Serial Killers In The Lovely Bones

Many are fascinated by the mind of a serial killer; it is engrossing, unexpectedly interesting, and twistedly complex. Therefore, when one reads the novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, they cannot help but question whether the character George Harvey is classified as a serial killer. The answer to this question lies behind the plot of the story, which centers around a girl named Susie Salmon who is raped and murdered by her neighbor named George Harvey. As the narrator, Susie illustrates earth as she sees it from heaven, describing how the people who cared for her and her killer continue to live their lives after her death. When the entirety of the story and it’s characters are examined, the profile of George Harvey comes extremely close

The Lovely Bones, when summarized, is, “ is a story told from the perspective of Susie Salmon, murdered at age 14 on December 6, 1973, by a neighbor, in a cornfield near her home,” (Belluci). Coincidentally, history shows a similar trend as it states, “While serial killers and mass murderers have existed at all times in human history, the reporting of their crimes seemed to have reached an all-time high during the 1980s,” (“Serial Killers and Mass Murderers”). Furthermore, studies on serial killers prove that, “Research on the psychology of serial killers has revealed further trends. Most are male and in their 20s or 30s,” (“Criminal Profiling”). Similarly in the novel, Mr. Harvey is 36 years old, as Susie narrates in the text, “ He had turned thirty-six that year,” (Sebold 54). Certainly, Mr. Harvey’s age, gender, and the historical setting of the story are coinciding with the profile of a serial killer in the time

Harvey shows the symptoms of past emotional trauma. Everything from his types of victims to his behavior and demeanor match a serial killers during the time period. In fact, he even reveals uncanny similarities to the infamous Ted Bundy. When it seems that the clues are so obvious, it is rather frustrating to watch the other characters in the novel miss that George Harvey is the killer of Susie at first, but as more and more people become suspicious, it becomes satisfyingly obvious that Harvey’s serial killings are coming to an end. However, although George Harvey’s killings may have come to an end in The Lovely Bones, there will always be other people like Harvey remaining in the real world. They may even be a next-door