Malcolm In The Middle Characters

Malcolm's egotistical and antisocial personality is believed to have been inspired by the character of Holden Caulfield, protagonist of the novel The Catcher in the Rye. Malcolm is often heard calling others "phonies," a habit shared by Holden. He is shown in later seasons to be extremely self-centered and self-absorbed. When he was feeling left out by Dewey and Reese, Dewey pointed out that his feelings weren't hurt, but rather, his ego was just bruised.

Even from the earliest age, Francis has been driven by a strong though extremely misguided need for freedom and independence. This is basically the driving force of his antics against Lois. With Francis absolutely refusing to allow himself to be controlled by her. According to Hal, Francis' first words were "You shut up!", which was directed at Lois. They even got into a sword fight at the Military School.Francis blames his mother for most of his problems rather than accepting responsibility for them, to the degree that when he is asked to name one thing wrong with his life that he doesn't blame on Lois, he is unable to comprehend the question.