When hearing about the story of James Bulger—one cannot help but to feel heartbroken and upset, not just for James and his family, but also Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. On February 12th 1993, Thompson and Venables, both just ten years old, were playing hooky from school and had decided to spend the day at an area mall. While at the mall, they noticed two year old James shopping with his mother. When James’ mother went to pay for some items, Thompson and Venables abducted James, taking him on a two and a half mile walk where they later attacked him with paint, bricks, stones, and a 22 pound metal pipe, which was believed to have caused fractures to his skull. With his injuries so severe, this is likely what caused his death. It was …show more content…
Because both Thompson and Venables had parents who had a negative influence on their lives, Thompson and Venables were unable to successfully proceed through the stages of emotional and moral development. In fact, after applying this theory to the story of James Bulger, one cannot help but feel sorry for Thompson and Venables. However, if we rely solely on Freud’s theory in this particular case, as well as many others, people fail to be able to make individual choices. For instance, not all children who grow up in neglected homes become perpetrators of criminal activities. This is where I believe religion comes in. Although psychology and sociology are helpful in explaining why people behave why they do, religion encourages us to go beyond our limitations in search for truth, joy, and peace (Vardy & Arliss 143). For example, had Rosa Parks accepted the fact that she could only sit in a certain section of a bus because of the color of her skin, it is unlikely that her and other leaders of the civil rights movement would have fought for better conditions for minority groups. While I am not sure whether Thompson and Venables had a God in their lives, it seems unlikely because if they had God, I believe they would have known what they did was wrong before they did what