My monsters are Dexter and The Trinity Killer, who are both serial killers, from the show Dexter.I am interested in these monsters because both appear to be normal family men; nevertheless, in their free time take part in serial murders. Their hidden agendas perplex me. If serial killers can go through the actions of humans, then how do we define and reveal monsters in society? The friendly neighbor, community service leader, and school teacher all become suspects when anyone can be a threat. Just recently, at the age of 17, I learned about these monsters. My initial impression of Dexter was the way he bases who he murders justifies his kill; therefore, making the kill humane, and making him a good person. To the opposite of that, my initial
“The only motive that there was was to completely control a person… and keep them with me as long as possible, even if it meant just keeping a part of them.” Using this statement, Jeffrey Dahmer offers his insight about what made him the cruel, demented being people have known him to be for the last 25 years. Many questions still remain, however. How do we, in society, define the term “monster”? What makes a monster? What shapes our perceptions of monsters, and how do these perceptions change over time? Several centuries passed between the time of Grendel from the epic poem, Beowulf, and the Milwaukee Monster, Jeffrey Dahmer, for instance. Grendel is a creation of the Anglo-Saxons, whose culture
The motives and backgrounds of serial killers is a vexing topic. Not two people are the same, so therefore their motives differ. The different types of serial killers are: hedonistic, power seekers, gain, mission oriented, visionary, psychopathic, comfort, medical, organized, and disorganized. Motives of these murderers range from fear of being rejected, to “getting rid of what they deem bad,” or even to get sexual satisfaction from the suffering of their victims.
As if molded directly from the depths of nightmares, both fascinating and terrifying. Serial killers hide behind bland and normal existences. They are often able to escape being caught for years, decades and sometimes an eternity. These are America’s Serial Killers (America’s Serial Killers). “Even when some of them do get caught, we may not recognize what they are because they don’t [sic] match the distorted image we have of serial killers” (Brown). What is that distorted image? That killers live among everyday life, they are the ones who creep into someone’s life unknowingly to torture and kill them. The serial killers that are in the movies, Norman Bates, Michael Myers, and the evil master mind of SAW, these characters are just that characters. They have been made up as exaggerated fictional characters from the Hollywood imagination.
In order to identify serial killers before they kill repeatedly, a person needs to study the characteristics that makes up this type of criminals. Most serial killers have been abandoned, by one or both parents, they are emotionally, physically, and even sexually abused by a family member, or relatives from unstable families who have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories, or tend to have hate for their parents and people in general which makes them have antisocial personality disorder. They have conflicted pain or tortured animals at a young age and most are highly interested in gaining control over things. Even though not every serial killers posses these characteristics, but most share these characteristics the same way they share the psychological need to have complete control and power over people.
near her, which is the leg of a lamb, as a murder weapon to kill her
Taking the life of another person is one of the worst infractions of the law to commit. The Bureau of Justice defines serial killing as “[involving] the killing of several victims in three or more separate events” (“Michigan” 1). Serial killers often commit extremely violent crimes; they usually become infamous for these crimes. The first recorded serial killers are probably Jack the Ripper in 1888 and Fritz Haarmann in 1924 (“Michigan” 1). Jack the Ripper is also one of the most well-known criminals, almost everyone knows who he is or has at least heard of him. Most people know what he is famous for and associate him with being a bad person. Serial killers are typically sadistic and sociopathic, meaning that they are unable to feel empathy for people who are suffering (“Michigan” 1). Whimsical sociopaths who have sadistic tendencies are very dangerous. They inflict pain because they do not care that someone else is suffering, they only care that it makes t...
