The novel focuses on a young man named Jean-Baptiste Grenouille and his murders of throughout the novel, in order to take the essence of their aroma and make a perfume out of it. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Jean-Baptiste Grenouille can be said to be sociopath and show sociopathic tendencies. In all actuality, no sane human really has the mentality of slaughtering another human being for their smell, especially for a personal gain, like the perfume in Baptiste's case, so naturally the person is usually identified as a psychopath or at least a human with psychopathic tendencies, or a sociopath. The mentality of Grenouille could be compared to that of a drug addict. Said addicts know it is wrong to be doing such things but because it gives them a sense of power over their lives, something where they could have little to no control over, it makes them not want to stop or even care to. Many people argue that Grenouille is a psychopath instead of a sociopath, which in any case could be justified but there are just more facts that state and justify why Grenouille is more likely to fit into the category of sociopath instead of psychopath, …show more content…
A sociopath, by definition, is a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience or it could also be said that sociopaths do know the difference between wrong and right, but do not particularly care about it. Throughout the novel, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille did indeed show signs of being a sociopath. After his first kill, he kept killing for personal purposes, to make the perfume. When he was an orphan under Madame Gaillard, although she was a cold and emotionally detached woman, she was still paid to take care of the orphans and teach them wrong from
Psychopaths and sociopaths are both very similar, however they share a great difference. Sociopaths are known to show some type of a conscience, while Psychopaths show nothing that relates to a conscience. Sociopaths will behave the same as a Psychopath and they won't necessarily care that what it is they are doing is wrong, however they very well know that it is wrong. This differs from Psychopaths however, who do not even realize what they are doing is wrong. In the novel written by Albert Camus, The Stranger, We see the protagonist Meursault take part in several different events throughout the book. Examining a couple of these events and the way we see Meursault think, you will see how Meursault is indeed a Psychopath.
The main reason I see him to show signs of a sociopath is because he smashed Peter’s skull into the sidewalk. Not only did he break a law, he also acted impulsively. He acted in the rage of the moment, not thinking about the consequences
Our conscience is the indicator into what we think and the actions that follow our thinking process. It acts as a guide into different paths of behaviors, such as wrong and right. Sociopaths lack a conscience, have a personality disorder, and act uncontrollably in extreme, and violent behaviors when in encountered in unappealing situations. As “4% of people are sociopaths-1 in 25 people.”(10) Many sociopaths have the tendency to murder and harm others without feeling remorse for their actions. Martha Stout, the author of The Sociopath Next Door, really digs deep into the conscience of sociopaths and their cycle of thinking through many studies.
Down the street, in our workplaces, seemingly under our beds- Harvard Medical Professor Martha Stout’s Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless vs. The Rest of Us sends the reader into a state of frightful paranoia when she mentions that a staggering 1 in 25, 4%, persons is, in fact, a sociopath. A sociopath, as Stout asserts, is a person with the lack of a conscience, thus a person not concerned with the suffering of others, to worry only about itself. She goes on to tell us that, because the rate of sociopaths in our society is so high, we must have already met hundreds without knowing it, due to the elusive and enigmatic nature of this psychological disease.
What is a sociopath? According to R. (2012) “There are people in the world who don't care about love, and who feel no remorse, empathy or emotional attachment to others. They don't even know what these feeling are. These people are called sociopaths.” (It Wasn"t a Relationship – It Was a Robbery!!, 2013) explains, “The sociopath makes a career living off others. They feed off your energy, your wealth, your social life, your friends and family, your body, everything, and if you have material possessions, they will take those too.” According to Andersen (n.d.) “[Sic] Sociopathy is not a mental illness; it is a personality disorder. The condition is highly genetic.” These days most people find their mate on an online dating sites. Most of
Due to the work of description and Figurative Language, the reader is able to discover that the unnamed narrator is someone who has fashioned in the profession of murder before. This troubled person also identified to be confident yet calm. This is determined according to the way the narrator interprets
The idea of a sociopath regardless of how long studied leaves many unanswered questions. For years people have asked, how could a human have the capability to doing that to another being? Clearly the answer is not clear, whether one is born with this disorder that differentiates them from the rest….or over time he/ she has developed it through hardships in life. It is clear to say that sociopaths are bad people, but are they really? Due to a sociopaths lack of empathy they are unable to feel anything at all so they are able to treat a life like an object instead of something that is much more complex.
