Emmett’s Enneagram

By jsmith532 on July 19, 2015 • ( Leave a comment )

I don’t really give much credence to the little quizzes I see on the Internet at different sites like Playbuzz.com, although I think they are entertaining, even funny.

For instance:

“The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize.”
Clairee Belcher, Steel Magnolias. Source: bongotimes.com

Which ‘Steel Magnolia’ Are You? (According to the quiz, I’m Clairee Belcher.)

Or,

Which Addams Family Member Are You? (Results show that I’m Wednesday Addams.)

But the other other day, I thought it might be interesting to channel Emmett with one of these quizzes, answering them as if I were him. After living with the guy (so to speak) for two years now, I feel pretty comfortable taking a guess at how he’d answer the questions.

So, I took a stab at one, channelling Emmett, called, Which Enneagram Personality Type Do You Have?

(An enneagram is a form of alternative psychology that describes nine different personality types, identifies the key psychological addition (fault), and offers a suggestion to counter that fault.)

And here’s what the results said for Emmett:

The Loyalist. Source: http://www.playbuzz.com

Honestly, I think it is a fairly good description of Emmett (despite the typo in the fourth line, ‘lacing’, which I think should be ‘losing’). Emmett was deeply committed to what he believed in (the progressive democratic philosophy, honesty, due process). He desperately sought unconditional acceptance from his friends and family, and it seriously troubled him when he didn’t get it. When he was not sure of something, he surveyed his closest friends for their advice instead of trusting his gut — which, had he actually done more of in his life, would have served him better.

Speaking from a researcher’s perspective, I take this thing with a major grain of salt. But do you know why I did this? Because there’s no one alive who can vet my gut feeling about Emmett, and I wonder, sometimes, if I really do ‘get’ Emmett after all this time.

The good news is, I think I do ‘get’ him. Here’s why:

The other day, while rereading the microfilm from the Pensacola Evening News of 1912, I found a comment he made in an interview that confirmed a gut feeling I had about something he did in a case he prosecuted as State’s Attorney that year. It made me feel good about how I interpret Emmett’s reactions and behavior while I write his story. This isn’t the first confirmation I’ve found; it’s the fourth or fifth, actually.

===

By the way, I shared the “Clairee Belcher” result with a friend whose opinion I absolutely trust. I asked her if she thought this was accurate. She said, “Yeah, you could be Clairee. Easily.”