Judge Hang M. Quick
County Circuit Court
Any St.
Anytown, USA
Case #
To the Court,
Integrity, honesty, compassion, loyalty and just plain telling it like it is. These are just a few traits of this truly unique man, Ralph Stephens. One of a kind. If I ever have a question, or if I’m on the fence about something, Ralph, in a few sentences gives me the options and helps me clear it up. You always knew where you stand with Ralph. Politically correct? That isn't a big concern of his. He isn't trying to win a popularity contest.
But beneath that tough exterior is a warm, gentle man that is there in a heartbeat if you need him. There were times when I needed him. And nobody has been more there for me. Being there and being strong for his family is the most important thing to Ralph. He is a great Son, Brother, Husband and Father.
Ralph is a great engineer, and from what his employees tell me, a great boss. Ralph has a genuine concern for all those he works with. One colleague aptly described Ralph as a "true scholar of engineering", pursuing knowledge and learning how things work purely because he enjoys doing so. He never intends to impress someone down the road with what he has gleaned – although that often happens anyway – nor does he learn to simply improve his resume. He just has a desire to understand those things around him, whether they be cars, heavy equipment or the latest in high-technology.
Ralph has an idealistic view of the world and he always strives for righteousness and perfection in himself and in others. I think that because he expects perfection in this world, he is disappointed with the imperfections in himself and in others as well as the unfairness in the world. Facing difficult situations, one after another in his life, has affected him deeply because of his idealistic view of the world.
On the Keirsey Temperament’s website, it listed some personality traits of a Supervisor, “Supervisors like to take charge of groups and are comfortable issuing orders” (Keirsey.com). Ralph has been able to establish the meeting spot, the huts and the fire with little to no help from anybody else. His main goal is to keep the boys focused on the hope of rescue and he will work vigilantly to do so. After the whole group was chaotically speaking over one another, Ralph established another rule when he said, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking” (Golding 33). Once Ralph says this, the boys begin to get very excited over the thought of rules, “Whee-oh!..Wacco!..Bong!..Doink!” (Golding 33). Everybody, even Jack at this point, have accepted Ralph as the trusting leader and they look up to him as a diplomat. Though, later on in the novel, he begins to lose his power to Jack. Yet, this occasion does not stop Ralph from the goal of rescue because he then demonstrates his skills of a conceptual thinker when in a group by himself. After nearly avoiding death by savages, Ralph ends up running into a naval officer who asks, “Who’s boss here?” (Golding 201), when Ralph proudly responds, “I am” (Golding 201). The fact that three people have been killed under his watch and his whole group have turned into wild
Ralph grew up in Shanghai, China, where he had a distant and non-loving relationship with his father. Ralph took the opportunity to come to America in hopes of achieving his degree and eventually PhD. While this is a relatively simple goal for most people in America, it became more than a bourdon for Ralph; often getting sidetracked to pursue bigger and better things.
As leader of the group, Ralph has a great deal of responsibility and must learn
The twentieth century is the century with the greatest loss of human life in the history of civilization. It was a time of mistrust and espionage. To be loyal is defined as “faithful to one's oath, commitments, or obligations” (OED). Some loyalties are bought, while others are earned. Earned loyalty tends to last while loyalty that is bought tends to fade. Two books, The Human Factor by Graham Greene and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro show this difference. While both characters demonstrate external loyalty, Stevens’ loyalty was purchased, and Castle’s was earned. Castle’s genuine loyalty allows him to risk his life, while Stevens’ loyalty is only compliance.
Roth, D. A., & Heimberg, R. G. (2001). Cognitive-behavioral models of social anxiety disorder. Psychiatric Clinics Of North America, 24(4), 753-771. doi:10.1016/S0193-953X(05)70261-6
SAD is the third most prevalent mental disorder behind depression and alcoholism. About 5.3 million American adults have social phobia, which usually begins in childhood or adolescence, according to NIMH. For many social phobics, preoccupation with what others think may interfere in their job, school, relationships or other social activities. "Everyday interactions can become very problematic for people with social anxiety disorder," (Dittmann, 2005). Recent update of Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) stated that about 15 million American adults have social anxiety disorder. 36 percent of people with social anxiety disorder report symptoms for 10 or more years before seeking help. Furthermore, reported typical age of onset is 13 years old (ADAA, 2014) suggests that children and adolesce...
