Inventing Enneagrams -
the "dramatic story" and two-force analysis
Copyright 1997 by Richard K. Moore
Published in Enneagram Monthly, August 1997
The structure of the standard dramatic story formula
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Have you ever noticed that Hollywood films typically have a standard
plot formula? This observation was underscored by a script-writing
class I took where we were presented with a standardized dramatic
formula with three Acts - each of which has a recommended number of
pages and specified dramatic content.
As the more subtle details of this structure were being discussed, it
clicked with me that that we might be looking at an example of a
"process enneagram". I began looking at the formulaic dramatic
structure, to see if it could naturally be divided into nine phases of
action. This looked promising, but it was not obvious where the
precise divisions between the phases should be placed.
Based on my previous work with the enneagram, "Physics and the
Enneagram" (Enneagram Monthly, Dec. '96) and "The Life Cycle of
Creative Endeavors" (Enneagram Monthly, Feb. '97), I sought to
identify two forces which generate the dramatic sequence, an approach
based on the "Two-Force Hypothesis", introduced in "Physics and the
Enneagram":
Two-Force Hypothesis
The nine points of the enneagram represent the nine distinct energy
configurations that can arise in the interaction of two forces, each
of which forces can occur in an "active", "responsive", or "neutral"
state. This is how the Law of Three leads to the nine enneagram
positions.
Each energy configuration is denoted by a pair of symbols, for example
(+,0) stands for "first force active", "second force neutral".
Active is "+", responsive is "-", and neutral is "0". Regardless of
which application of the enneagram is being considered, whether it be
personality or a process or whatever, the same energy configuration
seems to be always associated with the same enneagram position. This
fixed association, an inherent though previously unrecognized property
of the general enneagram paradigm, is illustrated in the Life Cycle
diagram, in which the forces are (reason, imagination):
At the most general, abstract level the enneagram symbol can be seen
as a kind of choreography - it maps out the dance of interactions of a
pair of forces, each of which has three styles of dance. One might
think of atoms, which can occur as positive ions, negative ions, or
neutral atoms. There must certainly be an Enneagram of the Dance of
the Elements which could bring a new perspective to the nine-column
Periodic Table. I would wager with confidence that if this atomic
enneagram were to be worked out, one would find that the arrows encode
well-known chemical principles.
In the case of the dramatic story, the two forces are readily
apparent: they are protagonist/hero and antagonist/fate. The
interpretation of the energy states is also not difficult to work out:
a character is _active_ when he is taking the initiative in the drama;
he is _responsive_ when he is responding to pressure and events; he is
_neutral_ when he's not involved in the current drama.
As I found in the two previous investigations, and as I will show
below for the dramatic story, two-force analysis is a very powerful
aid in properly applying the enneagram to any system for which the
enneagram is an appropriate modeling tool. You can readily divide any
system or process into nine aspects - but how do you know you've
divided it correctly? And how do you even know that the enneagram
paradigm is appropriate to the particular system or process? Two-
force analysis answers both of these questions: the identification of
two system-determinative tri-state forces is the key to knowing that
the enneagram is applicable at all, and the fixed-position energy-
configurations enable the system to be precisely factored to reveal
the underlying enneagram dynamics.
Case study: "A Few Good Men"
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As the next step in developing the enneagram of the dramatic story,
we'll take a particular film and step through the nine phases of the
enneagram diagram. At each phase, we'll consider the energy states of
the two characters and see how that relates to the unfolding drama.
This exercise serves as an illustration of how two-force analysis is
used in formulating a new enneagram application by factoring out the
nine inherent enneagram components.
Terminology note: Although "neutral" seems to be the best single
abstract term for the third energy state, the state can only be fully
appreciated by combining the connotations of several terms, including:
"neutral, away, avoid, alone, withdraw". In the dramatic-story
application, "away" turns out to be the most descriptive term, and will
be used in what follows.
The film is "A Few Good Men", with Tom Cruise (hero) and Jack Nicholson
(fate/antagonist) as the primary actors. For those who haven't seen
the film - don't worry, I'll describe the plot enough here for our
purposes. I'll use Cruise and Nicholson to refer to the characters.
Phase 9 - (+, 0) - fate active; hero away
------------------------------------------
The beginning of the drama, as we learn eventually in flashback,
is a sequence of events on a US Marine base leading up to the
death of a Marine. The defendants in the case are two other
Marines, but the ultimately responsible perpetrator turns out to
be Nicholson - a tough, high-ranking Marine officer.
Phase 9 generalization: Fate initiates a chain of events which
will eventually impact the hero.
