Moreover, Rodger always exploits other people for his selfish gains which is a distinguishing narcissistic quality. As for exploiting, author W. Keith Campbell in his article, “The Narcissistic Self: Background, an Extended Agency Model, and Ongoing Controversies” explains that, “Likewise, narcissists’ low levels of guilt and social anxiety (Gramzow & Tangney, 1992), and their willingness to exploit others, make them more suited to self-regulation that benefits the self at the expense of others” (5). As a result of this, Rodger, in pursuit of money and women, but never try to get them through his own effort so he uses others to get what he wants. For example, Rodger regardless of his mother’s thought, constantly asks his mother to marry a wealthy …show more content…
When people talk about narcissists, they usually consider that narcissists are overconfident and have high self-esteem. Twenge notes that “A narcissist has an overinflated view of his own abilities, similar to kitten that sees himself a lion on the popular poster. Narcissists are not just confident, they’re overconfident” (18). However, Rodger is the opposite of overconfident. He has low self-esteem because what he considers his physical weakness of being a half Asian. He mentions many times in the manifesto that he feels inferior compared to taller teens. “But at this stage I became extremely annoyed at how everyone was taller than me, and how the tallest boys were automatically respected more. It instilled the first feelings of inferiority in me, and such feelings would only grow more volatile with time” (15). When Rodger sees people who are taller than he is, he becomes introverted. He thinks that taller people are being respected more because they have a better appearance; and as for him, people would not respect him since he is short. Like he says: “the inferior feelings only grow more with time” (15). Therefore, he thinks he cannot get people’s respect, so he does not have confidence because he cannot change his height. If one is not being confident, he or she might not consider as a narcissist so, given this, Rodger would not seem to be a …show more content…
Commonly, narcissists are thought to be overconfident. However, in the article “Narcissism, Perceived Social Status, and Social Cognition and Their Influence on Aggression”, Thomas P. Gumpel and Vered Wiesenthal opinion that “Narcissistic individuals act as if they are self-confident and powerful, but in reality they most often possess low beliefs in their abilities (Baughman, Dearing, Giammarco, & Vernon, 2012)” (138). Rodger, having low self-esteem, protects his fragile ego by wearing fancy clothes. In the manifesto, he writes that “For so long I have felt worthless, and it’s all girls’ fault”, “My mother gave me a few more gift cards to Nordstrom, and I spent them at $200-dollar designer Jeans. When I wore these to school, I saw that I was wearing better Jeans than most other guys, and that made me have a slightly higher sense of self-worth” (94). Rodger doesn’t have girlfriends in his entire life so he feels worthless. Thus, he wears expensive clothes since it can bring him a sense of self-worth. This behavior shows that he is vain which is a trait of narcissism. However, he wears designer jeans to feel that he has self-worth. Therefore, his narcissistic quality is actually caused by his low self-esteem. Gumpel and Wiesenthal also note that “Washburn, McMahon, King, aggression is used as a defensive mechanism to protect
A narcissist is one who believes “he or she is ‘special’ and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special” people. They exploit others for their own advantage, lack empathy, and are “preoccupied with fantasies” or ideals that can be unrealistic. They believe they are the “primary importance in everybody’s life”. (“Narcissistic Personality”) Henry James’ theme in his short story, “The Beast in the Jungle”, is about a man, who is so egotistical and self-absorbed that he misses what life has to offer him, in particular, love, because of the narcissistic behavior he is doomed to live a life of loneliness and misery.
Classified as part of the Dramatic Personality Disorder, a Narcissistic Personality Disorder is based on the extremity of self-admiration. The origin of the specific personality disorder comes from the Greek root word “narcissism,” which is based on Greek mythology of Narcissus who was a man that fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. The cause of the illness is unknown, however professional mental health doctors believe the condition may be due to how a child was raised. When still in the adolescent years, excessive unconditional or an insufficient amount of love from the parents may be the cause of the disorder. Early signs of the mental illness can be spotted by adulthood. The majority of the people who are diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder show symptoms such as being conceited and garrulous by exaggerating achievements and goals that are unrealistic while ...
According to the Mayo Clinic, narcissistic personality disorder “is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others.” Generally people that suffer from narcissistic personality disorder
The other trait of narcissism that Rodger has is he excessively shows extreme aggression towards couples. People who display narcissistic aggression will constantly show hostile or violent behavior or attitudes toward another. In the article “Self-Esteem, Narcissism and Aggression: Does Violence Result from Low self-esteem or Threatened egotism? Social psychologist Roy F. Baumeister explains that “When other people question or undermine the flattering self-portrait of the narcissist, narcissist turns aggressive in response, but only to those specific people. The aggression is thus a means of defending and asserting the grandiose self-view” (2). Rodger definitely has a grandiose self-view, because he always refers to himself as “magnificent”,
The only person the narcissist will ever pity or feel sorry for is him/herself. If the narcissist believes he/she can get away with doing something (even if it's illegal, immoral, or will hurt someone), he/she will do it. At different times, many high profile individuals are classified as a narcissist in the media. The movie “The Wolf Of Wall Street” demonstrates how a rapid success leads to the narcissistic behavior. “Feel good” holiday movies, usually focus on traditional family values of heroism whereas Martin Scorsese in his film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” does the opposite. The movie focus on lavish life of Jordan but it was a true satire for an individual exploring quick fortune and shortcut of getting rich. Although many critics argue that “The Wolf of Wall Street” focuses mostly on the greed of Belfort, his extravagant luxurious lifestyle and portrayal of women as sex toys and leaves viewer with no moral message, I would disagree, as the film does delivers a moral message that rapid success can cause an individual to develop narcissistic behavior, which eventually leads to destruction and the financial message that will be helpful in investments business.
