serial killers
Your essays are to be in the form of a review of Wenzl et al.’s Bind, Torture, Kill: The Inside Story of BTK, the Serial Killer Next Door and Ann Rule’s, The Stranger Beside Me. Each review should be at least 5 pages each. They cannot be shorter. You must hand in two papers. Failure to do so will result in a failed grade for the assignment. Do not write an answer to a question I did not ask.
You are to do two things:
Write a thorough review of both books. In other words, provide the reader (me) with an overview of the story from the book. Your review must have important details regarding the themes of the books (and not just the facts of the serial killer’s life). Also, in the course of your review, you must answer the questions listed below. Do not review the book and forget to answer the questions – and vice versa.
Be sure to consult the Writing Guidelines. This is how you will cite any book used: The citation must be in the text (Author’s last name, page, e.g., Rule, 15; Wenzl, 15). Do not cite all of the authors of the Rader book. No footnotes or endnotes allowed.
If using an e-book, say that on a separate page in the back of the paper. Use chapters instead of pages.
You are required to have a thesis statement in your first paragraph, telling the reader what you plan to do. The best way to write a paper is to: a) tell us what you are going to tell us; b) tell us; and c) tell us what you just told us.
If your paper is late, i.e., submitted at any time after 5 pm, your grade will drop 1 whole grade for every day your paper is late until it reaches F, in which case, I will not accept your paper.
Here are your essays questions.
Questions:
1. “If I have sex,” Dennis Rader said, “I would rather have the bondage. You know, I could still perform with my wife and everything, but that’s the way I like to have sex. Because I like to have that person under control.”
Describe Dennis Rader’s development as a serial killer. What makes him different from other serial killers? Discuss thoroughly the ways in which the above quote is both an accurate description of Rader’s life and how it is inaccurate. How would you describe Rader: as a sadist, a masochist, or both? Describe these terms and relate them to Rader’s life. In what ways does Rader show signs of control? In what ways is Rader also interested in being under control?
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2. The true test of Ted Bundy’s sanity or insanity is his excessive violence. Describe Bundy’s way of killing and link it with his state of mind or the presence of any psycho-sexual disorders. Be specific. Discuss some of his murders. To what do you attribute the source or sources of Bundy’s violence? Dr. Dorothy Lewis, a noted psychiatrist, wrote that Bundy was sane. “His arguments were brilliant. He is brilliant. Is that insanity?” And yet, Bundy killed scores of women, seemingly without remorse – at the least, his levels of violence suggest a diminished capacity for sanity. Do you agree or disagree with Dr. Lewis? What was Bundy’s mental state as he was killing? Was he responsible for his crimes?