hakkai the SJ)