The story of Christopher McCandless is that of an over-ambitious youth trying to find himself. Chris’ story, as told in detail in Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, ended tragically in his death within the Alaskan wilderness many months after running away from home with no contact to his family. In Krakauer’s work, he recounts interactions between Chris during his travels and multiple strangers. In this, one may conclude that Christopher McCandless is simply a reckless narcissist, who is selfish and privileged enough to think he can do and get away with whatever he wants. This is, in an emotional analysis, incorrect. Chris was subject to a severe Icarus complex, his ambitions being more than his body and life can handle. He refuses to contact his
Firstly, what is exactly narcissism? The word ‘narcissism’ was derived from an ancient Greek myth of Narcissus. Narcissus was depicted as a handsome young man who adored his looks very much. Many young maidens fell in love with him but he criticizes them for being too ugly for him. One day, he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. However, he accidentally drowned himself as he tried to touch his reflection. Hence, the word ‘narcissism’ is usually depicted as a personality that reflects excessive of self-love on oneself. Individuals who are narcissistic are usually described as somebody who is selfish, snobbish or proud. This is because narcissistic individual processes information obtained differently than others. They believe that they deserve more than others since they think they are more superior in every aspect. Due to their sense of grandiosity, they will do anything in order t...
For some individuals, the need for admiration and self-importance exceeds the norms, this is where narcissism comes into play. Narcissism is a personality disorder that many people in countries worldwide suffer from. Someone who suffers from this personality disorder holds abnormal behaviors that shows a need for appreciation and usually lack empathy for others. They are considered to be extremely selfish and revolves around self-centeredness. What happens when a narcissistic individual becomes a parent? There are many different ways parents raise their children; the common parenting techniques used are determined as authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. The different parenting styles also
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a mental disorder that is considered to be an impairment in personality functioning, the presence of pathological traits, lack of empathy for others and a need for admiration. This type of personality disorder has some related disorders such as antisocial behaviors, interpersonal exploitation and envy. According to Luo, Cai, & Song (2014), “Narcissism refers to a kind of abundant self-love, characterized by a series of characteristic including self-desire for admiration, fantasies of superiority, hypersensitivity to criticism, exploitation of people, and lack of empathy for others” (p. 1). There have been ongoing discussions on how this type of behavior is processed in the brain. It is not clearly known
He is cold-hearted and calculating, and only cares about himself. He is very much modeled after Narcissus, the character in Greek mythology that the term 'narcissism ' is derived from. '"2 People who must have everything for themselves and their comfort, ignoring the damage they cause to the people around them have Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) . 'NPD involves arrogant behavior, a lack of empathy for other people, and a need for admiration--all of which must be evident at work and in relationships. People who are narcissistic are frequently described as cocky, self-centered, manipulative, and demanding. Narcissists may concentrate on unlikely outcomes (e.g. fame) and may be convinced that they deserve special treatment.
Narcissism is synonymous with self-admiration, self-absorption, conceit. One can speculate what makes a person feel so entitled to so much attention and admiration. According to mayoclinic.org, It 's not known what causes narcissistic personality disorder. As with other mental disorders, the cause is likely complex. The cause may be linked to a dysfunctional childhood, such as excessive pampering, extremely high expectations or abuse. Narcissism can start early on in adolescence. Once a child reaches adulthood with narcissistic traits, they walk around like they are they’re the one that holds society together. An example of one person many would portray as a textbook narcissist, Kanye West. Kanye West is obviously a well known rap artist who maintains a personality that is synonymous with cocky and self-obsessed. West feels entitled to world-wide fame and recognition. West went on a radio show hosted by ‘Sway’ of ‘Shade 45’ and proceeded to make wild, compassionate claims about his creative genius; “I am standing up and I 'm telling you. I. Am. Warhol. I am the number one most impactful artist of our generation, in the flesh. I am Shakespeare, Walt Disney. Nike. Google. Now who 's gonna be the Medici Family and stand up and let me create more?” As the reader can tell, West is very passionate and thinks very, very highly of himself. This is a prime example of
On the contrary to the belief that Elliot Rodger possesses narcissistic qualities, his low self-esteem and his ability to recall memories of his youth does not qualify him as a narcissist. The first thing about Rodger that is interesting is his potential to recall the earliest memory of his youth, he would illustrate the events in depth and in harmony. One would think that he might be manipulating his readers with modest memories of his youth to prove that he is just an innocent person, who happen to experience countless of misfortunes. For example, Rodger wrote, “I had just entered this new world… I enjoyed life with innocent bliss. I can remember playing in the fields and going on long walks with Ah Mah to pick berries… The first birthday I remember was my 3rd birthday… I had a
Robbins & Judge (2009) describe narcissism as an individual “who has a grandiose sense of self-importance, requires excessive admiration, has a sense of entitlement, and is arrogant.” Poet Tony Hoagland brought up a valid observation in the textbook about the American culture
NARCISSISM: “The attitude of a person who treats his own body in the same way in which the body of a sexual objec...
Personality is the expression of a person’s traits according to ones feelings, mentality and behavior. It involves understanding individuals’ traits such as withdrawal and willpower and how various parts of an individual link together to form personality. Personality expresses itself from within an individual and is comparatively regular throughout in an individual’s life. Different people have different personalities dependent on factors such as environment and genetic composition. Our personality is dependent on the success or failure of our development in the eight stages of life. This is proposed by Erik Erikson. Success in the development stages lead to virtues while the failure leads to malignancies.