Ronson's Psychopathic Characters

The 1960 Alfred Hitchcock classic thriller, Psycho and the psychological thriller novel, The Talented Mr.Ripley by notable American author Patricia Highsmith both challenge the audience’s perception of the noir protagonist through pronounced exploration controversial themes via the. Through the use of a range of stylistic features, the authors aim to blur the line between innocence and guilt in order to develop a false sense of empathy for the protagonists Tom Ripley and Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Characterisation of both of these protagonists, used in a way that forces the audience to connect with them and adopt an controversial point of view, transforms the audiences perception of how the murderer of a psychological thriller should behave. Hitchcock uses

According to the “Hare Psycopathy Checklist” a psychopath is a person who knows right from wrong in our society but often feels no guilt, remorse or empathy when they engage in wrong actions. They lie easily, blame others for their actions and often hurt people who are close to them. David Berkowitz meets the criteria of Hare’s checklist and is believed to be a true psychopath. Berkowitz is known as the “Son of Sam”, a thrill seeking serial killer who terrorized the city of New York for over a year. Information about David Berkowitz’s background, personality traits and lifestyle and his serial killer profile help to prove that he is in fact a psychopath. In conclusion, this essay will prove to readers that David Berkowitz is a notorious

According to “Dictionary.com” the definition of a psychopath is “a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior.” In the short story The Most Dangerous Game by: Richard Connell General Zaroff demonstrates these characteristics in the text and there are actual facts and information from the text that prove that Zaroff is a psychopath. On a yacht boat bound for Rio, Whitney points out an Island in the distance. Him and his friend Rainsford are are both big hunters bound for a hunting trip in the Amazon River. But When Rainsford falls into the sea trying to catch his pipe, his life had just instantly changed. He heard three gunshots and followed them to shore. Rainsford reaches the rocky shore and falls into a “very deep sleep.” As Connell explained.

Cullen is an exemplary example for a person experiencing anti-social personality disorder. He possess superficial charm, a grandiose sense of self worth, pathological lying, lack of remorse, and, most of all, he believes that it is the hospital administrator’s and orders fault for not stopping or reporting him ("Serial Killer Gets Prime Time Audience." 1). Psychopaths have the ability to charm others into

Frank expressed one of the main traits that psychopath’s display in that he struggled to maintain a close friendship with any one person. This was evident in Carl’s response to Frank’s phone call to him on Christmas Eve in that he had no one else he could call. Not surprisingly, Frank became increasingly more reckless the longer the pursuit went on to the point where he led the FBI a paper trail to find

are psychotic murders who through different circumstances develop their murderous person. Both characters developed their murderous traits through childhood memories. Jack developed his through multiple bashings from his father and his alcohol addiction however, Norman developed his through his mothers’ teachings and the feeling of neglect. Norman and

Erik Fisher, Paul’s evil brother, is proven to be a psychopath. Erik regularly shows large amounts of impulsivity, irresponsibility of his actions, delinquency, and poor behavior control. Also, Erik shows anger and violence by threatening others. For example, when Erik is only in 5th grade, he and his friend create mischief around the neighborhood but as soon as Erik thinks that his brother will expose them, he and his friend spray paint Paul’s eyes on impulse. Psychopaths are also known for being addicted to winning. Whenever anything is in the way of Erik’s dream he can only think of one thing, revenge. Nonetheless, psychopaths also are extremely parasitic. Erik Fisher is parasitic due to his bossing around of his so-called friend Arthur.

Such characters are often portrayed in an exaggerated fashion and typically in the role of a villain or antihero, where the general characteristics and stereotypes associated with psychopathy are useful to facilitate conflict and danger. Because the definitions, criteria,

“Psychopaths are overconfident in themselves, and they possess a very grand sense of self worth” (Psychology Today 1). Robert believes that he is of a greater power, and that all other beings are inferior to him. “He though of himself as a ‘Higher Being’. He decided that he was beyond the reach of society” (Lehr, Zuckoff 144). Psychopaths are also uncaring and tend to have shallow emotions. “Psychopaths can be described as being callous and showing a lack of empathy, which can be described as coldheartedness” (Psychology Today 1). Robert didn’t think twice about murdering the elderly couple nor about killing his own dog. “We could use rocks to bash their heads, and then we’d take their money and run” (Lehr, Zuckoff 315). “Robert suggested they test their appetites for violence by taking a life. Robert argued that it would be good practice, so they wouldn’t hesitate when the real time came. He had a candidate all picked out: his dog, Ruby” (Lehr, Zuckoff

Peter Woodcock’s diction is the most significant in deducing that he is a psychopath. He is initially portrayed

Alfred Hitchcock’s groundbreaking masterpiece ‘Psycho’ starring Anthony Perkins; as Norman bates and Janet Leigh; as Marion Crane, broke barriers of film in the 1960s. This film captivates audiences with its nail-biting suspense, shocking plot twists and carefully crafted themes. The repetition of motifs construct the audiences view on duality, how each person can possess the contrast between good and evil. Criminality draws in character interest with the use of mise-en-scene. Mental illness is brought into light also through mise-en-scene showing the twisting relationship between characters.

Psychoticism relates to certain personality traits such as being impulsive, hostile and aggressive (Eysenck, 1992). This theory is relatively consistent with the anecdotal evidence about Piglet, but has more evidence that suggests that Piglet was not the murderer. The anecdotal evidence states that Piglet has a Generalized Anxiety disorder which ties in with Neuroticism (Cattell and Scheier 1961). Eysenck and Gudjonsson (1989) had found offenders tend to score high on both Psychoticism and Neuroticism, (Lykken, 1990) which Piglet does not. He is often described as a generous animal, which does not tie in with the aggressive, non-empathetic, and anti-social nature of Psychoticism (Woody and Claridge 1977).

A literal definition of psychopath is, “a mental disorder in which an individual manifests amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, ect.” (dictionary). The character Iago in the Shakespearean play Othello meets this definition in nearly every aspect, which can be seen through his actions, his words, and most importantly the sly, secret persona that is known only by the audience. His true intentions that are filled with deceit and hate are masked by an overwhelming charisma that clouds the eyes of the other characters. While at first glance some would not see him as a person with a mental disorder, rather someone who is

Dutton takes the term psychopath and completely undermines any point to it as a diagnostic term. Once he's placed it on a 'spectrum' it enables him to talk about 'turning up and down' the dials, even turning them up on some traits associated with the psychopath (fearlessness, ruthlessness) while not on others. What if, says Dutton, we could take those traits and apply them to particular situations, like defusing a bomb, or performing difficult surgery? But this isn't the issue of psychopathy. The problem with psychopathy is precisely that it is a general callous disregard for other individuals as worthy of any consideration other than that which will serve their self interested needs. It's not something they 'turn on and turn off' as situations

In the novel each of the characters have very different personality traits and their personality traits are supported by Freud’s theory of