Psychological Analysis Of Dexter Morgan In The Television Show Dexter

Dexter Morgan is the main character in the television show Dexter. He is portrayed as a successful blood analyst for the Miami Police Department. Dexter is antisocial with a lack of feelings for others, specifically a lack of empathy. “But I warn you, Sergeant, you can 't play on my feelings. I don 't have any (Reynolds, Shill, 2007).” He is haunted by thoughts of past trauma caused by witnessing his mother’s gruesome murder at the age of three. This causes him to be untrusting of others and only possess miniscule emotional attachment to his adoptive sister, Debra, and adoptive father, Harry. Harry notices Dexter’s psychopathology symptoms during his early teens. The neighbor’s dog went missing and Harry questions Dexter only to reveal that

He teaches him to smile in family photos, and to imitate cordial emotions because that’s what everyone else does. If Dexter can act “normal,” than no one will know that he has a mental health disorder. Harry is perpetuating the stigma that he should be ashamed of himself. It is better to hide than be seen as someone with a mental illness. The show its self is reducing a stigma against psychopathology because the viewers gain a sense of sympathy for Dexter. He is the narrator of the show, so it encompasses what is happening inside his head that causes him to react in the ways he does. We know the troubled childhood he experienced and we know he has rational behind his actions. It makes a sociopath seem more principled than the public would ever independently

Antisocial personality disorders do not mean someone is innately dangerous or threatening. Initially, I thought Dexter was wrong for killing people, but as I watched the show further, I began to realize that maybe he was helping the greater good. Could bad actions or malicious intent really not be that bad? I was forced to question my sense of right and wrong. But who is Dexter to determine when others’ lives should end? This portrayal of psychopathology made me realized that murder is more relative than we think. Even if the object is inherently bad, like murder, there isn’t necessarily only a bad outcome. Dexter potentially saved many innocent lives by ending felon’s life. This show is shedding new light on psychopathology and adapting social norms. Just murder maintains a stable justice system and the innocence of the ignorant public. We think that all criminals are prosecuted under the law but this shows that many are getting away with severe crimes every day. If it were not handled, such as Dexter handles these unseen offenders, heinous murders of innocent civilians would be taking place in our