"Jack the Ripper"

Essay # 95507

Criminology > Forensics
Psychology > Freud

"Jack the Ripper"

A discussion on how the psychoanalytic theory and social disorganization principles contributed to understanding "Jack the Ripper's" killing spree.

1,952 words () | 8 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the circumstances and identity of the killer dubbed "Jack the Ripper." The paper examines possible theoretical frameworks within which we can gain insight to the true motives and circumstances of the event. It specifically discusses the psychoanalytic theory and the social disorganization principles and how they contributed to understanding "Jack the Ripper's" killing spree.

From the Paper:

"The East End London killing spree of 1888 has become infamous in popular culture and history. An unknown serial killer, known to this day only as "Jack the Ripper" engaged in a series of grisly murders. His profile was that of a serial killer, with a specific victim--East End prostitutes. The historical events concerning Jack the Ripper and his murders have been overshadowed by the enormous public fascination with the case, particularly its unresolved status. To this day, no one knows who Jack the Ripper was, but the search for and debate over his identity has given rise to an entire branch of criminal justice research known as "Ripperology." The actual identity of the murderer will likely never be known. All that exists are facts about the victims and the crimes themselves, all else is conjecture. Using the known facts of the case and the little that is certain about the killer, motives can be easily extrapolated. Jack the Ripper's brutal and misogynistic killings were driven by behaviors that can be explained by psychological theories, particularly Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory; while the social disorganization theory explains how the social conditions of London's East End at the time provided an atmosphere where his motives could be carried out."

Sample of Sources Used:

Akers, R. (2000). Criminological Theories. Third Edition.
Ali, B. (2005). The violence of criticism and the resistance to theory. The Journal of Popular Culture, 38, 4. 605-631.
Blatt, S., Auerbach, J. (2000). Psychoanalytic models of the mind and their contributions to personality research. European Journal of Personality, 14, 429-447.
Brodie, M. (2004). The Politics of the Poor: The East End of London 1885-1914. Oxford and New York. Clarendon Press.
Gay, H. (1997). East End, West End. Science education, culture, and class in Mid- Victorian London. Canadian Journal of History, 32, 153-183.