ipl-logo

James Bulger's Oedipus Complex Case Study

1123 Words5 Pages

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

Show More
Related
192 Words | 1 Pages

Earlier this week, Wade Jamison was fatally shot in his home. The people who are allegedly responsible for this horrific crime are Melvin Simms, R.W. Simms, and Harlan Granger. The Simms brothers carried out the crime, while Mr. Granger paid them a large sum of money to do so. It is thought that the brothers broke into Mr. Jamison’s house around 1:00 A.M. Wednesday morning and tried to shoot Mr. Jamison while he was sleeping. When Mr. Jamison woke up and fought back, the Simms brothers fatally shot him with the gun that T.J. Avery allegedly stole from the Barnetts.

Read More
390 Words | 2 Pages

After reading chapters one and two of the Psychology in Everyday Life book and learning about the four big ideas in psychology, and also while trying to figure out the contributing factors of Andrea Yates’ murder of her children. I have to focus in on and think about big idea two, the biopsychosocial approach, that integrates three levels which are biological, psychological and social/cultural; all together these factors influence and give insight into behavior and mental processes. (CITE BOOK) After reviewing these, the psychological factors that I believe to have contributed to Andrea Yates’ murder of her children are, firstly biological, Andrea had a genetic predispositions, which means Andrea had an increased likelihood of developing

Read More
1309 Words | 6 Pages

It was not

Read More
519 Words | 3 Pages

In the article “On Punishment and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins, she tells the story of a teenager who murdered a wife and her husband. It happened in 1990 in suburban chicago. The teen shot her and her first child still in the womb. The teen claimed that he just wanted to shoot

Read More
1417 Words | 6 Pages

Between the mid-late 1970s and the early 1980s, Dennis Nilsen began mass murdering young men in Great Britain that had at least 15 men through strangulation (Crime Investigation, 2014). In analyzing his life, many of contributions throughout his life could have influenced his criminal behaviour when committing his crimes. Many theories such as broken home hypothesis and schema therapy theory use psychological explanations that determine how the individual resulted into committing their crimes. With schema therapy theory, not only does it discuss the justification for criminal behaviour, but suggests how to reduce the relapse of criminal acts by identifying the cause or the trigger of the individual’s criminal behaviour (Vos et al., 2016). In Dennis Nilsen’s life, there are several indications such as the abandonment of his family members, the termination of a past relationship, and the reclusiveness from society that could have resulted

Read More
1004 Words | 5 Pages

This theory clearly rules out the effect of inherited or innate factors, and the last is the cognitive theory, which is based on how the perception of an individual is manifested into affecting his or her potential and capability to commit a crime. (Psychological theories of crime) Relating these theories to the case under study, it’s clear that the behaviour can be traced most times to faulty relationships in the family during the first years of

Read More
1375 Words | 6 Pages

It was also

Read More
614 Words | 3 Pages

From the beginning Oedipus was destined to fulfill a terrible prophecy, but through particular events that follow the steps of the Hero’s Journey, Oedipus becomes a powerful king of Thebes, only to be destroyed by the prophecy that should have ended his life as a child. The Hero’s Journey typically leads to self-confidence and power, however; the Hero’s Journey of Oedipus leads to his tragic demise. The Hero’s Journey lays out the steps of Oedipus’s future actions, which create suspense, fear, pity, and other emotions that captivates the audience. Similar to many famous stories, Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles in 430 B.C., follows the Hero’s Journey path, which is evident in Oedipus’s departure, initiation, and return.

Read More
834 Words | 4 Pages

They grabbed him from a shopping mall, walked with him through the suburbs of Bootle and Walton, then took him to a secluted area on train tracks and killed him. This case attracted media attention, for the reaon of the murderers being only ten year old. In the trial 38 witness testified, that they saw the three boys and most of them saw that Bulger was in distress. But only a few of them intervened but not to the extent that they saved Bulger.

Read More
637 Words | 3 Pages

Niya Kebreab King Oedipus: Moral Ambiguity In the play King Oedipus, Sophocles depicts Oedipus’ inevitable downfall, which represents man’s struggle between free will and fate. In an attempt to use the audience’s knowledge to his advantage, Sophocles opens the play seventeen years after Oedipus murders his father, Laius and marries his mother, Jocasta. The sequence in which the story unravels reveals the strong psychological focus towards Oedipus’ character. In search of his identity, Oedipus’ enigmatic quality and moral ambiguity compels readers to question whether his ignorance renders him morally blameless.

Read More
1678 Words | 7 Pages

In the article, “Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing Parents. Is That Enough?,” by Scott Anderson proves that some young individuals may act violently for certain matters because of how their parents treat them. It is unclear as to why juveniles and adolescents automatically go into extreme measures, however, this may be caused by lack of support from their parents. Anderson asserts, “What Phillips couldn’t see was that Greg’s behavior masked a rapidly deteriorating home life, where he was now the sole focus of his mother’s rage. Almost daily, Greg told me, his mother would rip into him about something- his grades, his appearance, his choice of friends- ferocious tirades that often culminated in her telling him, “I know you’re going to leave me just like your sisters did.”

Read More
571 Words | 3 Pages

Oedipus’s selfishness and temper eventually lead to his downfall. Oedipus selfishness made everyone else mad at him for him not believing them. He kept digging and digging himself into a deeper hole. This eventually made his punishment at the end worse for him. He also could not handle the truth so this made him disrespect the gods.

Read More
729 Words | 3 Pages

In the article “On Punishment and Teen Killers” Jenkins states how a little boy got into some trouble and his parents would go and save him. For example,In paragraph 7 Jenkins states this “He came from privilege. Whenever he got in trouble, his parents fixed it. After a series of other crimes”.

Read More
1224 Words | 5 Pages

Oedipus the King is one of the most ironic plays ever written. Sophocles, the author, is a famous philosopher of the ancient times The Play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who kills his father and marries his mother. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would murder him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta, had a son, he exposed the baby by first pinning his ankles together. The infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife was then brought up as their very own.

Read More
848 Words | 4 Pages

Greek theatre was formed back in 500 BC by the Greek civilisation that used performing, miming and dancing as ways and means to tell stories, imitate others and for their rituals. They were two forms of plays that were showcased in the City of Dionysia; tragedy and satyr. The City of Dionysia was the festival celebrating the God Dionysus. Throughout this essay I will be describing the characteristics of Greek tragedy while using Sophocles’ ‘ Oedipus the King’ as a reference.

Read More

More about James Bulger's Oedipus Complex Case Study

Related Topics

Open Document