Adelwina R. Asuncion Sociology (MF 3:30-4:50) *From a sociological point of view, write a short assessment of Nells case.

Is she suffering from mental illness? Does she have a sense of self? Use any socialization theory to justify your answer. Yes she is, but she have her sense of self because she understood her life as an alone woman and her lifestyle, actions, language and beliefs are based on what her mother had told her but I am not saying that her mother was not only the cause of her illness or the major influence for who she had become, because I believe that she also obtained that illness because of physical experience like when she was younger, she became depressed because she had lose her twin. Genetic susceptibility, combined with other risk factors, leads to a psychiatric disorder. In other words, mental illnesses have a physical cause. (Mary ShomonThyroid Guide) Actually, there are clashes of ideas that had come to my mind in answering those questions because Ive encountered some facts and misconceptions about mental illness like (fact) those who are suffering from any mental illnesses are more often frightened, confused and despairing than violent and the myth is that they are usually dangerous and violent. The vast majority of people with mental illnesses are not violent. In the cases when violence does occur, the incidence typically results from the same reasons as with the general public such as feeling threatened. (Euclid Hospital) Another thing that Ive encountered, most people had this kind of misconception; having mental illness is just part of growing up and as long as its impact is not serious, it cant harm or threatened anyone. I strongly disagree with this because a mental illness doesnt have to be life-threatening or make someone unemployed and homeless in order to have a serious impact on his/her life. Even mild depression, left untreated for years, can turn into a chronic condition that significantly could impact the quality of life and relationships. Look what happened to Nell, she had mild depression. She was following the teachings of her mother and she adapted the way her mother spoken. These were only known by Paula and Jerry. An inference/opinion was made by Dr. Paley that Nell was suffering from Autism like Asperger syndrome (It is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development. Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and atypical use of language are frequently reported. Wikipedia) I really dont know how to handle this explanation but I saw that aside from an Interactionist perspective which is in micro level, the answers can be reflected to conflict theory which in contrast with the Interactionist, it belongs to macro level where the society was greatly affected. How can I say that Interactionist theory was being reflected to my answer? Nell sleeps during the day or works inside her home, and is active outdoors only after sunset. She explains that her mother told her about the rape and warned her that men were evildoers, citing Isaiah 1:4. That was what associated to her mind since younger age. She learned by another individuals belief so she had grown believing that this was normal which others see that this is a reason or sign that she is really suffering from Asperger Syndrome because she had

impaired social interaction. She has a self-concept and this is what Jerry and Paula had saw at her that had made the two of them to object Dr. Paley to bring Nell to a controlled environment because Jerry and Paula had respected the small world where Nell wants to live. This scenery teaches us that science and personal beliefs are really contradicting/ opposing and can bring conflicts to individuals. But both of them are not always on the right track. *Analyze the following dialogue and relate message to the theme of the lesson. There is good in everyone. A Paula: See that? To think I was the one who was going to change her life. Jerry: Me too. Mary: Dont you know you were the first? Paula: The first what? Mary: To need her. There is no such person who was truly evil. I had never met that kind of person. That theme is a philosophy. But my answer is yes. People just commit mistakes or sins either because of themselves, by their neighbors or by the attack of evil. Everyone has a good side. We all have conscience. We are repenting for all our sins after all. Though we instinctively seek to find peoples fault, we still see good in them. If we take a look at Paula, we saw her motives at first was just to find further study about Nell but after the long run, she had the passion to change the life of Nell. She wanted to be a part of Nells life meaning she wanted to contribute for the improvement of Nell. Its not necessary for every individual to do the right thing from very first, because after all what matters is that we choose to stay not in the middle but to what is definitely right and good. Indeed, there is good in everyone. B Nell: You have big things but you dont look to each others eyes and youre hungry for quietness. Ive lived a small life. I know small things. I know loved ones; Jerry, Paula, May, Mama We know a lot because we had an interaction in our big world everyday unlike her, she had a small world with few things that she had learned and for her that is contentment. She wanted to settle for where she is satisfied. For this time, I saw her showing what is the meaning of goodness in everyone. She do not find bad in people and ostracize those who are not like her because she knew that if she wont do that, there would be pain, fighting, anger, bias and resentment always. She was trying to tell all the people that when we see the good in everyone, we are starting to have compassion and understanding and in so doing we are treating each other the way we wanted to be treated. We want to be treated with honor, respect, dignity and a listening ear. This is an act of goodness and it makes us all happy and satisfied for who we are.