Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Medical terms
Sociopathy in Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone
Sociopathy affects many individuals across the globe. As a medically recognized condition, it alters one’s natural state of mind. A sociopath develops patterns of behavior consisting of harassing others, failing to conform to social norms, and lying. People with this condition disregard the rights and feelings of others, resulting in a frequent lack of empathy towards other individuals. Sociopaths frequently show deceitful and manipulative behavior in order to gain personal profit or pleasure. They perform acts with no respect to lawful behavior that include stealing or pursuing illegal occupations (Diagnostic). Godfrey Ablewhite develops similar patterns of lying, lack of remorse, and harassment, which result in personal gain. He displays these behaviors that differ from those of ordinary society. Godfrey Ablewhite exhibits the sociopathic behaviors of amoral behavior, lack of empathy, and manipulation in Wilkie Collins’ novel The Moonstone.
Furthermore, sociopaths develop a pattern of amoral behavior. Mr. Ablewhite acts without knowing the difference between right and wrong. “If Mr. Godfrey chose to keep the diamond, he might do so with perfect impunity” (Collins 465).Godfrey believes that he deserves no punishment because he benefited from the ordeal, and considers himself innocent. The difference that lies between right and wrong continues to be absent from Godfrey’s lifestyle. He shows no right mind in his actions against his friends and colleagues because he benefits from these experiences. “Godfrey Ablewhite […] had […] betrayed the mercenary nature of the motive on his side (against Rachel)” (Collins 288). His amorality persists in his everyday life because in anybody else’s mind, betraying someone clearly goes against the principles of modern society. No event that Godfrey Ablewhite partakes in, in his mentality, shows signs of being wrong as long as he benefits from the matter. Thus, “Mr. Godfrey is all the readier to enter into the conspiracy (to have Mr. Blake drink laudanum)” (Collins 463). Mr. Blake eventually drinks the laudanum, steals the diamond, and gives it to Mr. Ablewhite. Because the diamond falls into the hands of Godfrey, the conspiracy to drug Mr. Blake contains no elements of foul play in the mind of Godfrey Ablewhite, further developing a pattern of amorality in his behavior. A typical sociopath develops amoral behavior, no different than in the case of Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite.
In addition, the modern day sociopath displays a serious lack of empathy for fellow human beings. Godfrey Ablewhite shows no remorse towards other beings due to the fact their sole purposes remain to make him content and see that he gets what he wants.
From a psychological standpoint, Dellen Millard’s actions and personality are clearly not typical of the average human. Millard was extremely affluent, yet committed murder in order to steal a car he could have easily bought. ‘Why?’ is the question which psychologists would ask. Millard was raised wealthy, educated, and privileged; he was not abused as a child, nor was he denied affection or care. Unlike many psychopaths, sociopaths, and murderers, Millard did not seem to have a troubled or traumatic life at all. What experiences in Millard’s life could have given rise to his manipulative, thrill-seeking and criminal behaviour- as well as his apparent lack of conscience- in spite of his indulgent and ordinary upbringing? Psychology studies- and attempts to comprehend- human behaviour: the human mind, personality, and thinking. As such, psychologists would find interest in understanding the thoughts and motivation behind Millard’s cold-blooded actions. They might look towards his childhood for answers, and endeavour to discover the events in his past that shaped him to be the person he
For example, Annette makes the comment that Benjamin was in the right to smack Henry because he was defending himself from Henry’s assault of insults to which Alan agrees with immediately. Veronica and Michaels sense of righteousness involves other people, Veronica especially believing everyone needs to uphold a standard morality. For example, the idea of bringing Benjamin over. Veronica and Michael want to make sure Benjamin understands his implications so this situation won’t happen again. Veronica worries about their children having morals while Alan and Annette don’t care much for that. When arguing about whether or not Benjamin disfigured Henry, Alan shrugs off the fact that his son just smacked another kid in the face. He instead diminishes Benjamin’s injury saying how it’ll go away and he’ll chip in on the costs of the dentist. He’s not interested in the same sense of morality that Veronica is. These contrasting views come from how Alan and Annette are able to get away with more that Veronica and Michael. For the Novaks there are consequences to their actions, while in Alan’s case with the pharmaceutical companies he gets rewarded for defending