Fate sows seed of conflict
Phase 1 - (+, -) - fate active; hero responsive
-----------------------------------------------
The opening of the film deals with Cruise (a Marine lawyer) being
assigned to represent the two defendants. Cruise expresses
reluctance to undertake trial work, as his previous experience
has been outside of court. He is encouraged to enter a guilty
plea (avoiding trial) for the defendants - indeed his aversion
for trial work is why he was selected for the assignment: the
Corps wants the case played down to avoid embarrassment to the
Corps and to Nicholson. Tension builds around Cruise's decision
of how to approach the case, as he begins to suspect that the
defendants are not the real perps.
Phase 1 abstraction: Hero begins to respond to the impact of
fate's actions.
Hero is drawn toward conflict
Phase 2 - (0, -) - fate away; hero responsive
---------------------------------------------
We learn of a deeper reason for Cruise's reluctance to engage in
trial work - he is haunted, it turns out, by the sceptre of his
deceased father - a renown trial lawyer - with whom he is afraid
to (symbolically) compete. A second level of tension builds
around Cruise's wrestling with how to resolve this internalized
relationship with his father.
Phase 2 abstraction: Hero begins to respond to his own internal
personality conflicts, conflicts which have been aroused by the
pressure of fate, but which are apart from it.
Hero is drawn into internal doubt
Phase 3 - (0, 0) - fate away; hero away
---------------------------------------
The pressure on Cruise to make a decision reaches a fever pitch.
It has become clear that the "right" choice would be to enter a
not-guilty plea, and it has become equally clear that such a path
would be extremely problematic and possibly detrimental to
Cruise's career. Yet we are made aware that it is not the fear
of external consequences that gives Cruise pause, but rather his
internal doubt. At the point of maximum tension, Cruise storms
out of a late-night meeting and goes on a drunk (symbolically: an
internal quest). When he shows up the next morning, he has
momentously decided to enter a not-guilty plea.
Phase 3 abstraction: Hero resolves his inner doubt by facing and
conquering his own demon - an internal act which is away from
both the drama and immediate fate, but an act which frees the
hero to engage fully in the drama.
Hero chooses to fight
Phase 4 - (0, +) - fate away; hero active
-----------------------------------------
Cruise bursts into action, preparing his case with intense
energy, creativity, and determination. Cruise knows that the
only way to exonerate the defendants is to prove Nicholson's
culpability - a formidable task given Nicholson's prestige and
the fact that he is not the one on trial. Cruise realistically
appraises the formidable strength of Nicholson's position, and
begins to prepare an imaginative approach to ensnaring him. This
preparation is carried out away from Nicholson - indeed secrecy
and surprise are critical to the success of Cruise's strategy.
Phase 4 abstraction: Hero, freed from his internal demon, acts
to prepare himself for confrontation with fate, a preparation
which occurs away from fate/antagonist.
Hero prepares for battle
Phase 5 - (-, 0) - fate responsive; hero away
---------------------------------------------
Nicholson becomes aware that he is the target of investigation.
He responds by taking stock of his vulnerable points and
beginning to prepare his defense. This planning takes place
away from Cruise, and again, secrecy is paramount.
Phase 5 abstraction: Fate/antagonist, in response to hero's
anticipated attack, begins to plan his defense, away from the
hero.
Fate prepares for battle
Phase 6 - (-, -) - fate responsive; hero responsive
---------------------------------------------------
Nicholson and Cruise are now intensively implementing their
strategies. This is the chase scene: Cruise is working 18-hours
a day tracking down evidence and meticulously working out his
trial tactics; Nicholson instructs his men as to what they
should say in court, destroys certain flight records, plans how
he'll present himself on the stand, etc.
Phase 6 abstraction: Hero and fate are both responding to the
requirements of the upcoming battle: they are, as it were,
deploying their troops, launching their thousand ships, marching
to the battlefield.
Engagement begins
Phase 7 - (-, +) - fate responsive; hero active
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The parties are gathered in court, the judges gavel comes down,
and Cruise initiates the final confrontation. Nicholson begins
to respond on the witness stand, and the events on the Marine
Base are recounted for the jury. Nicholson's strategy is based
on maintaining his cool composure and meeting Cruise with
disdain. Cruise's strategy is to taunt Nicholson into
unsheathing his sword - to enter the battle in anger and lose his
composure and good sense. As Cruise backs Nicholson into a
psychological corner, the courtroom drama builds to an intense
pitch.
Phase 7 abstraction: Hero actively begins his final attack on
fate/antagonist, who begins to respond.
Hero initiates confrontation
Phase 8 - (+, +) - fate active; hero active
-------------------------------------------
In a sequence of dramatic interrogations over two days, during
which Cruise probes and learns from from Nicholson's responses,
Cruise finally gets Nicholson's goat and Nicholson - fire in his
eyes - lashes out in active battle. There follows an intense but
brief all-out duel: Nicholson's core of internal power is
unleashed - his raw energy as a proud fighting Marine.
