Beauty And The Beast Analysis

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When you think of beauty and the beast you think of the love story where they fell in love and lived happily ever after. In 1965 in this case of beauty and the beast it was not such a love story but more of a tragic inner beast coming out to destroy the beauty. The beauty was 16 year old Sylvia Liken who was left under the care of the beast 37 year old Gertrude Baniszewski by her parents that barely even knew the lady. James Q. Wilson (1975) observation stated, "Wicked people exist. Nothing avails except to set them apart from innocent people. and many people, neither wicked nor innocent, but watchful, dissembling and calculating of their chances, ponder our reaction to wickedness as a clue to what they might profitably do." This brutal crime on Sylvia Likens almost seemed like Gertrude was taking her inner anger of herself out on Sylvia. Due to the struggles Gertrude had, dealing with the seven children with barely any child support, living in a rundown home that barely had food to feed three. Gertrude took her sufferings out on Sylvia until she died. There are not any documents on Gertrude prior to this case so it will be hard to know what kind of living style Gertrude grew up in or if there were past events that effected Gertrude to become this so called "Beast." Crime Summer of 1965, when 16 year old Sylvia Liken met 37 year old Gertrude Baniszewski through daughter Paula who was 17 years old at the time. Sylvia and her sister Jenny were left behind by her father