Differential association theory was founded by Edwin H. Sutherland (Lilly, 2012, p. 43). This theory states that “any person will inevitably come into contact with definitions favorable to violation of the law and with definitions unfavorable to violation of the law” (Lilly, 2012, p. 44). Whichever definition is more prominent in a person’s mind, will lead to their decision of “whether the person embraces crime as an acceptable way of life” (Lilly, 2012, p. 44). Sutherland composed nine propositions that explained the theory. He explained that “crime is learned through the process of differential association” (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). The nine propositions explained that “criminal behavior is learned” (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). He explained that by communicating with others, especially those that are close to them they are more likely to pick up behaviors from those people. Differential association theory also explains that learning criminal behaviors “involves all the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning” (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). While learning a criminal behavior one not only learns “the techniques of committing the crime” but also the “specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes” involved with crime (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). This is theory is shown throughout the book when the young Mr. Moore was influenced by the life of crime that was present in his
For my book report, I have read and evaluated Dr. Hales book titled Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of Psychopaths Among Us, published by The Guilford Press. The purpose of the book was to bring awareness to psychopaths that live among us and will be describe in farther details in the paper. I will evaluated the purpose, strengths, weakness of the book and include a summarized portion for others to understand.
The main character, Randle Patrick McMurphy, is brought to a state mental institution from a state prison to be studied to see if he has a mental illness. McMurphy has a history of serving time in prison for assault, and seems to take no responsibility for his actions. McMurphy is very outgoing, loud, rugged, a leader, and a rebel. McMurphy also seems to get pleasure out of fighting the system. McMurphy relishes in challenging the authority of Nurse Ratchett who seems to have a strong hold over the other patients in the ward. He enters into a power struggle with Nurse Ratchett when he finds out that he cannot leave the hospital until the staff, which primarily means her, considers him cured.
These character traits allow the psychopath to commit his atrocious acts. However, because the psychopath is rendered incapable of moral reasoning, the criminal legal system has a problem in justifying the punishment of one, as psychopathy intervenes with the person’s ability to be a normally functioning adult. Currently, psychopathy is not recognized as a mental illness by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR. Most psychopaths end up being diagnosed with ASPD, or Antisocial Personality
However, Glenn and Raine (2014) argue that the emotional deficits characteristic of psychopaths diminish their rational capacity, making them unable to be held accountable for the rash and harmful decisions. Additionally, psychopaths may display knowledge of right and wrong, however their understanding is substantially compromised (Maibom 2005). Therefore, because they cannot understand moral emotions, moral transgressions fail to motivate them and they cannot be held morally responsible for their actions. They treat moral transgressions as equal to conventional transgressions (Levy 2008); to them, they are merely breaking the rules. And although breaking the rules begets consequences, a short attention span prevents psychopaths from anticipating consequences. Nevertheless, say, for example, a psychopath on a different portion of the spectrum is aware of the consequences. In this case, they would be still be indifferent because their feelings of grandeur lead them to believe that they are removed from punishment (Gao, Glenn, Schug, Yang, Raine 2009). For these reasons, many argue that psychopaths should not be held responsible for their behaviors.
Conceptualize a world in which you have no conscience, no feelings of guilt or remorse -no matter what actions you take- no sense of empathy or concern of the well being of friends, loved ones, or even family members. This is the world of a sociopath. This is the world of Tom Ripley in Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. Tom develops into an intelligent young man who eventually conjures a crime spree in Europe. His driving force behind this spree, though the spree may be sporadic, is freedom. His ability to be independent from a guilty conscience and the pleasure from concealing a false identity (characteristics of a sociopath) are his motives behind his acquisition for freedom.
Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini are three of the world’s most detested dictators responsible for countless deaths. They all show signs of self-destructive behavior, paranoia, and narcissism. It is arguable that these acts of evil are innate, but it can also be argued that they are the product of a corrupt society. Ted Bundy, Adam Lanza, and Charles Manson are responsible for more than a handful of the most horrific murders in American history. These killers are all diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD); this causes people to be callous, possess a superficial charm, and they tend to have an inclination towards aggressive acts. While it is obvious that something went wrong in their genetic makeup, it is society that pushed them past their limits. In A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, there are two notable villains. One is an aristocrat referred to as the Younger Marquis St. Evrémonde, and the other is one of the leading revolutionaries introduced as Madame Defarge. These cruel personas are pushed to an extreme that is hard to come back from whether it ...
Imagine the word “psychopath.” Perhaps a serial killer comes to mind; however, the fact of the matter is, psychopaths are far more complex. They are, of course, individuals, but psychopaths do tend to share certain aspects in personality. Some of the core aspects include an excessive amount of charisma, a heightened sense of self worth, an innate ability to manipulate, pathological lying, lack of great emotion, lack of empathy, criminal versatility, and sexual behavior. In “Othello” by William Shakespeare, we follow the story of one man named Iago. Driven by his hatred of his lieutenant, Othello, he works tirelessly to overthrow his superiors. This tale soon takes a grim turn and five people are left dead in his wake. It is through the thoughts,
The sense of entitlement that comes with sociopathy is astonishing to those who abide by the social laws and conventions of our culture. Where does the entitlement come from? It stems from an underlying sense of rage. Sociopaths feel deeply angry and resentful underneath their often-charming exterior, and this rage fuels their sense that they have the right to act out in whichever way they happen to choose at the time. Everything is up for grabs with sociopaths and nothing is off limits. (Meyers)
...res of the psychopaths and gives the reader various examples of these individuals playing out these characteristics in everyday life. A widely used checklist is provided so the reader can get a wide spanning view of what is accounted for when scoring a psychopath. This form of research is very important within the deceitfulness of this population; it allows the professional to ignore their words and examine their actions. Hare made it clear that it is not uncommon for there to be an emotional and verbal disconnect from their actions. With virtually no emotional functioning psychopaths feel no remorse for the offenses that they commit and it is very important that we work towards using the opportunities we have to study and assist these populations; not only for them but for ourselves.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a sociopath as someone who behaves in a dangerous or violent way towards other people and does not feel guilty about such behavior. Sociopaths lack a conscience that allows people to decipher between right and wrong. In A Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator, Montresor, is believed to be a sociopath by many. He kills his friend, Fortunado, after he literally adds insult to a thousand of injuries. Though what the insult was and the previous injuries were never revealed to the reader, it could be assumed that Montresor probably overreacted to the Fortunado’s insult. But in order to answer this question the evaluation upon his motivation, strategy, and Montresor’s feeling and emotion towards
Megan, K., & Courant, S. W. (2005, Mar 10). THE KILLERS (AND LIARS) IN OUR MIDST ; HOW DOES A SERIAL MURDERER LIVE UNDETECTED AMONG `NORMAL PEOPLE'? BY BEING A SOCIOPATH -- A PERSON WITHOUT A CONSCIENCE, WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO LOVE. Hartford Courant. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/256830354?accountid=10244
The psychopathic trait is demonstrated through non empathetic acts. It is commonly assumed that individuals with the psychopathic trait also posses Machiavellianism and Narcissism. The three usually related traits are collectively referred to as the ‘Dark Triad’ regarded by many as representative of the extreme end of human malevolence. A research was done to establish if the presence of Machiavellianism and Narcissism traits predict Psychopathy. In the research a group of 50 undergraduate students were asked to complete a series of personality questionnaires investigating the “Dark Triad” of personality (Lee & Ashton, 2005). The answers were given in a scale of 10, where 1 represented low and 10 represented high. The mean scores for traits