Jay

“Fours maintain their identity by seeing themselves as fundamentally different from others. Fours feel that they are unlike other human beings, and consequently, that no one can understand them or love them adequately. They often see themselves as uniquely talented, possessing special, one-of-a-kind gifts, but also as uniquely disadvantaged or flawed. More than any other type, Fours are acutely aware of and focused on their personal differences and deficiencies.”

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Gambol: "You're crazy."

Joker: "I'm not. No, I'm not." (Mob meeting scene) He responds quickly and sternly, becoming defensive at the accusation.

Batman: "You're garbage who kills for money."

Joker: "don't talk like one of them, you're not!" (Interrogation Scene). Joker immediately gets worked up when Batman calls him this. Joker makes a point to set himself apart from the mobs and the ‘lower class criminals’ who simply kill for money, so for Batman to try perceive him this way and group him in with the other Gotham criminals, it insinuates that he’s just like everybody else.

Joker: "A guy like me-"

Gambol: "A freak."

"A guy like me..." (Mob meeting scene). The insult seems to bother him, his sentence trails off for a moment as he loses some focus, looking down and zoning out before changing the subject.

E4’s core desire is to be their own individual, and their core fear is to be misunderstood and unseen, so it makes sense that Joker, especially as the most passionate e4 subtype, would react so defensively and harshly whenever someone misinterprets who he is as a person, feeling the need to swiftly correct them when it happens. He wants to be seen for who really is, and differentiate himself from the group.

Note: it's important to emphasize that The Joker is not generally bothered by being perceived as insane, which can be seen by how he later calls both him and batman freaks, and how he brought Harvey down to his and Batman’s level of madness. He specifically gets offended when the context in which these words are used are meant superficially and to criticize his uniqueness, while when he refers to himself that way, he seems to mean it in terms of actual mental insanity and to highlight his distinctiveness.

Projection

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”The sexual E4 is, of the three subtypes, the one that projects the most, and in this aspect it can easily reach cruelty, above all displaying a great capacity for verbal aggression, as we have already pointed out. Sexual E4s have a phobia of feeling how little they value themselves, and also of feeling guilty. He tends to blame the other, compulsively needing to find someone responsible for the feelings that he does not want or accept for himself” [2]

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"the sexual E4 tends more to projection, to devalue the other, and to openly blame him for his shortcomings and defects. In the enneagram there is no one more devaluing than the sexual E4. Devaluing the other by belittling and blaming him as a way of not being in permanent contact with his own sense of internal worthlessness" [2]

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“To them, you're just a freak, like me. They need you right now... but when they don't, they'll cast you out. Like a leper" (Interrogation Scene). This is Joker projecting his own experiences and insecurities onto Batman. Everyone thinks Joker is a freak, from his physical appearance and his scars to his behavior, he has always been a social outcast. And many times in his life he has been abandoned/betrayed by people he trusted, like his father and his wife, for example.

"Does it depress you, Commissioner? To know.. just how alone you really are?" (Interrogation Scene). Another projection. Joker is basically completely alone in the world, he has no friends, no family, no marriage.

In this defense mechanism of projection, The Joker protects his own self-image and his feelings of inadequacy by unconsciously attributing his own traits and shortcomings onto others, allowing to avoid acknowledging his deep rooted insecurities.

Mockery

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“He mocks with scathing and cruel irony, offending or teasing. And they have a lot of ability to do it, only, seeking excessive attention, they ridicule, humiliate, or insult. In effect, the etymological origin of sarcasm is linked to “biting the flesh” (of the victim). In their histrionics, they appeal to humor cleverly, but maliciously seeking to make the other look bad” [2]

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“I mean, what happened? Your balls drop off? Hm?” (Mob meeting scene)

"And you didn't disappoint. You let five people die. Then, you let Dent take your place. Even to a guy like me, that's cold." (Interrogation Scene)

"You have nothing! Nothing to threaten me with! Nothing to do with all your strength!" (Interrogation scene)

"How many of your friends have I killed?" (Detective guarding the door Scene).

"Would you like to know which of them were cowards?" (Detective guarding the door Scene).

The Joker purposefully provokes and agitates people using condescension and mockery throughout the film, with the purpose of manipulating and getting under their skin. He is an expert at hitting people where it hurts and getting a reaction out of them.

