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Ralph Wiggum is a student who attends Springfield Elementary School. He is best known as the town's resident oddball, and has been immortalized for his non sequiturs and erratic behavior. His lines range from purely nonsensical, or bizarre interpretations of a current event, to surprisingly profound statements that go over people's heads. For this, Ralph is somewhat of an outcast among his peers, although he seems to be on good terms with a fair number of the other kids at school such as Bart, Lisa, and Milhouse.

The son of Police Chief Clancy and Sarah Wiggum, Ralph is a good-hearted and generally well-meaning boy who suffers from either severe learning and social disabilities, or some other form of childhood psychiatric disorder. The nature of his mentality is kept rather ambiguous, much like many of the signature traits of much of the show's cast. Like almost every other character in Springfield, he may not be quite as simple as he first seems, as evidenced by his hinted immense potential as a performer.

Ralph is quite an enigma of a child. Upon first glance, one might mistake him for a child with dementia; or perhaps they might even look at him as a mentally challenged child. What is definite however, is that he suffers from learning disabilities of some sort, as evidenced by his apparently slow grasp of things in the world around him, his difficulty in studying, and his sporadic speech impediments. His unique manner of speech is often the source of the character's trademark random quotes, where Ralph may make a comment such as "What's a battle?", "It tastes like...burning!", or "Mr. Flanders, you're blindeded!," as well as his tendency to call his teacher "School Mommy" and on one occasion calling Superintendent Chalmers "Super Nintendo Chalmers" However, Ralph is also able to speak in a normal manner much of the time, which only adds to the question of his condition and character. He also appears to have several talents. He is an incredible tap dancer and played the role of George Washington in the school play. As Washington, he not only recited his lines perfectly but also managed to play the role so well that he brought the audience to tears.