Harvey: Rapists And Serial Killers

Losing someone close to you is tough, especially if it’s a family member. Abigail Salmon is the mother of Susie that she loses early in the novel. This has affected her actions and way of living her life and even pursuing teenage dreams. Since Susie got late for dinner Abigail still kept her hope up that nothing unusual had happened and that her daughter was in safe hands. Later on she started becoming worried and made phone calls to neighbors …”as my mother made phone calls..” (p 55) which shows us that she is disconcerted. The hope of Susie one day arriving back home started fading away as the days went past and more evidence came through the police indicating Susie being dead.

Serial killings/murders/homicides has been a topic of fascination since even before the. Today, news and media, the psychological field, and the criminal justice field find serial killings intriguing because of the abnormality and unlikelihood of a serial homicide occurring and being linked to one person. Serial homicides are known to be multiple killings by the same killer over a time period- varies from months to years. “ INSERT BOOK DEFINITION” Some of the most infamous serial killers known today are Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, the Zodiac killer, and Jeffrey Dahmer. All of whom are white males between the age of 20-45 and who presented themselves as a normal person; living a double life. Serial killers are hard to identify they present to be normal people, some married or in a relationship, loving, and show no out of the ordinary behavior to those who interact with them. Serial Killers I. Subtypes, patterns, and motives by Laurence Miller, states that the most common characteristics and description of serial killers are known to be white males between the ages of 20-40, are charming, smart, and hold a stabled home. ( INSERT page number CITATION) The main victims of male serial murderers are mainly white young female girls mainly because of a killers compulsive and predatorily fetish based motive to act out sexual fantasies. ( INSERT CITATION) Serial killers: I. Many male serial killers like Ted Bundy, stab and strangle / suffocate

For serial killers, the prevalence of physical abuse was 36%; sexual abuse was 26%; and psychological abuse was 50%. Neglect was equally prevalent in the serial killer (18%)” (Mitchell, Aamodt, web) we always blame the killer for killing people but we never dig deeper. Were so focusing on what they did and not why. Maybe if someone would have stepped before or during we would have less rapist and serial killers. If we stop telling people to suck up what they go through and that they’re weak. More people will come forward and not feel ashamed. “Fifty serial killers who murdered for the primary goal of attaining sexual gratification, termed lust killers, were studied to determine the prevalence of childhood abuse” (Mitchell, Aamodt, web) Less crime committed in the world if we just let people know it’s okay to speak up. Stop letting people think that since they get abused its their fault. Let them know that they can get help and it can be okay. Serial killers tend to go after people that represent someone from their lives so all these innocent people who just so happened to look like a person that cause someone else some trauma can be saved all we need to do is be more aware and teach the

The United States holds the record for most serial murders in a country, with a whopping 3,204, making up about 68 percent of every serial killer acknowledged by law enforcement and the media. Protection of Children from Sexual Predator Act of 1998, a federal law passed by Congress, defines the term “serial killings” (Morton and Hilts 8) as “a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors” (Morton and Hilts 8).

One-hundred twenty-five years ago England saw its first serial killer, Jack the Ripper. His mysterious identity and evasion from the police intrigues people who enjoy learning about the criminal acts of infamous serial killers. There was poverty in this time in London and was having trouble with the overcrowding of people. Jack the Ripper has a very distinctive style of killing and all his victims were all killed a certain way. He was never caught because of the lack of technology the police had at this time and the media did not help. It affected the people a lot back then and it still has an effect on the people who live there to this day.

In addition to facing death, Susie treats Bearing as a human, providing her with empathy and compassion. Throughout Bearing’s treatment, Susie offers food, checks on Bearing, and patiently listens to her finally begin to reconcile her salvation anxiety (33-34, 64-66). Even when Bearing is unconscious, Susie talks to her as if she is alert (75). After Bearing’s heart stops beating, Susie continues to fight for Bearing by physically trying to pull Posner off and stop the code he called (82-84). Finally, Edson writes “Susie lifts the blanket. Vivian steps out of the bed,” which suggests that Susie, through her compassion and empathy, literally assists Bearing from death to salvation and peace (85).

