Analysis Of Paralyzed Witnesses: The Murder They Heard

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The essay Paralyzed Witnesses: The Murder They Heard was written by Stanley Milgram and Paul Hollander. In this essay, the authors describe in detail the responses of the witnesses during the murder of Kitty Genovese and the impact this case has of the ability for an individual to help people during a time of distress. The main idea of this essay was to analyze the reasons why the witnesses did not help during the murder. The internal and external conflicts were the main factors that influenced the witnesses did not help Genovese during her time of need. According to the article, Altruism and helping behavior, it is common for people to help others. Altruism is defined as “the desire to help another person even if it doesn’t benefit the helper” (Altruism and Helping Behavior. Print.). Helping behavior is “any act that is intended to benefit another person” …show more content…

If an individual is familiar with their surrounding “they are more likely to help” (Altruism and Helping Behavior. Print). In the essay, the authors state “the scene of the crime, the streets, in middle class society “represents all the vulgar and perilous in life” (Milgram, Stanley, and Paul Hollander. Paralyzed Witnesses: The Murder They Heard. Print.). In society, the streets, especially at night, represents the dangerous and negative sides of society due to the crimes and chaos that occur on the streets (gangs, drive-by shootings, robberies, murders, large crowds walking, etc.). The crimes and dangers of the streets cause many people to fear being on the streets alone which leads to external conflicts. When the murder was occurring, the witnesses’ attitudes of the streets prevented them from calling the police due to the fear of the streets and since the witnesses were middle-class, they believed that Genovese was poor, a criminal, or someone who has nothing else to do and was expecting for the=is to eventually

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