Throughout the story “Perfume” by Patrick Suskind, Grenouille is presented as an outsider who is a product of both social and moral decay shown through his birth, description of the setting and description of Grenouille’s characteristics.
The first step in diagnosing someone as a sociopath is to create a standard of sociopathic behavior. Formally, sociopathy is referred to as Antisocial Personality Disorder or ASPD. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines ASPD as “A mental health condition in which a person has a long-term pattern of manipulating, exploiting, or violating the rights of others"(Sociopathic Traits 1) and lists seven identifying traits. It is important to understand that ASPD is a condition of varying degrees. To be considered a sociopath, one does not have to display all seven traits. In fact, there is much debate about what level of sociopathic behavior deserves a diagnosis of ASPD. Possibly the most widely accepted scale is the Hare PCL-R, which ranks sociopathic tendencies. Even though Hare is the most commonly accepted standard, it is still somewhat disputed. The professional agreement, it seems, is that ASPD can vary in intensity. Therefore, even though he does not display the
Sociopath has been defined as “someone who is suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder. Sociopaths show a pervasive pattern of disregard for the rights and feelings of others” (Marcia Purse, 2014). Sociopath is an unreliable person who has the ability to manipulate other people. He lies to others for his personal benefits, and he does not have any feeling of guilt for his behavior. His antisocial behavior results from his need for gratification, not because of objective needs. A review of the literature provides evidence that there are many sociopathic characters that exist in the early plays of Shakespeare. Aaron in Titus Andronicus and Richard in Richard III are two examples of sociopathic characters that fall apart because of their antisocial behavior. Despite the fact that Aaron and Richard are from different social status; both of them share the same sociopathic traits.
In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault the protagonist, becomes drawn into a “senseless” murder that has to face the absurdity of life and because of his actions, Meursault is presented as a danger due to his lack of “morality” to society. Meursault who is not able to take control of his life but respond to what life offers him believes in the simplicity of life. He tries to understand the living through logic and objectivity, which ultimately turns futile, as he himself cannot maintain proper control over his thoughts and emotions. From the interactions between Marie, to the murder of the Arab, and the meeting with the Chaplain, Meursault overcomes his indifferent views to form an opinion about what life really means. The central theme presented by Camus is how the threat of mortality becomes a catalyst for understanding the significance of life.
Firstly, let us look at what exactly a sociopath is defined as. Sociopath by definition is an antisocial personality disorder (APD), it is also known as psychopathy. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-5), an antisocial personality disorder is “a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since the age of 15.” Three of the following traits must also be identifiable in these people; failure to conform to social norms, fail
Meursault's character is the determining factor in his conviction and sentencing. His social rebellion is deemed immoral and abominable. The reader and the novel's characters both try to rationalize Meursault's actions in order to give his life meaning. But according to Meursault, life is meaningless and consequently needs no justification.
Psychopathy and Sociopathy have become interchangeable, even though the diction of each can greatly affect a sense of concern to a person. The word psychopath is normally pared with the word killer, making it seem more serious than sociopath.The definition of sociopath is “a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience.’ where the definition of a psychopath is a person with a psychopathic personality, which manifests as a moral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, etc.” These kinds of people are normally viewed as extremely violent and are mostly in prison, but “Roughly one in 25 Americans is a sociopath,” according to Harvard psychologist Dr. Martha Stout, author of The Sociopath Next Door. The thought that someone you see every single day, could be a sociopath is staggering, and once learning more about it, and why it is caused, you can them know how to react in an appropriate manner.
Revenge can be analyzed, as it becomes the exhibited behavior of the Widow resulting from a number of causes. First cause is the harm done to her family; second cause is the Widow’s perception of violence during that time; and the third cause is her aggression toward the killer of her son. The first cause of her revenge is the most obvious reason why she avenged the death of her son, and this is because the killer caused pain to her family. Any mother would be committing the act especially that her son was the only company she has. The second cause pertains to the Widow’s perception of revenge during that time, and because at the time, wars and feuds were still evident in the French society, bloodshed for the Widow is not something to be scared of, given any means. This story was only successful in showing to its readers how the society thinks of death during those times, which can be achieved through any means, by which losing one’s life was not something to be thought of carefully. This just proves that during that time, morality was not given high regard as it is now. Death by any means can be accomplished by anybody, regardless of age, gender, and status in society. The third cause of the Widow’s behavior is her aggression toward the killer of her son, which was not literally shown or described in the story, but was evident based on