The Order of the Stick: a temperament study

[Ceaon]

Some people may be familiar with the Four Temperaments. (If not, you can read up on them here (http://archive.fighunter.com/?page=temperaments) and here (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FourTemperamentEnsemble).)

Now, what with the excellent characterization in this comic, it is of course very reductionist to describe the Order in terms of only their temperament. However, I think it would be a fun exercise for me to try. Here's my take at it. Feel free to offer your own insights or corrections.

:roy: Choleric
Roy is a natural leader and at his worst, can be condescending, stubborn and irritable. At his best, he sets others into motion and gets things done. If I had to assign a secondary temperament, it'd be melancholic. Roy seems to have a self-deprecating streak, however much he sometimes tries to hide it.

:durkon: Phlegmatic
Durkon's biggest goal is to have others at peace. At his worst, he is stoic and unassertive. At his best, he is a mediator and stable centre of the party.

:haley: Melancholic
The Order's second-in-command is known for her high standards, self-doubt and paranoid tendencies. At her worst, she can be stubborn, pessimistic, suspsicious and even unreliable. At her best, she is creative, thoughtful and analytical. Like many melancholics, she is very competent at what she knows and does.

:elan: Sanguine
Elan's goal is to have fun, clear and simple. He enjoys the company of others, is dramatic, extroverted and a great friend. At his worst, he is inconsiderate (self-centered even) and unreliable. At his best, he's positive and upbeat, fun and friendly.

:vaarsuvius: Choleric and/or Melancholic
I found it hard to choose a temperament for V.
Like Haley, Vaarsuvius is analytical, competent and critical. Furthermore, V shows the introversion, stubborness and ability to hold a grudge of melancholics. V can be bitter, pessimistic and selfish. On the other hand, V shows passion and thoughtfulness.
However, V also is very prone to bragging and has a strong need to assert. On top of that, V is only very selectively willing to follow others. These are signs of a choleric temperament. In the "Durkon, Elan and V on a ship"-arc, V's willingness to act was contrasted with Durkon's inaction.

:belkar: Sanguine
Elan and Belkar are actually really alike in temperament. Belkar wants to have fun, but his idea of fun is different from Elan's. He likes others as a public to his awesomeness and is quite the bragger. I'd say Belkar has a bit of a choleric in him as a secondary temperament, being forceful and possessing a desire to prove himself better than others.

So, what do you guys think?

[hamishspence]

Seems a pretty fair assessment to me.

[Carry2]

Yeah, nothing much to add here. It's kind of interesting that this classification is fairly uncontentious, but doesn't tell you much about their motives or ethics.

[Vinsfeld]

Yep. Pretty much all said and done. What we could do, perhaps, is to "study" the other characters, like Team Evil.

[Ceaon]

:xykon: could be either sanguine or choleric, his motivation is mainly to have fun, but he has fun through dominating others. Which is the prime motivator seems to have shifted from his depiction in the early pages of SoD to the now.

:redcloak: is a prime example of melancholic, in my eyes.

:mitd: seems to be phlegmatic, wishing for everyone to get along.

Tsukiko I find harder to peck down. Any help?

Also, :nale: is choleric, I'd say.

Anyone have additional ideas?

[Vinsfeld]

Tsukiko, I'd say Choleric.

I'll quote the TVtropes link you've posted:

Choleric (yellow bile): .... dominance, ambition, charisma, very passionate.... obsession... Likes to be independent and have control over others

Reminded me of the strip that she died.


Also, :nale: could be Melancholic.
Quoting TVtropes again:

These characters can be extremely passionate and have high ideals...These characters focus on the world of internal thought and the best way to apply those thoughts. Independent, courteous, organized, hard-working, analytical; but also a detached, neurotic, obsessive perfectionist whose insanely high standards can lead to depression.

It screams Nale and his highly-inflated ego. And also, his well-organized perfectionist plans.

[Dethklok]

Interesting thread. It's been a long time since I looked at this kind of thing.


Some people may be familiar with the Four Temperaments. (If not, you can read up on them here (http://archive.fighunter.com/?page=temperaments) and here (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FourTemperamentEnsemble).)
I'm more familiar with them from Hans Eysenck's interpretation, but they look pretty similar - the tvtropes system "reads more" into the temperaments, however.



:roy: Choleric
I'd argue that Roy has a rather balanced temperament. Choleric isn't a bad assessment, though.


:haley: Melancholic
Really? She seems pretty happy-go-lucky to me. Even her character icon is smiling.


:vaarsuvius: Choleric and/or Melancholic
I found it hard to choose a temperament for V.
I think you got it spot on, though.


:xykon: could be either sanguine or choleric
Sanguine. Definitely.

[Vinsfeld]

Now that I looked the other link, I stand by Nale being Melancholic:


Emotionally sensitive
Needs things to be RIGHT
Analytical
Critical
Stubborn
Selfish
Easily upset
Can have unrealistically high standards
Rejects others so then they aren't themselves rejected
Very emotional, but keeps emotions inside mostly
Passionate
Holds grudges
Prefers planning to spontaneous action

[Ceaon]

Now that I looked the other link, I stand by Nale being Melancholic:

You make a good argument, I'm inclined to agree now.

Edit: It also plays nicely into the opposites theme.