Rivet head

             The Rivethead's Defensive Style.
             The Rivethead uses many defensive styles throughout their life. From denial to reaction formation, a great deal of defensive styles that Ben Hamper uses can be found. This paper will take you through a several of these defenses that he uses and then will attempt to explain why he uses them. The focus will be mainly on his psychotic and immature defenses.
             Right off the bat, the first thing that can be seen is the way the Rivethead uses distortion. Ben Hamper believed ever since he was a little boy that he was going to work in the factory, just like his father. He believed that it was his birthright. This was, in fact, not the case. What Hamper would say is that it was his father's fault that he had to work in a factory the rest of his life. Again, this is not the case.
             Hamper had the ability to do a great deal more with his life. He was a good writer but he never tried to get any better at writing. Hamper was using distortion at this point. It is my fathers fault that I am working in this factory is what Hamper would say. I think anyone else would say that it is his own fault that he was working in the factory because he never set goals for himself.
             Another example of the Rivethead using distortion is the way in which he described his life. Ben has this distortion of his life being extremely difficult. Granted, that towards his high school years, he had to play the role of the father figure in his house, but it was his own fault that he had a hard life. He states that his junior year "I was feeling more and more pressure trying to hold the family together while my mother worked." This would be a big burden for any child to handle. The problem with Ben is that he handled the problem completely wrong.
             Hamper turned to, as he put it, "illegal substances." He began to show up for class on an infrequent basis. He grew his hair down to his "ass", as he put it.