Unfortunately for him this is inappropriate to his goal of
defending himself in the case, and he inadvertently, in the heat
of passion, reveals his culpability. Cruise's adaptive tactics
pay off: he entices Nicholson into engaging in the wrong battle -
a battle for his symbolic honor instead of for his real survival.
Phase 8 abstraction: Hero and fate meet one another in the
final, decisive duel.
Hero and fate meet in final confrontation
The interpretation of the arrows
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Just as the main triangle (9-> 6-> 3) in the Life Cycle model shows the
unfolding of a trivial endeavor (a mere task), so the main triangle
here marks out a trivial story, where there is only initiation,
decision, and confrontation - a simple barroom fight, not a full-blown
story. The other arrows, as in the Life Cycle model, reveal subtle
relationships among the phases.
Arrow 1-> 4
-----------
When Cruise learns of his assignment (in phase one), his first
consideration is to think ahead as to how he might structure his
case (phase 4). That anticipation, and the problems thus
uncovered, builds the story's initial tension.
Abstraction: Hero considers his response to fate by anticipating
the requirements of battle.
Arrow 2-> 8
-----------
When Cruise thinks ahead to the climax (phase eight) of the trial
- a dramatic confrontation with Nicholson - he sees himself
inheriting his father's sword, which fuels his crisis of doubt.
Abstraction: Hero anticipates the climactic confrontation,
forcing him to re-assess his personal power.
Arrow 4-> 2
-----------
As Cruise prepares his case (phase four), he keeps in mind his
doubts regarding personal power (phase 2), and focuses his
strategy on adequately arming himself for combat.
Abstraction: Hero is mindful of his recent personal doubt, and
undertakes to gird his loins appropriately.
Arrow 5-> 7
As Nicholson prepares his battle plan (phase five), he focuses on
how Cruise will address him in court (phase seven), and
determines that cool mastery is the appropriate cloak to wear.
Abstraction: Fate anticipates attack by hero, and selects the
most favorable defensive position.
Arrow 7-> 1
-----------
Once court opens (phase seven), past is prolog. Preparation was
essential, but prosecution of the case is an entire new sub-
drama, whose outcome cannot be guaranteed. The two adversaries
must in some sense RETURN TO PHASE ONE, and play out the story
again from the beginning for real - for the jury. Judgements are
sharpened by the preparation, but it is wits and adaptability
that will determine the outcome in the final rounds.
Abstraction: Adversaries, armed and prepared, enter into the
final-confrontation sub-drama. Together they re-improvise their
dramatic interactions from the beginning, only this time in
direct face-to-face combat.
Arrow 8-> 5
-----------
As Cruise presses his attack on Nicholson (phase eight),
Nicholson is limited by the aloof-posture strategy he adopted
earlier (phase five). Cruise ultimately defeats Nicholson by
hammering on that inflexibility until it cracks and, so to speak,
the castle is breached.
Abstraction: Fate/Antagonist is ultimately limited by the
defenses he laid down early in response to his anticipation of
hero's strategy. Hero's key to success is to identify fate's
strategic limitations, and to then improvise an opportunistic
final assault. (One might note that great generals are
characterized by their flair for breaking all the rules when
responding to specific adversarial conditions).
Variations on a theme - plot twists around phase two doubt
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When one reviews various other films from the perspective of the
dramatic story diagram, one finds that the archetypal structure has
many interesting variations. Consider for a moment the Hollywood
classics "Casablanca" and "To Have and Have Not". A special quality of
these films arises from the fact that Bogart's internal resolution is
delayed until near the end of the film - the early phases (one and
two) are in slow motion, so to speak, while the subsequent phases are
in fast-forward. The audience is kept in moral limbo for most of the
film, waiting for Bogart (whom they _know_ is the star/hero) to take a
stand. When he finally does - and the camera goes tight on his face
to capture a suddenly hardened expression (the phase 3 decision to
fight) - the release of tension is palpable and the rest of the film
becomes a rushed climactic chase.
In the case of "Casablanca", we are seeing in allegory the US
involvement in WW II - which was characterized by a prolonged crisis
of decision, a late entry into the drama, and the eventual playing of
an historically heroic role. An allegorical story line was developed
by the writer, quite artfully, to echo the tempo and symbols (overseas
Yanks, Nazis, collaborators, partisans, nationalism) of the referent
real-world events. In "To Have and Have Not", on the other hand, we
simply see a mechanical re-exploitation of a dramatic technique that
proved itself to be a crowd pleaser in the first film.
Returning to "A Few Good Men", allow me to bring in a minor sub-plot
that shows another variation on this theme. Nicholson had a junior
officer who had decided to become a whistleblower - to testify against
his boss and clinch Cruise's case. At the eleventh hour, the would-be
witness donned his dress Marine uniform and shot himself. This
hapless officer's sub-drama exemplifies yet another twist on the
phase-two internal-decision episode: in this case the internal
conflict (between honor as a citizen and honor as a Marine) was so
great that a choice simply couldn't be made, and suicide seemed to be
the only possible resolution.
