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Jeffrey Dahmer
Why does a Jeffrey Dahmer happen? How does a man become a serial killer, necrophiliac, cannibal and psychopath? Very few convincing answers are forthcoming, despite a spate of books that propose to understand the problem.
Many of the theories would have you believe that the answers can always be found in childhood abuse, bad parenting, head trauma, fetal alcoholism and drug addiction. Perhaps in some cases, these are contributing factors, but not for Jeffrey Dahmer.
His father, Lionel Dahmer, wrote a very sad and poignant book called A Father's Story which explores the very common phenomenon of a parents trying desperately to give their child a good upbringing and discovering to their horror that their child has built a high wall around himself from which their influence is progressively shut out. While fortunately, most parents do not have a Jeffrey Dahmer to raise, too many have seen their children succumb to drugs, alcohol, crime despite their very best and, often frantic, efforts to intervene.
"It is a portrayal of parental dread... the terrible sense that your child has slipped beyond your grasp, that your little boy is spinning in the void, swirling in the maelstrom, lost, lost, lost."
Lionel seems to be fairly straightforward in recognising the negative influences in Jeff's life. No family is perfect. Jeff's mother had various physical ailments and appeared to be high strung, coming from a background in which her father's alcoholism deeply affected her life.
Lionel, a chemist who went on to get his Ph.D., stayed at work more often than he should to avoid
Turmoil on the home front. Eventually, the marriage dissolved in divorce when Jeff was eighteen.
However, none of this commonplace domestic discord accounts for serial murder, necrophilia, etc.
Jeff Dahmer was born in Milwaukee on May 21, 1960, to Lionel and Joyce Dahmer. He was a child
who was wanted and adored, in spite of the difficulties of Joyce's pregnancy. He was a normal,
healthy child whose birth was the occasion of great joy. As a tot, he was a happy bubbly youngster
who loved stuffed bunnies, wooden blocks, etc. He also had a dog-named Frisky, his much loved
childhood pet.
Despite a greater number than usual of ear and throat infections, Jeff developed into a happy
little boy. His father recalled the day that they released back into the wild a bird that the
three of them had nursed back to health from an injury: "I cradled the bird in my cupped
Dahmer was fascinated and did not hesitate to touch or pick them up. According to Lionel Dahmer, he was "oddly thrilled by the sound they made. His small hands dug deep into the pile of bones.” At the age of six, it was discovered that he needed surgery to fix a double hernia. Following his surgery, which coincided with the birth of his brother,there was a drastic change in the once happy, bubbly, outgoing child. Lionel Dahmer states "he seemed smaller, somehow more vulnerable... he grew more inward, sitting quietly for long periods, hardly stirring, his face oddly
...nd Dahmer”, Jeff Dahmer would go to school noticeably under the influence, yet somehow go by “unnoticed”. If the teachers were aware of Dahmer’s state, they never took any form of action to discipline him, question him, or be worried with his condition at all. Not once throughout the entirety of the graphic novel does a teacher, student, or parent seem remotely concerned with Dahmer’s well-being. Dahmer fought off the urge to kill many times and did it with the help of no one and nothing other than his own twisted mind, so there is reason to believe any type of assistance from an adult could have been detrimental in the process of Dahmer overcoming his violent urges. Unlike Benjie, Dahmer had no one to look up to and admire. Benjie was eventually able to appreciate and respect Butler Craig as a man who cared enough about him to put Benjie’s life above his own.
Common psychological disturbances in the stages of making a serial killer are seen in childhood and are usually based upon mental and psychological abuse endured by a child.
Print. The. “Dahmer, Jeffrey Lionel.” The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Life. Ed.
Over hundreds of years farmers and inhabitants settled along the Tigris and Euphrates River banks and plains. Some of the villages were religious and will later evolve into Sumerian city states. A reflection of this settlement pattern is known as the Urban Revolution. By 3500 BC many of these villages have reached capacity of thousands of people and are considered cities. The largest city was Uruk, inhabiting 40,000 some people. During this period, demands of administering land and wealth stirred up challenges, so they developed a system of symbols to record transactions. From this, writing scripts evolved.