Social anxiety goes from not being able to socialize with people in a class to never leaving home due to the anxiety that is causes. Markway’s article states that there are three categories involved with social anxiety; mental distress, physical distress, and how avoidance affects someone socially. Mentally, it is exhausting to talk to people for to people and have that constant anxiety about the way they talk and act. People with social anxiety often think about how they can humiliate and embarrass themselves in front of others. This drives someone to fear that they may do something wrong at any given moments and may be rejected altogether (“Markway”, 2013).
Ralph's actions as a character in the novel assist in reinforcing Golding's point that the prevalent force within man is evil. While Ralph struggles, albeit unsuccessfully, to maintain a civilized society on the island, he repeatedly tries to resist the temptation of evil inside him. As the island descends into chaos under Jack's tyrannical regime, the rest of the boys on the island let their hair become longer, at the same time becoming increasingly vicious. Ralph tries to ignore the temptation of having long hair, trying to push it back to maintain the good he has inside him. Ralph wants to “have a pair of scissors” to cut his hair, but the hair is coaxing him to let evil dominate (109). ...
Anxiety is a feeling of nervousness and uneasiness about something that has an uncertain outcome. For instance, the thought of not knowing the outcome on an examination can cause anxiety. Anxiety can be caused by many things, and everyone has different triggers. Something minuscule that will not affect a person might have a major effect on another person. “Approximately 20%” of adolescents suffer from Social anxiety disorder (SAD)” (Mehtalia, Vankar, 2004.). Social anxiety is the nervousness of being in a social setting or that involves one to socialize with others. Social anxiety has many contributing factors. Factors like the fear of being laughed at or being unaccepted by peers, along with their perception of themselves. A feeling of inadequacy
Even though they don’t last very long, the fact that he tried to help the group is what makes him a better leader. Ralph’s wisdom and ability to look toward the future also has an advantage over Jack. He has a sense of keeping his focus on getting off the island. When the fire goes out, Ralph gets upset because the chance to be rescued was gone as well. Ralph enforces his role of leadership as he gives the boys a sense of stability as an authority figure.
---. "The Yellow Wall-Paper." Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 3rd ed. Orlando: Harcourt, 1997. 160-73.
“The loss of innocence for which Ralph weeps at the novel's close is not, however, a matter of transformation from childish goodness to adolescent depravity, is not a growing into wickedness. It is rather the coming of an awareness of darkness, of the evil in man's heart that was present in the children all along,” (Boyd). At the end of the novel, Ralph cries for a few reasons. He cries because he has lost his friend Piggy. He also cries because he has lost his innocence. He now realizes that there is evil in every man.
Wiedemann, Barbara. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Short Fiction: A Critical Companion. 1997. Literary Reference Center. EBSCOhost. Pulaski Technical College Library, AR. 22 Nov. 2011.
Social anxiety (or social phobia) is a disorder that alienates people and causes them to avoid social situations at all costs. It is described by the National Institute of Mental Health as “a strong fear of being judged by others and of being embarrassed (NIMH).” This means that people with this disorder have a fear of people’s thoughts and as a result will try to isolate themselves from others. Social anxiety has a very large limit as to the things that can trigger it. It can go from the simplest of things, such as simply buying an item to the extent of having to do a presentation in front of a large crowd.
There are numerous distinctive discernments about individuals with social anxiety. Individuals who do have it are frequently seen by others as simply being timid, remote, compelled, hostile, uneasy, quiet, aloof, or restrained. The individuals who are tormented with social anxiety may be obfuscated by these recognitions also, so they may neglect to look for medication. Since the issue is for the most part inconceivable, they may imagine that they are the main ones who experience the ill...