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Arnold Friend

Decent Essays

“Where are you Going, Where Have You been?” (The Mind of a Serial Killer) The short story, “Where are you Going, Where Have You been?” by Joyce Carol Oates the story of man, Arnold Friend, who preys on young girls. The story is based on the real life serial killer, Charles Schmid, of Tuscon, Arizona. Oates' story describes how Friend stalked a 15 year old girl name Connie. He learned a great deal about her, presumably from following, eavesdropping, and talking to people who knew her. When he was sure she was home alone, he paid her a visit and managed to smooth talk her into going for a ride with him. The story ends there; Oates does not elaborate on what happened to Connie. However, knowing the real life story on which Oates based this character, …show more content…

Are these men not human? Do they not have an ounce of empathy? If not, why not? These are the questions this essay attempts to explore. In his book Speaking with the Devil: Exploring Senseless Acts of Evil, psychotherapist Dr. Carl Goldberg, claims that “six concepts are crucial for understanding the problem of malevolence: shame, contempt, rationalization, justification, inability or unwillingness to self-examine, and magical thinking..” (xiii). Dr. Jonathan Pincus, a neurologist at Georgetown University Hospital, states that he knows what makes a serial killer. Pincus claims there are three ingredients to the recipe that makes a serial killer. Damage to the area of the brain that controls impulse is one of the key ingredients. Upon examination, John Wayne Gacy was found to have a blood clot in the brain, Charles Whitman had a brain tumor, and Arthur Shawcross has a cyst in the frontal lobe as a result of frequent head injuries as a child. (The Science of Murder). Injury to the brain by itself is not an indication that one becomes a murderer. Another key ingredient is a mental illness that produces paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations. The mentally ill personal does not always understand the concept of cause and effect which, therefore, impairs judgment. Again, mental illness by itself will not usually make a killer. If, however, a mentally ill person with brain damage has

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