Essay On Charles Manson

Charles Manson had a way of picking up on people’s weaknesses and fears, and used it against them. He preyed on vulnerability and, as Linda James said, he offered them wealth and perfect relationships (Fennel, 1993). And, although his claims were extraordinary, he was able to attract a good amount of followers.

At the age of twenty-six Charles Manson was sent to the US penitentiary. By 1959 Charles had been committed of rape, drug use, pimping, stealing, and fraud. Manson was emotionally insecure and was lacking attention.

When people hear the name Charles Manson, people automatically think of the string of horrible murders this man was involved in during the summer of 1969. Charles Manson is infamous for creating “the Manson Family” and sought to create a war between races with his followers. The book Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi, the main prosecutor in the Manson trial, chronicled the murders carried out by Manson and his followers, the trial following the murders, as well as the psychological diseases that may affect Manson as a person. Manson is responsible for several murders, including that of the pregnant Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. While Manson never took part in the physical murders, he was

Charles Manson became known worldwide after helping commit numerous gruesome murders near Hollywood, California. Although, Manson’s legal troubles did not start from that point, he had been in and out of institutions and prisons since the age of twelve, for many different reasons. “For, let out of prison in 1967, the year of ‘the summer of love,’ he became the most hated and vilified figure in America, a symbol of everything that had gone wrong in the ‘60s” (Smith). Even though his release from prison was short lived, he managed to do a lot of damage during his time of freedom. Manson received a life sentence in May of 1970 for the nine murders he helped execute (Baughman). Charles Manson is a well recognized name across the United States.

This was a non- religious cult but had some beliefs within scientology and satanism. Charles Manson believed that there was to be a race war in America in the near future and that the African Americans would win, but then look to the Whites for guidance.This then lead Manson and his one hundred plus followers, mostly young women, to attempt to instigate this war so that they could be prepared and hide away until the African Americans won, and then the “family” would be the ones the African Americans would turn to for leadership (The 10 Most Famous Cults, 2017).

These are some of the most infamous names in the history of murder, but they hid in plain sight, and Manson did not even commit murder. He was so manipulative he could convince others to do his bidding for him. How is that even possible? Surely one would be able to recognize someone who is such a dangerous threat or would they? One of the reasons these killers can be so successful is their ability to blend into their surroundings and at times even be considered a stand up member of the communities they live in, but what is going on inside their brains?

In the book American Murder Houses: A Coast-to-Coast Tour of the Most Notorious Houses of Homicide, author Steve Lehto shares his perspective of the Manson case based of evidence he gathered. Lehto believed Manson’s motive behind these murders came from his belief in an impending race war between blacks and whites in America which was inspired by “Helter Skelter”, from the Beatles’ White Album. He believes that Manson’s way of thinking was that there needed to be some kind of spark to get the race war going, like a well-staged murder by white people that made it look like it was the doing of black militants. Lehto makes it very clear that while this idea is one of Charles Manson, Manson himself does not directly participate in the Tate killings, only Family members did, and while he did enter the LaBianca home, he was not present during the

As I’ve said previously, the life of Charles Manson revolved around interpersonal violence. From an early age Manson was the victim of child neglect – his mother (Kathleen Maddox) would leave him with neighbors, “for an hour, then disappear for days or weeks,”

Manson started his cult not only on his religious beliefs, but on his belief that society had given him a rough past and Manson wanted payback for the resentment he had gotten in his childhood. Therefore, he created a cult to kill.

Five people were killed that night. Charles Watson also killed two other individuals for Mason's cause. Manson had a troubled childhood, his mother was a drug addict and he was in and out of Juvenile centers and schools for boys. He was arrested for robbery, car theft, and sodomization of a boy. All of the events in his life leading up to August 9 made it very obvious that Manson was a disturbed man.

In the 1960’s, Manson gathered hundreds of followers which he called “The Family.” They lived on a deserted ranch. Most of Manson’s followers were impressionable young females and he used LSD and amphetamines to help manipulate and convince them to act out his wishes. He slowly broke down his follower’s beliefs and made them believe that he was Jesus and that a race war was impending. Eventually Manson’s most loyal followers carried out his acts of violence and left seven people dead. In 1969, police raided the ranch on suspicions of vandalism, unaware of the murders committed until after the arrests. Charles Manson has been labeled “The Icon of Evil.” (Rosenberg, 2009)

Manson talked about hate, sadness, God, and suicide/self loathing. Parents were not ready to deal with the reality that their teenagers felt this way. This brings us to the second meaning of the phrase which is how it alludes to how the times were changing. Manson ushered in entertainers who adopted outrageous looks and scandalous lyrics to stand out and gain fame. Parents were not ready for new pop music which emphasized parting and sex.

What makes a murderer? The mind of someone who commits such heinous crimes has never really been diagnosed. The chromosomal patterns have yet to be determined. So what causes someone to kill? Are serial killers and mass murderers more of a product of their own upbringing and environment or of delusional thoughts from a chemical imbalance? Someone who kills is an obsessed individual who lacks a conscience and who has no remorse. All the known characteristics of someone who kills point to something beyond our comprehension. Ted Bundy and Charles Manson are both infamous in the world of criminal history. Not all killers are the same: they may have grown up differently, used certain killing methods, and had a unique pool of victims.

With his long hair and bushy beard, his derelict snarl and children-of-the-damned mesmeric stare, and, ultimately, a swastika carved into his forehead. Manson fashioned himself into an iconic figure – a Satanic hippie-Christ demon, a messiah of hate (Gleiberman, Owen, 2009). In this article they are using the terms iconic and hippie with evil things like Satan which makes me believe they are trying to say that he’s a good guy and a bad guy all in one. They also say that he was made for pop culture, so he was a murderer made for pop culture. This sentence alone grabs the attention of all kinds of audience.

Charles Manson was the leader and founder of the cult the Manson Family or The Family, a group of people well known for being serial killers in the late 1960’s. It was believed that they were associated with cult-quasi-religious groups, that came about in the 1960’s and they are still here today. They believe they know what the future of the planet is, when it will end, and how. In a biography of Charles Manson and the Manson Family it said this, “In August 1969 a series of Hollywood murders were to shock the world and tarnish the 60’s free love and peace legacy.”(Biography Channel 2013.) Charles Manson himself never committed any murders with his own hands, but the murders were committed under his order by several of his most obedient