BlameThePixel!

Well, since this is BlameTheJudges, I think it's time for some judgementalism. So, here's a story:

Somewhere in the middle of an ocean, sat two islands separated by shark infested waters. On one island lived a girl, on the other, a boy. They had met various times by riding on merchant vessels that occasionally stop at the islands, and had been engaged. However, something was about to change that.
One day, the girl was lovesick and wanted to go see the boy. She was lucky, a ship had come in (for our purposes, the ship type doesn't matter). It was headed by one crew, the captain. The girl asked if she could get a ride over to the other island. The captain replied saying, "We can't leave tonight, but if you stay here on the boat with me overnight, I'll set sail early in the morning."
The girl was troubled by this, so she went to see the hermit. The name, like everyone else's, doesn't matter, so we shall call him Hermit #1. She told the hermit about the situation, and the hermit replied that she should go ahead with it. So she did. She stayed the night on the boat alone except for the captain, and they set sail early in the morning.
She finally arrived at the island, and told the boy about her trip. He was angered that she stayed the night alone with the captain. He was so angry that he broke off the engagement and demanded she leave the island immediately. The girl was in tears, her heart was broken.
The boy then thought better of himself, and went to see the local hermit. We shall call him Hermit #2. The boy related the story to the hermit. Hermit #2 said, "I'm not getting involved in your problems. Go do whatever you want." So the boy decided to stand by his first decision. Thus, the pair lived unhappily ever after, with the girl dying of a broken heart, and the boy, in an effort to make it to her funeral, being eaten by sharks after falling overboard.

So the question is, who was most responsible for the outcome? Who was least responsible? Number the characters in order of responsibility, one being most responsible, five being least, and if you want, give reasons for your decisions. As a refresher, here are the characters:

Girl
Boy
Captain
Hermit #1
Hermit #2
(No, you may not blame the sharks, as they cannot be blamed for simply doing shark things).

An example:

1. Hermit #2
2. Boy
3. Hermit #1
4. Girl
5. Captain

I'll give reasons later.

1. Teh Captain (letting them go in teh first place)
2. Hermit 1 (encoruging teh going)
3. Boy (for being an asshole)
4. Hermt 2 (not helping)
5. Girl (she only wanted to go see teh boy)

Hermit #1 ( telling her che should go)
Boy ( thinking that she did something without actually listening)
Captain (letting her go)
Girl (going)
Hermit #2 (did nothing)

the captian knowing of the sitation had no right to ask.

the girl had no right to accually stay,

The boy had a right to be upset, but over-reacted.

the hermits offer out side advice, but dont really make you do anything.

most responseable: Girl
she was put in a bad situation, but the captian does have to set sail eventually. She could have waited.

The captian falls second, Being a lonely sea man, i can understand his need for such a favor, but over stepped his bounds

Third, the boy who got his panties in an uproar. Failing to see that her heart was in the right place, just went about it the wrong way,

tied at fourth is the 2 hermits. They have oppinions, and can offer them, but people of free will have a choice. We can all weigh the cir-cum-stances with the out-cum.

1. Boy (totally overreacting)
2. Captain (being a big meanie, lol)
3. Girl (did the right thing, IMO)
4. Hermit #1 (agrees with the girl)
5. Hermit #2 (doesn't really say anything)

It's quite a hard puzzle...I had to think a lot about it before answering.

The story seems a bit incomplete if you ask me, but I'm probably wrong! The boy demanded that the girl leave the island immediately, but did she actually leave or did she die of the heart attack before she could leave? I'd assume the funeral was held on the other island, because if it was on the same island the boy would have to be rather stupid to go into shark infested water Other possible questions: Girl + Captain = secks or no secks? Which island did they get engaged on?

