Psychological Themes in Duncan's Novel, Killing Mr. Griffin

The Novel Killing Mr. Griffin by: Lois Duncan is a story about the plot of kidnapping the English teacher of Del Norte High school. Being a student of Del Norte High school, Susan McConnell (the protagonist) encounters some difficulties and joy after she finally gets accepted in the “popular” herd. These upside and downsides turn into major themes which are incorporated during the course of the book. The major themes that are developed inside the book are: peer pressure/manipulation, psychopaths, conscience/guilt.

First of all, peer pressure/manipulation is the lighting match of the whole conflict inside the story. Mark Kinney is the father of all peer pressuring during this story; he uses phrases as: “aw its just a joke, last year senior class kidnapped Mrs. Luna. To slowly manipulate/peer pressure his friends into helping him in abducting Mr. Griffin. After it all goes wrong and Sue tells Mark people will notice Mr. Griffin is gone, he says in chapter 9 page 110: “They do, men leave home all the time. They go-just light out and go- and years go by and nobody ever finds out where they went”. He uses several more phrases like this one to sooth the characters into “not spilling the beans.” Apparently, Mark is less afraid than all other characters about the consequences; Mark had a rough child hood, and problems with his parents and guardian which made him turn out to be stubborn, rude, manipulative and fearless.

This brings us to the second theme psychopaths. Mark clearly has some psychological problems, no fear of the outcomes and no pity towards Mr. Griffin. Jeff has been a friend to Mark Kinney since elementary school, the first time Jeff meets Mark is when Mark says to Jeff to meet him behind the school when class ends. ...

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...t David’s deceased grandmother. She tells Jeff and Betsy they have to go to police and tell them everything about Mr. Griffin and David’s grandmother she says, “It’s gone past the point where there’s any choice. Whatever they do to us, they’ll have to do.”

Killing Mr. Griffin is a story, which captures the reader’s attention by developing themes. It’s suspenseful; it includes topics from love and friendship to guilt and murder. Susan McConnell had a slow life, but at a sudden moment, she gets hit by a social wave and is caught in a wave of peer pressure, manipulation, psychopaths and a battle of her conscience. The moral lesson that has been shown inside the book is being careful for what you wish for. The grass might seem greener on the other side but is it actually? People don’t always seem how they appear to be either good or bad (Mr. Griffin, Mark Kinney.)