Using different enneagram applications together:
multi-dimensional insights
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Consider that a hero in a dramatic encounter with fate, can
simultaneously be viewed as being the pursuer of a creative endeavor -
an endeavor whose goal is the overcoming of fate/antagonist. This
means that at each phase of the process, we can get a stereo (two-
dimensional) perspective by looking at both models together, and
interpreting the protagonist's situation from both perspectives. For
example, in phase one, the hero is being "drawn into the drama", while
the pursuer is "formulating his goal". Each of these interpretations
sheds light on the other: the hero is also setting a goal, as he
contemplates his response to fate, and the pursuer is also having his
attention pulled into the endeavor, as he struggles to formulate his
goal. The two spotlights illuminate one anothers shadows.
We can even triangulate our phase-one position in three-dimensions by
bringing in the personality enneagram. This spotlight shows us that
the appropriate mindset for phase one activities is fixation one -
"reformer/pursuer-of-rightness". Recall that Cruise's phase-one
activity was looking into the actual _justice_ of the case - what was
the _right_ interpretation of the evidence. Similarly, phase one of an
endeavor (goal setting) is the time when _rightness_ of an endeavor
should be called into question - after that the momentum of the
project itself takes over. Using our spotlights in the reverse
direction - looking at the one fixation - we can see that "goal setting"
plays a central role in the one's continual "striving for improvement",
and that "entering into drama" may well characterize the one's frequent
experience of "subordinating themselves to an abstraction" (Riso's
characterization).
Similar cross-application observations shed light on each of the
enneagram positions.
Phase five: endeavor enlightens drama:
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When a hero prepares for battle, he should use his active
imagination to anticipate all possible problems fate might pose.
Phase three: processes enlighten personality:
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A type-three individual runs his life efficiently because of his
expertise in making _choices_ about the struggles he chooses to
engage in, and the endeavors he chooses to undertake. He
develops his choice-making skill into an automatic and
dispassionate process - involving a minimum (0,0) of
imagination, reason, or drama. A three makes decisions quickly
and efficiently, with little fuss or fanfare - by focusing on the
most critical question: "Is this particular challenge
appropriate for me to undertake at this time?"
All processes illuminated by personality:
----------------------------------------
A person's success in carrying through a struggle, or in pursuing
any endeavor, is greatly enhanced if the person has the
flexibility to "switch hats" - to _become each personality
fixation in turn, as each phase of the process is carried out.
Even a "shy academic five", so to speak, must learn to become a
"bold combative eight" when defending his paper's thesis at a
conference ("presentation" being phase eight of the "paper-writing"
endeavor).
All processes enlightening personality transformation:
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As you participate in the many processes and struggles of life -
many of which turn out to follow the cycle of the enneagram - you
are challenged repeatedly to develop the personal flexibility
required to perform competently the various phases of those
experiences. Thus, if you are mindful, everyday life offers you
countless courses in systematic personality transformation - you
are encouraged to consciously practice each fixation's behavior
and attitudes at the appropriate time, and thus, eventually, to
transcend your childhood fixation on a primary adaptive strategy.
"Enneagram-consciousness", one might express in Buddhist
terminology, can illuminate the "fourth way" to personal
liberation: the way of the householder, the path of everyday
life.
An appeal to the enneagram research community
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Consider for a moment how very much was learned from this exercise.
I've never written a play or story, and have never studied dramatic
structure (other than the one brief course), and yet from what the
enneagram has revealed, I'm sure I could write a script-writing manual
that explained dramatic imperatives with exemplary clarity and in a
way that could be readily applied by beginners. The "dramatic story"
diagram, posted by a writer's desk, would provide handy reference to
the entire dramatic formula in all its richness.
I have found two-force analysis to be a powerful tool in helping
develop and understand enneagram applications. It precisely and
straightforwardly factors an application domain, revealing the
underlying enneagramatic structure. Even when an enneagram
application has been previously worked out (as with personality), two-
force analysis sheds light on the underlying mechanisms which generate
the observed systemic results. Physics and the Enneagram, using these
tools, presented for the first time, I believe, a psychologically-
grounded theory as to why there are exactly nine fixations and why
each has the specific characteristics that have been empirically
observed.
I appeal to the enneagram research community to give some collective
attention to two-force analysis. If this methodology can be validated
by others, it could represent a major community breakthrough in
understanding how the enneagram functions, and in understanding how it
can be readily applied to a very wide class of systems. Gurdjieff and
others have claimed that the enneagram applies to all phenomenon -
which is perhaps an exaggeration - but the small number of
applications which have been published to date certainly do not
reflect the full potential of the paradigm.