1. Boy (Because only a complete asshole would be jealous like that and give up probably the only girl he would've ever gotten. Also when Hermit #2 said 'go do whatever you want', the boy was dumb enough to misinterpret this as reassurance, he did not really think better of himself at all)
2. Girl (Because she told the boy she was alone for a night with the captain, that's just gonna cause trouble. And for having a weak heart)
3. Hermit #1 (For encouraging the girl to spend the night alone with the captain, how dodgy)
4. Captain (He was just lonely or something I guess)
5. Hermit #2 (Not his problem at all)

The story is open-ended for a reason. You have to fill in the gaps with what you think is right. This story is also an interesting psychological exercise. There is no right or wrong answer, it's only limit is your imagination.

So then, on with my reasons:

1. Hermit #2
This hermit is most responsible for what everyone says is not his responsible. His not getting involved sealed the tragedy. The boy came to the hermit for advice, so it can be inferred that the boy trusted the hermit greatly. Giving the boy a flippant reply was not the greatest decision in the world. Also, had this been a crime, and not a love story, the hermit would have held just as much if not more blame for the crime if the hermit knew about it (example: Someone tells you they're going to kill someone. Giving a flippant reply means that if he carries it out, you are an accessory to murder, if not that than criminally negligent).
2. Boy
The boy is responsible for jumping to conclusions, thus breaking the girls heart. He could have thought things through more clearly, but we can't blame him for human nature (example: A man finds his wife sleeping with another man. He goes balistic and kills both. He's found guilty of a crime of passion and serves a lesser sentence). He cannot be blamed for Hermit #2's inaction.
3. Hermit #1
Hermit #1 is guilty of incouraging the girl to go, which would eventually cause the catastrophe. Just like the boy, the girl must have trusted the hermit alot to tell the hermit her problems, so she would do whatever the hermit said. The hermit, of course, can't be held responsible for the boy's or the other hermit's actions, as there was nothing he could do about those.
4. Girl
The girl is responsible for entertaining the idea in the first place. Had she not been lovesick, none of the events would have happened. She cannot be held responsible for any of the previous three's actions.
5. Captain
First, at no time did I ever say the captain was a male. If you inspect the story, no gender pronouns are associated with the captain. You all determined the captain to be male for yourselves. Second, the captain is the only one NOT RESPONSIBLE for anyone's actions. It was up to the girl to make the decision, and up to Hermit #1 to give advice, and up to the boy to go balistic, and up to Hermit #2 to not act. The captain was simply trying to do a good thing to help someone out. Thus, the captain is as close to being blameless as you can get in this situation.

And there you have it, my opinion on the story. Remember, the story is up to your interpretation, so you can say whatever you wish. You could even say the captain was a man, that the trip took nine months, and that the girl had a baby when she went to talk to the boy if you want. It may not have happened, but then again, it may have...

But if you compare it to a crime, in the story the boy had already broken the girls heart before he went to see Hermit #2.

They're very good reasons you have there Glenn. I'm not sure if I agree with all of them, but I can see the sence in them. Very good story also.

IMO

1. Boy - yes, conclusion stuff I guess. Although, even if the story didn't say it, she may have said the captain was male and so on.
2. Captain - Seemed like a pointless request, really.
3. Girl - Not really her fault, wouldn't even have been able to go to the island otherwise. Although running off may have been a bad idea
4. Hermit 1 - Who could blame a hermit. No-one can give the best advice. It's up to the girl to do the right thing not what the hermit says.
5. Hermit 2 - I mean, a Hermit can't even speak . Anyway, it's really not the hermit #2s problem. His choice whether or not to help, and even if he had, who knows he would have said anything different.

Yay, that's exactly what i said. I must be on to something here.

if the captian was a girl why would he have been so upset. surely being on a small island he would know what gender the captian was.

I stand by my original post

Becuase my interpretation has her not telling the boy the gender of the captain.

What the hell is a hermit?

I'm pretty sure it's safe to go with definition 1, since it wouldn't make sense to talk to a cookie (especially since you could eating cookies is more productive).