When Worlds Collide

Susan Anthony

ENGL 1010-19

23 November 2005

Essay 5

When Worlds Collide : The Difference Between Mattie and Dawn

The Myers - Briggs personality test consists of a large series of questions pertaining

to a person’s ethics, habits, and reactions to different situations. Based on the Myers - Briggs

personality assessment it can be assumed that Mattie is an INTJ, which stands for “Introverted -

Intuitive - Thinking - Judging”. This assessment dictates Mattie’s probable behavior for how she

deals with stress, her role in a group setting, and her personal growth. These probable behaviors

are presented in several scenarios throughout Kent Nelson’s novel, Land that Moves, Land that

Stands Still. Furthermore, the Myers - Briggs personality assessment provides information on

how Mattie’s personality type, INTJ, relates to Dawn’s personality type. The two personalities

work together in a “tribesman relationship”, which means that, although similar in common

goals, the two personalities compliment each other in a conflicting manner (Heiss par. 13).

As an INTJ Mattie copes with situations and works through them differently from Dawn.

Upon discovering Haney’s past and the fact that he was a homosexual man, Mattie retires to

solitude at the picnic table to mentally dwell on the stressful information rather than talking

about it (Nelson, 104). Despite her solitary self- consolation, Mattie, true to INTJ nature, acts

as a leader for the makeshift family that forms on the ranch. While acting as a leader to the

others on the ranch Mattie is given the opportunity for healing and personal growth after the loss

of her husband. In that time of personal growth she allows others to participate in her

development, giving them the opportunity to shape her healing. According to the Myers - Briggs

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personality assessment, this is common for an INTJ personality type (“What Makes an INTJ

Tick?” par 5). Mattie, the Introverted - Intuitive - Thinking - Judging personality, both

compliments and differs from her cohort, Dawn, in her ways of coping with stress, her role in the

group setting, and dealing with personal growth.

Dawn represents the ENFJ personality in Kent Nelson’s novel, which stands for

“Extroverted - Intuitive - Feeling - Judging”. With Mattie she shares some common personality

traits, as well as common goals for her immediate future. Dawn, however, acts as the extrovert in

the group on the ranch. With Dawn as an ENFJ type personality, her actions and motivations can

be predicted based on the Myers - Briggs personality assessment. Like Mattie, Dawn is forced to

deal with stress on the ranch and in her past life, exercise her role in a group setting, and grow

personally.

Unlike her “tribesman” counterpart, Mattie, Dawn copes with tension and stress

outwardly. By organizing the group to reconstruct Mattie’s kitchen after the fire, Dawn revealed

a true characteristic of an ENFJ personality, which is getting a group organized in a time of stress

(“What Makes an ENFJ Tick?” par 6).But also like an ENFJ, Dawn fails to consider

consequences