Aileen Wuornos Mla Citation

Background

Aileen Wuornos is a character from the film Monster. Ms. Wuornos is a thirty-seven year old Caucasian female who is seeking help for an abundance of issues. When Ms. Wuornos was a child she was left in the care of her grandparents after being abandoned by her mother. Her father was serving a prison sentence when he took his own life. Left in the care of her grandparents, Ms. Wuornos suffered years of abuse. She endured sexual abuse by her grandfather and was repeatedly raped by a family friend. These rapes led to her being impregnated and giving birth to a child by the age of fourteen, which she was forced to put up for adoption. Ms. Wuornos' grandmother passed and her grandfather took his own life, assumingly due to his guilt.

Ms. Wuornos decided to drop out of school and began trading sexual favours for money in order to support herself and her siblings.

Once her siblings learned of what she was doing, they forced her out of their home and she had to continue engaging in prostitution as a means to survive. After years of being homeless and alone, Ms. Wuornos felt that she had nothing left to live for and spent a day contemplating suicide. She finally decided to go to a local bar for one last drink; she depended heavily on alcohol to numb her pain. There she met a girl, Selby, who she began a romantic relationship with as she felt that she finally found some purpose to her life; she had finally found love. Ms. Wuornos quickly quit prostitution and worked to find a respectable job, however, her lack of experience and criminal history prevented her from doing so and she was often met with hostility by employers. Due to a lack of income and an inability to support herself and Selby, Ms. Wuornos resorted once again

to prostitution.
Her first night back on the street was a horrific one. She met a man who agreed to engage in sexual activity for money, however, once they were away from the city he then began to brutally assault and rape her with the intention of taking her life. Acting in self-defense, Ms. Wuornos fought back, shot and killed him. After this incident Ms. Wuornos viewed all men as evil and intending to harm her; therefore, instead of her usual routine, she met her customers with the intention of killing and robbing them without the exchange of sexual favours. By doing so, she would still be able to survive, but would prevent further victimization. Ms. Wuornos took the lives of six men before she was arrested. She
received the death penalty and is now spending the remainder of her days in prison. Before her execution, Ms. Wuornos will receive therapy as a means to relieve her symptoms of trauma and hopefully help her to find some peace.

Observation

Ms. Wuornos appeared unkempt and tired. Her eyes were sunken and her smiles were forced.
As she recalled experiences from her past, significant signs of trauma were observable.

One sign in her body language was tremors as she had a difficult time sitting still. At times, Ms.Wuornos would seem to zone out and I would have to gently bring her back to the conversation (Briere &Scott, 2015).From these signs it is apparent that she has difficulty feeling comfortable or safe. When asked to further elaborate on her experiences, Ms. Wuornos would become hostile. Defensive and raise her voice. She would change the subject often and would also try to make light of serious subjects. For instance, she would state that while her lifestyle was dangerous it was “no big deal”. It is evident that her experiences have had a significant impact on her both emotionally and socially. Other observable symptoms include her fearful demeanor and her mistrust of others. She exhibited signs of emotional liability and depressivity. As she recalled experiences from her past (i.e., childhood physical and sexual abuse, suicidal ideation) other notable signs include issues with abandonment, rejection, anxiety, impulsivity and hostility. These symptoms can be attributed to the trauma she endured during her

childhood.).