ISTJ Characters

Even in the face of terrifying and dehumanizing situations, Itzhak Stern never loses his sense of self or his sense of dignity. As Schindler’s Jewish accountant, he is able to quietly influence a good, moral side of Schindler and use that to save 1,100 Jews during World War II. Thinking and Feeling types are equally capable of kindness, selflessness, and good-will. They are equally capable of making sacrifices to help others. In Stern’s case, he discovers ways to save Jews who would be exterminated by giving them jobs in Schindler’s factory. He is guided by his conscience and his moral obligations, but he’s also a shrewd accountant. No detail is missed, and every risk is accounted for. His serious, grounded nature guides him as he works to protect others.

Mai is taking in concrete information in the moment of what is around her and reflecting on the ones that apply to what she cares about. What we really see her care about is Zuko. It is why she has such a strong memory of their history and things about Zuko. She doesn’t care about her place in the aristocracy of the Fire Nation and therefore doesn’t have the same type of recollection of things related to her position in society. Even working with Azula she does so cause she is bored, but she doesn’t actually care about catching the Avatar. It is why she doesn’t go into the mud. She will help, but not at her inconvenience. Mai can easily be insulted by criticisms. We see this when Zuko calls her blah and uncaring. She cares deeply for Zuko and there is so much depth to her, but this isn’t seen externally because it is so internal.

No-nonsense and diligent, like most ISTJs, Marilla seems overly-serious and strict at first. But as you get to know her, you see that there’s a compassionate, kind-hearted, core to her personality. She cares deeply for others and will always do right by them and follow through on her word. She has a strong moral compass, but she puts up with other people’s scruples and quirks with more tolerance than many other people would. She sees the humor in everyday situations and, with the help of Anne, she realizes that she’s much more open-minded than even she’d initially imagined she could be.

Sophie is an extremely pragmatic person. She keeps to herself and deals with the facts around her. She internalizes all of her experiences and isn’t very quick to reveal how she actually feels about a situation. The abstract is not a favorite of hers. There is the real world with real people and things that need to be done and sorted. She isn’t wowed with spectacular visuals or great words. She provides practical help and appreciates the same in return. She isn’t always aware of her own feelings. She definitely can have a hard time in not just coming to understand them, but in articulating them to others. Sophie often has a hard time comforting those around her in the exact way they need. Her Te often coming off more blunt that she may have intended.

Humble, brave, and loyal. Harry will go against all odds to protect his friends and bring justice to the wizarding world. Like most ISTJs, Harry has an internal moral code that drives him even if it’s not obvious to the outside world. He strives for fairness and loyalty and has no problem standing up for the weak or sticking by his friends when it could be dangerous. In typical ISTJ fashion, Harry can come up with logical courses of action quickly and he’s gifted at teaching others how to better harness their wizarding skills. Though not always comfortable with his role as “the chosen one,” Harry takes the role seriously will do whatever it takes to live up to it responsibly.

His Si is dominant as he is incredibly detail oriented and deals in concrete facts. His Si leads him to have a unique perspective that isn’t often noticed because he keeps it to himself. He works on one project until it is done and nothing else matters. He is meticulous and doesn’t jump to conclusions. His secondary Te is how he deciphers the information and judges it. He works in what can be proven and is logically accepted. Unlike the children that make huge leaps in logic connected patterns without hard evidence, Tim Hopper takes the slow, steady, and certain route with his Te. His tertiary Fi is what leads him to go against the grain of the police. He isn’t functionally looping, but quite healthy in his use of Fi. He doesn’t become fearful of breaking rules but see his individual importance and need to solve the case. His inferior Ne is what makes him excited and motivated to keep moving forward in the case. Each piece of the puzzle he solves gives him an ego boost.

Serious, focused, and protective of his people, Thorin exemplifies some of the best and worst traits of ISTJs. He keeps his eyes on his goals and logically makes plans and contingency plans to achieve them. He is loyal, dutiful, and decisive. At the same time, he can be too quick to judge groups of people that align with bad experiences in his life. For example, since he has had past negative experiences with elves, he assumes that they are all against him and will never redeem themselves from their past failures.

Like many Thinking-type women, Bathsheba doesn’t quite fit her society’s expectations for femininity and she’s well aware of that fact. This doesn’t bother her at all, and she puts her practical and logical skills to good use managing the farm she inherits from her uncle. Like many other ISTJs, she’s detail-oriented, straight-forward, and very good at her chosen profession. She impresses most of the people around her, yet she’s also quite human and makes some very poor emotion-based decisions. In typical ISTJ fashion, though, she commits to living with the consequences of her choices and thankfully things work out for the best in the end.

Javert tries to make the outer world adhere to his inner world of what is right and wrong. His Si gives him a subjective sense of how things should be. Instead of using extraverted functions to see things in the outer world, Javert stays within his Si rather than referring to strict legalities. His motivations and his view of reality is not dictated by Te systems, but his individual sense of reality. This is how he takes his mission too far. It isn’t blindly following the rules, but a man trying to stick to his strongly held beliefs and personal narrative. A man trying to uphold his integrity and sense of right. He isn’t just an Inspector blindly enforcing the law, but a man on a personal journey trying to deal with his internal world and the external world. He isn’t some evil man hunting Jean Valjean down because of a blind trust in the law, but because of his own personal sense of honor and how he sees the world should be rather than how it is.

Katniss is a practical, grounded character who, like many other ISTJs, is also resourceful and clever. Real-life ISTJs can relate to Katniss’s commitment to protecting the people she cares about and her reliance on past experience (her’s and others’) for guidance. Like many TJ types, she’s more comfortable expressing decisive, rational thoughts rather than with sharing her feelings or talking about personal convictions. Of course, she does feel things deeply and her tertiary Introverted Feeling plays a big role in how she responds to the people and situations around her.