“Children from broken homes are nine times more likely to commit crimes than those from stable families” (Bloxham). His drive to kill could quite possibly be linked to the fact that he simply linked to his familial issues. These problems in the family are definitely linked to his drinking problems as well. Dahmer’s drinking got so bad that he was known as a drunk within his first semester of college and was even discharged from the military because of it.
It has been believed for some time that an individual becomes violent because of traumatic childhoods that were wrought with neglect and abuse. Others have argued that one becomes violent because they are mentally deranged. There have been many studies over the years to find out what causes a person to become a serial killer, but still there is no definitive cause. All serial killers are psychopaths (a person with a psychopathic personality, which manifests as amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity), but not all psychopaths end up being serial killers. There is however, common traits among all psychopaths. These common traits include genetics and environment. Although a psychopath’s personal experience and environment does play a part, studies prove that genetic brain abnormalities or dysfunctions play a huge role in the making of a killer.
Dahmer was a pretty normal, but very lonely kid. His loneliness followed him throughout the course of his life. Never having an intimate friendship or relationship, along with being consumed with confusion over his own sexuality eventually led him to become the household name he is today. From 1978 to 1991, Dahmer murdered 17 boys and men. Not only is he considered a murderer, but he committed (on several occasions) rape and dismemberment. After his later murders, he was found guilty of necrophilia, cannibalism, and permanent preservation of body parts. He is arguably the most well known, gruesome, and intriguing criminal in American history.
This paper explores three criminological theories as to why Jeffrey Dahmer committed his crimes. Although these approaches vary in terms of defining the cause of crime, one thing is certain, there is no single cause of crime; the crime is rooted in a diversity of causes and takes a variety of forms depending on the situation in which the crimes occur. However, the published articles vary in their definitions and uses of Criminological Theory. Rawlins (2005) suggest that the criminal phenomenon is too complex to be explained by a single theory. Other theories suggest differently and; therefore, have varying explanations. This paper examines the Psychological, Biochemical, and Social Process theories to slightly explain Jeffrey Dahmer’s actions.
Serial killers have many frightening facets. The most frightening thing about them is that experts still do not know what makes a human become a serial killer. Many experts believe serial killers become what they are because they have a genetic disposition or brain abnormality while other experts believe that a serial killer is created by childhood abuse; and some other experts believe that it is a combination of both brain abnormalities and abusive childhood experiences that creates a serial killer. A murderer is considered a serial killer when they “murder three or more persons in at least three separate events with a “cooling off period” between kills” (Mitchell and Aamodt 40). When defining a serial killer, their background, genes, and brain are not mentioned; perhaps one day those aspects of the serial killer can be included.
Social work as a profession strives to help the welfare of those within the community whether its persons or families through advocacy. Often times clients are those who may be vulnerable and disadvantaged. Social workers aim to help people fulfill basic needs in their everyday lives and assist them by providing beneficial resources and intervention counseling. They do more than just help them in their current situation, it’s about helping them to survive and set attainable goals to live a fuller and better life for themselves, and most time for their families.
Jeffrey Dahmer was born May 21st, 1960, the first child for Lionel and Joyce Dahmer, after a difficult pregnancy that had Joyce on various prescription drugs.
The little bird was the only company and source of happiness Mrs. Wright was given in a very long time, combined with isolation,
A social worker works with individuals and their families, their aim is to help improve and empower the service user to improve outcomes in their lives. Social work is a profession that is based around people, from babies through to the older people.
The social work profession at the simplest level, is providing service and achieving social justice for our community. There are various ways in which social workers can do this, ranging from simply providing necessary support to getting children out of dangerous situations. I always knew that my calling was to help and advocate for populations in my community that were vulnerable and often forgotten.