Imagine you are a citizen of London in 1888. You would probably know about a series of killings from a man who calls himself “Jack the Ripper.” The serial killings are so famous that William Churchill himself describes them as “the end of an epoch”. While there have been many accounts of murders and serial killers over time, Jack the Ripper is one of the most famous. The events his killing spree encompassed, the manner in which he went about the crimes, and the causes and effects of the events it had on Victorian society make the Ripper acts so popular and deserving of study. (Begg)
The Ripper’s killing spree was comprised of numerous events, many in which involved the Ripper teasing the London police or murdering and mutilating women beyond recognition (“The Hunt For Jack the Ripper”). The Ripper murdered the women in a manner that suggested he had a knowledge of human anatomy, and one example of includes when he removed Catherine Eddowes’ left kidney and sent it to the local police. (“Jack the
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The lack of welfare for the poor contributed to the city’s quality, and due to this lack of welfare prostitution arose, which made it quite easy for the Ripper to lure women (“Jack the Ripper Student Resource”). The lack of welfare also forced the poor to solicit to customers on the street, only increasing their risk of being murdered (“Jack the Ripper). Besides the need of welfare for the poor, dimly lit streets helped the Ripper carry out his crimes and escape them without being noticed (“Jack the Ripper Student Resource”). Finally, the appalling social conditions of East London were prominent, with the a large gap between the rich and the poor. While wealthy people did exist, there was more poverty, crime, and exploitation of the poor.The rich people were alarmed by these acts, and were afraid they would spread into respectable society