As members of society we are always curious of pushing the limits of any system we are operating in, but where do you draw the line? Robert Ben Rhoades from an early age felt that there were no perimeters that bound him, so he frequently rebelled against the status quo. This act of defying society’s norms is defined by psychologists as deviance. Challenging society’s typical routine can act as innovation in a positive aspect, although more often than not this behavior violates social norms and expectations. Robert Ben Rhoades is classified as a deviant individual who challenged norms and negatively impacted society. Robert Ben Rhoades was not your typical teenage boy. From a young age Rhoades began tampering with vehicles. He was arrested at age 18 and the authorities had hopes of rehabilitating him back to acceptable societal behavior. However, this act was very difficult mainly due to the fact that Rhoades modeled his life after a father who left him at age 6. Rhoades was raised without a positive father figure. His father deserted him and his mother and was convicted for molesting a 12-year old girl (Williams). His mother in an effort to prevent him …show more content…
Denying customary goals and traditional means of advancing himself in his community Rhoades was cited multiple times for theft and finally convicted of first degree murder of fifty plus victims and sentenced to life without parole at the Menard Correctional Center (Ng). His goals were emotionally and sexually orientated after being divorced from his three wives, death of both parents, and losing custody of his only son (Stallards). In essence every card possible seemed to be stacked against Robert to the extent where any societal goal avoided him and anything that had to do with