In each of the written works proposed for analysis, the patterns along which the psychology of manic homicidal behavior moves are demonstrated. Both texts deal with the problem of the developing habit of killing and the gradual de-souling of man in this process of transformation. Within the framework of each of the written works, the principles of repetition and embedding of deviant behavior in the human habitation are demonstrated, due to which their irreversible mental transformation takes place.
The essay on training a child to kill animals seems to be of prime importance for analysis because it contains important information about how insensitivity to death can be instilled and nurtured from childhood. The protagonist of the essay “Without Emotions” tells about what is happening in the first person (Liddy p. 10). It gives the prospect of not only the irreversibility of the change in consciousness that has occurred but also brings the reader closer to a sense of the genuine reality of what is happening. It is important to note that the manic behavioral patterns of ruthlessness nurtured in the boy are a kind of prelude to killing humans, as he only kills animals. This is the critical and most painful aspect of the text, as it demonstrates a lack of compassion for the weaker, which subsequently deforms into an insensitive paramilitary automatism. A comparison of oneself with a killing machine, without emotions or additional reflection, is placed at the very end of the text, which accentuates the process of soullessness that ended in childhood.
The second text shows a portrait of a serial killer completely immersed in the realization of his sick fantasies. The story of Jeffrey Dahmer painfully embodies the dark aspects of American culture in the 20th century is shown in the process of factual perfection. The author shows a cold and unemotional detachment, dryly stating brutal and shocking facts (Cannon p. 185). In this way, she achieves a sense of detachment, which, however, is proposed to be filled by thinking out the psychological aspects behind the perpetrator of such terrible deeds. This clinical unemotionality of the text perhaps makes it so impressive, not allowing the reader to recognize the maniac, but emphasizing the ordinariness of what is happening. Taken in combination, these two texts produce an all the more deafening effect, showing the human psyche as capable of being trained for sadism and cruelty.
Works Cited
Cannon, Angie. “Jeffrie Dahmer, Cannibal.” A Reader For College Writers, edited by Santi V. Buscemi, McGraw-Hill Education, 2007, pp. 184-186.
Liddy, G. Gordon “Without Emotion.” The Writer’s Response: A Reading Based Approach to College Writing, edited by Steve McDonald, Cengage Learning, 2000, pp. 10-11.