Character Analysis: Carl Bosch
Carl Bosch's most important character trait is probably his Introversion.
When Carl Bosch first entered the prominent German dye company BASF he disregarded the generally accepted way of company scientists. He didn't socialize and try to climb ranks. Instead he spent his free time tinkering with machines, which was unusual for a company chemist. He was hardworking but only really socialized on weekends when he enjoyed bowling and drinking. Over the years as he kept climbing the ranks of power in BASF he was put into more and more situations that required he associate with people. This made him uncomfortable and he avoided it at all cost. When he got to the point where he was the head of IG Farben guests at a dinner party he hosted reported that they had spent thirty minutes at the dinner table being entertained by his wife before he even showed up. He claimed he had passed a clock on the way there and noticed it was broken and got so caught up in repairing it that he had completely lost track of time. When one of his factories exploded and killed many workers he made a speech to the workers and the families of the deceased. It was very awkward for him to do this and though he tried his best to put how he felt on the matter sincerely he was not used to it. He collapsed on the way home (also due to the moral stress from having his factory "betray" him).
"After the Oppau explosion, the jokes ceased. He became serious, quiet, and withdrawn. He cut back on meetings and whittled down the size of his top advisory councils until he could make the biggest decisions by meeting with an inner cabinet of just a dozen or so men." (Page 202)
It was very inconvenient for him to be so good at everything else and then have such difficult dealing with people comfortably. He was hard working and innovative on top of being uncomfortable with social situations. Although it gave him trouble and he preferred to not have to always associate with people, he persevered and was still a skilled businessman and negotiator, as is shown from how much he was respected by other companies. So much so that when they joined to become IG Farben they made him head. Bosch handled his introversion throughout his career by being very work-minded all week until the weekend. On he weekends he would have fun and associate with people. This allowed him enough socialization without getting an overdose. He often took solace in nature when things were getting to be to much and with that he managed to balance things reasonably well for most of his life. After the explosion of his factory he was absent for a year, and eventually turned to drinking. While Bosch was a passionate and hardworking scientist and businessman, his introversion put much strain on him. His job required that he socialize more often than he would like and yet he was still a great leader and chemist.
Carl Bosch is my homeboy.