To begin with, the topic of rape and sexual assault is constantly silenced by society and joked about. For the most part, rapists and sexual offenders are never served justice, and often are not reported. 68% of sexual assault cases have gone unreported and 98% of rapists will never spend a single day in jail (U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Bureau of Justice.) Only 2% of these criminals receive jail time. Only 2% of the criminals get what one deserves for ruining another’s life. Most victims are three times more likely to suffer from depression and six times more likely to develop post traumatic stress disorder; victims are twenty six times more likely to abuse drugs than the average person ( World Health Organization.) It is a common belief

The public’s interest in serial murders gives room for the media to make an enticing story line. The media hires talking heads, who speak on serial murder cases. These talking heads call themselves experts, but tend to be enthusiasts. They usually don’t have any actual facts from an investigation, and this leads to a lot of misconceptions about serial killers themselves. Some misconceptions include that serial killers are loners, are insane or smart, and that they are only motivated by sex. These misconceptions initiated by the media’s talking heads make serial killers seem more interesting when most serial killers take initiative in their communities, have many motives,

It is necessary to recognize rape and sexual assault as the heinous crimes they are in order to increase public awareness and build a better support system for victims. Small solutions can help to resolve the problem. Media and news sources can bring an end victim-blaming by focusing instead on the rapists. If we hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions, we take an active stand against sexual assault and rape culture. Today, many areas of the world, including the United States, lack comprehensive education regarding rape because of a general unwillingness to discuss topics involving sex. As a result, an idea of sexual power and dominance persists in modern society despite being out-dated. Some believe that it is normal and even acceptable to exhibit the aggressive behavior present in instances of rape and sexual assault. Efforts to adjust the education system could have a profound impact on the way people view these crimes and their reactions to them. By presenting sexual intercourse as a consensual partnership, we can create a new environment. We can and must end the sexual objectification of people to bring about change and eliminate rape

Jack and Abigail Salmon, Susie’s parents, they greave the death of their daughter in different ways which leads to problems in their marriage. Jack is very much focused on finding Susie’s body but while doing that he becomes distant with Abigail, the outcome is her having an affair. Abigail leaves Jack and their remaining children for 7 years trying to find herself.

The effects of crime on a victim can be a very difficult and stressful experience. Many people experience after effects of the crime and have to seek professional counseling to help them get through the traumatic experience. Depending on the type of crime committed against the victims for some victims and their families life will never be the same. Many families are affected as well and need to seek professional counseling. They have to work through the hurt and anger and many are never able to forgive the person who committed the crime. THE FBI FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION. (2012, April).

Tensions start to rise when Lindsey breaks into George’s house and discovers a map that leads to the sinkhole that he dumped Susie’s body in. George discovers her break in and flees the town. Everyone struggles to move on. George is uncovered as the murderer but is nowhere to be found. Susie watches from heaven as her brother Buckley, and her sister Lindsey grow up and start families of their own.

Serial killing is a diverse topic with multiple explanations in order to explain the occurrences. The notion of fear and an inability to fully comprehend the causes of serial killings are evident in this post-modern era. The fascination with serial killing has provided mass media the ability to instill upon serial killer with celebrity status. The main issues that allow serial killers to perform their acts range from Kevin D. Haggerty’s (2009) exploration of social impacts such as the society full of strangers, a broken rationality which is disconnected from values and morality, cultural diversity, ability for planned out killings and an intention to transform society. Nevertheless, these themes are explored in a social context and are seen throughout the post-modern context.

The monsters in our society range from different levels of creepy to downright terrifying. However, the worst monsters in our society are serial rapists. Serial rapists are the worst because some of them can blend into society and slip out from under the microscope very easily. To me they act like monsters because they have a certain type of person they intend to attack. Also, you never know who to trust, because serial rapists could have any job; from being a priest and directly involved with children, to a computer technician who comes to fix your computer while your kids happen to be in inside. I would classify serial rapists as monsters because they like to insight fear in others. As well as an immediate danger to

Sebold purposely uses symbols of gardens and new life “like Buckley’s garden blooming one year in all its crazed jumbleness” to represent new life and Susie journeying into the new ‘springtime’ of her time in heaven. We see Susie move on to “the place I call this wide, wide heaven because it contains all of my simplest desires but also my most humble and grand.” Sebold uses this to show us how after years of turmoil Susie has finally reached the point of acceptance. We as readers are inspired by her incredible resilience through a time that most of us would be broken in. Sebold created Susie as a character to show us the beauty of resilience and so as to educate the reader about how much we can learn from anyone, including a fourteen year old girl. We remember Susie as a figurehead for the type of person who can draw strength and beauty out of horror, moving on whilst never forgetting. These are hard lessons.