Jealousy, Competition, and Superiority

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“Envious passion, in the sexual subtype, takes on the character of a passion to reclaim what is felt to be lost; a claim that is a furious cry against those who have talents, qualities, objects and recognitions, that people who recognize themselves in this character feel that it is their right to have. The existence of sexual E4 is characterized by constant drama, like a lover who despairs of having lost his love and can only hate the one who hurt him so much. [2]“

“These Fours don't feel consciously envious so much as they feel competitive as a way of muting the pain associated with envy. If they can compete against another person they perceive as having more than they do and win, they can feel better about themselves. Sexual Fours believe it's good to be the best. Most people want to present a good image to others, but Sexual Fours don't care very much about image management or being liked. For them, it's better to be superior. They are highly competitive, and their intense focus on competition takes the form of actively striving to show that they are the best.” [3]

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"There's no going back, you've changed things, forever." (Interrogation Scene). He's clearly impressed by Batman's ability to influence Gotham and change the status quo, something the Joker has been trying and failing to do for a while. This leads me to believe that he's envious of Batman's success. The way Joker treats Batman as his main competitor and focuses so much on tearing him down specifically further convinces me of this, since Sx4's rivals are people whom they are jealous of.

"See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve" (Interrogation Scene). The Joker believes that he’s always two steps ahead of everyone else because he thinks he’s figured out what everybody else has yet to discover.

"The mob has plans. The cops have plans. Gordon's got plans. Y'know they're schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds. I’m not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how.. pathetic their attempts to control things really are.”(Hospital Scene). Joker seems to see himself as being above the ‘schemers’, deliberately trying to showcase just how superior he is to Harvey and everyone else in Gotham.

"I just did what I do best. I took your little plan and I turned it on itself.” (Hospital Scene) He’s very proud that he was able to make an impact on Gotham and destroy Harvey’s ‘plan’, letting it get to his head and feed his ego.

Joker puts a lot of emphasis on being better and smarter than other people, because subconsciously he feels worse than everyone else. He focuses on tearing down people whom he envies, people who are more successful than him and who have some sort of established authority, like Batman, Harvey, or Gordon.

Rebellious

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“People of this subtype do not easily adapt to limits imposed, either by authority figures, laws or conventions, nor do they have many references to internal limits. There is a pleasure in causing some kind of stir among the spectators, as if from that place one could obtain a great adhesion or a great rejection, but in short, something intense to enjoy and to talk about." [2]

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“Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair." (Hospital Scene)

"You see, their morals, their code... it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these, these civilized people.. they'll eat each other." (Interrogation Scene)

Suffering

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“Sexual Fours make others suffer because they feel that they have been made to suffer and so need some sort of compensation. They may seek to hurt or punish others as an unconscious way of repudiating or minimizing their own pain. Naranjo observes that this tendency of this Four can be summed up by the phrase, “Hurt people hurt people.” Externalizing pain helps them ease their inner sense of inferiority.” [2]

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You wanna know how I got these scars? My father..was a drinker, and a fiend. And one night, he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. He turns to me and says, "Why so serious?" Comes at me with the knife. "Why so serious?" He sticks the blade in my mouth... "Let's put a smile on that face."” (Talking to Gambol).

"You wanna know how I got 'em? Come here...hey...look at me. So I had a wife, beautiful, like you, who tells me, I worry too much, who tells me I oughta smile more. Who gambles and gets in deep with the sharks. One day they carve her face. We have no money for surgeries, she can't take it. I just wanna see her smile again, hm? I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars. So...I stick a razor in my mouth and do this...to myself. And you know what? She can’t stand the sight of me! She leaves...Now I see the funny side, Now I'm always smiling.” (Talking to Rachel).

Seductive

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“Sexual E4 seduces even without realizing it. In general, they have a strong erotic charge that permeates all their movements; walking, dancing, eating, talking, and they know how to handle it well when it is directed or focused. Seducing and rejecting often becomes in the sexual E4 the story of never ending, an endless circle. They are attentive to what they like and detect what works and what does not. It is a peacock that only unfolds its beautiful tail when there is someone who, perhaps without knowing it, has previously seduced it. They are good observers, analyze and capture who they want to seduce.”

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