The most common characteristics that many serial killers share are killing and abusing of animals during childhood, fetishism, anti-socialism, high I.Q.’s (while also doing poorly in school), and alcohol and/or substance abuse. Fictional character, Dexter Morgan, exhibited serial killing tendencies from a young age. He would kill neighborhood animals and was forced by his father to fake emotion and normality to fit in. It appears that Showtime hit the nail on the head with this one. One of the most well known serial killers, Ted Bundy, was infamously known for being cold and merciless. During interviews, he responded to questions about his victims by calling himself cold and explaining that he could not care less about his victims. Cannibalistic serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, started out by killing dogs and leaving their heads out on a stick for others to see before moving on to killing and eating people. These are just a few examples of many that prove that commonality is what makes a serial killer, a serial
Vronsky, Peter. Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters. New York: Berkley, 2004. Print.
Dexter is a television show that was made from the years 2006 to 2013. It stars many talented actors such as: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayes, James Remar, C.S. Lee, Julie Benz, and many others. The characters that were just mentioned are just the main characters of the television show. The premier of season 3 was released in September of 2008 and attracted the eyes of 1.22 million people, making it the most viewed TV drama since 2004 (IMdB).
Almost all people know who serial killers are, but what exactly defines a serial killer. The FBI defines serial murder as “a minimum of three to four victims with a ‘cooling off’ period between, the killer is usually a stranger to the victim, the murders reflect a need to sadistically dominate the victim, and the murder is rarely for profit.” (Vronsky, 2004, p.36) Serial killers are usually a white male from a lower-to-middle-class background typically in his twenties or thirties. Also, 85% of the world’s serial killers live in America, with at least twenty to fifty unidentified active serial killers plotting another one of their killings. On average, every person has seen or met at least 37 serial killers in their lifespan.
Everyone is well aware of Adolf Hitler, The Zodiac Killer, and John Wayne Gacy. Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party, and he kilt many innocent people cause of their religion. The Zodiac Killer was linked to at least five murders in Northern California. He would taunt police and made threats through letters sent to area newspapers to scary people. John Wayne Gacy was a serial killer and rapist, who sexually assaulted and murdered at least 33 young boys and men. All three of them were psychopaths and labeled as one by the society of today. Psycho comes in many different forms. Everyone can be characterized as a psychopath and do not even know
Whether it is Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and person of the like, you may have a bad feeling about them due to their ill past. This is not due to an inner judgment of the person on your part, more than likely it is the media that has skewed your views of a serial killer. The news media is just playing their role in society and that is to inform people but they do so in a way that frightens people into coming back to view the media that they produce. The other types of media such as movies, television shows, radio stations, and books also portray serial killers as monsters to entertain people. Although it may be a great way to entertain and inform people, it is not the least bit true and gives serial killers a worse image by labeling them as monsters.
Background and Audience: Many may see serial killers as ones that carry around a chainsaw and wear a hockey mask, but that is far from what a serial killer should be seen as. In fact, they blend in with the people that you pass by in streets, stores, parks, etc. just like any person would.
Fear, for killers it’s the high of knowing target victims are scared of being targeted next, but for citizens that just like watching horror movies it’s the suspense throughout the movie. Obsession for murders would be either their certain target of victims or the obsession of what is left from the killing. and Power, is the feel they get when they can lure their victims into their fantasy. There are actual characteristics of this horror related theme that gets our attention, and makes us want to crave more of the story. But the fear, obsession and power is what sets the tone for the monster realm, in both fictional and nonfictional people that are either in a tv show or movie, but they are also the ones the linger among
As a student, I have a great deal of time to occupy, after I’m done with school and my homework, that is if I have any homework, I’m stuck with hours of time to somehow pass. This is where my hobbies come in, I choose to spend my time where I believe it is most valued, T.v. Shows. The best T.v. show I have to come across has to be by far the best, Dexter. In 2008 the finale of Dexter had a record breaking viewer count of two million eight hundred thousand, this shows the popularity of Dexter and that my opinion is quite common amongst those who have watched Dexter. I believe that Dexter is the best show I have ever watched because it has the best actors, plot, and tone. These are the reasons for why I and I’m sure many would agree that Dexter is the best show they have ever laid their eyes on.