In some cases, the abuse of children by their parents is barbaric, and it seems little wonder that anything but a fledgling serial killer would come from such horrible squalor.

Childhood abuse may not be the sole excuse for serial killers, but it is an undeniable factor in many of their backgrounds.

In looking to the parents for explanations, we see both horrifying mothers and fathers. The blame usually falls on the mother, who has been described as too domineering or too distant, too sexually active or too repressed. Perhaps the mother is blamed more because the father has often disappeared, therefore "unaccountable." When the father is implicated, it is usually for sadistic disciplinarian tactics, alcoholic rants, and overt anger toward women.

stress caused by childhood 'traumatizations' may be a trigger to criminal behavior in adulthood.  It is important to understand that most people go through one or more of these traumatizations with no lifelong effects.  However, in the future serial killer, the inability to cope with the stress involved with these traumas leads to the offending acts

Lack of empathy, guilt, conscience or remorse Shallow experiences of feelings or emotions Impulsivity and a weak ability to defer gratification and control behavior Superficial charm and glibness Irresponsibility and a failure to accept responsibility for their actions A grandiose sense of their own wort

Difficulties during adolescence. Studies have found abused and neglected children to be at least 25 percent more likely to experience problems such as delinquency, teen pregnancy, low academic achievement, drug use, and mental health problems (Kelley, Thornberry, & Smith, 1997). Other studies suggest that abused or neglected children are more likely to engage in sexual risk-taking as they reach adolescence, thereby increasing their chances of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (Johnson, Rew, & Sternglanz, 2006). Juvenile delinquency and adult criminality. According to a National Institute of Justice study, abused and neglected children were 11 times more likely to be arrested for criminal behavior as a juvenile, 2.7 times more likely to be arrested for violent and criminal behavior as an adult, and 3.1 times more likely to be arrested for one of many forms of violent crime (juvenile or adult) (English, Widom, & Brandford, 2004). Alcohol and other drug abuse. Research consistently reflects an increased likelihood that abused and neglected children will smoke cigarettes, abuse alcohol, or take illicit drugs during their lifetime (Dube et al., 2001). According to a report from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, as many as two-thirds of people in drug treatment programs reported being abused as children (Swan, 1998). Abusive behavior. Abusive parents often have experienced abuse during their own childhoods. It is estimated approximately one-third of abused and neglected children will eventually victimize their own children (Prevent Child Abuse New York, 2003).

These include costs associated with juvenile and adult criminal activity, mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence.

Perry's mental health is even more questionable; he suffers from "'paranoid' orientation," "poorly controlled rage," and a disordered thought process

g Smith and Hickock: namely, a complete disregard for human life. Each man knows that society says it is wrong to kill another person, but they simply do not care. Capote insinuates that this lack of compassion for others is itself a type of insanity.

"Smith, in his confusion, jealousy, anger, disappointment - and spite - reactively and instinctively thrust that hunting knife into Herbert Clutter's throat (Smith may also simultaneously have been displacing his anger onto the victim, thereby symbolically killing his feckless paramour).

every character is essentially isolated from the others. Moreover, the characters in the novel do not communicate effectively with one another.

The absence of his mother’s love leads Darl to isolation not only from others but also from himself.

biologically, Jewel is not part of the Bundren household. Darl reminds us of as much by repeatedly describing him as pale, wooden, rigid, solid

ewel is a foreigner amongst family. And he knows it.

Because she is afraid of the consequences of telling others about her pregnancy, Dewey Dell chooses to face it alone and begins to isolate herself. Her alienation robs her of the ability to relate with others.

By his final monologue, Darl sees himself as an onlooker, having lost his distinctness as character.

By monologue 19, all he/him references are of Darl referring to himself in the third person. He is the detached, separated Darl.

Although he is the youngest, it seems as though he is the lost one in the family- no one is there to help him figure out or understand the concept of death,

Vardaman is alone in thought and age difference in the family and he sort of becomes an orphan when he loses his mother

She worked as a schoolteacher and enjoyed whipping her students, whom she secretly hated. Oddly enough, what appealed to Addie most about this corporal punishment was the fact that it made her a part of the students’ lives. "Now you are aware of me!"

She wants to be noticed; she wants to be a real person. Having kids doesn’t solve the problem; it just presents a new one.

Mary Shelley seems not to condemn the act of creation but rather Frankenstein's lack of willingness to accept the responsibility for his deeds. His creation only becomes a monster at the moment his creator deserts it (1)

Frankenstein warns of the careless use of science -

disfigured monsters with severe abnormalities

child grows up knowing her mother is her sister

child knows it is the twin of a dead brother or sister

The theme of civic responsibility in Frankenstein begins with the book’s subtitle, "the Modern Prometheus."

Victor Frankenstein may also be in search of God-like secrets and claim only the best intentions, but his actions are corrupt and he dies without acknowledging his role in the destruction that has occurred.

A central concern of Frankenstein is the scientist’s shirking of responsibility for the creature he has created.

Frankenstein continually views the monster as an ongoing experiment. This encourages a feeling of ostracization and contempt in the monster

he monster never experienced true growth with a mother and/or father.

wants to be accepted by his creator, and when he does not receive this acceptance, he desires a female companion, perhaps as a direct result of the lack of a mother figure in his life.

She believes the scientist must have some kind of connection with “the object of study, … based on respect rather than domination” (Rauch 15). Mellor believes the disrespect, which Dr. Frankenstein displays in treating nature as “the dead mother or as inert matter” leads us as a society to being “capable both of developing and of exploding an atomic bomb”

. She believes the scientist must have some kind of connection with “the object of study, … based on respect rather than domination” (Rauch 15). Mellor believes the disrespect, which Dr. Frankenstein displays in treating nature as “the dead mother or as inert matter” leads us as a society to being “capable both of developing and of exploding an atomic bomb” (Mellor 139). Mary K. Patterson Th

Frankenstein and his creation may even represent one being -- two sides of a single entity forming a doppelganger relationship. However, it is difficult to decipher which represent good and which represents evil -- the man or the monster.

It is as if he is fated to create the monster. This lack of control may come both from the evil inside him, as well as outer forces of the world. Victor Frankenstein seems to be a tragically flawed character.