I recently read the novel entitled 'We need to talk about Kevin', by Lionel Shriver. It was a very easy book to read, and I thought it brought up a lot of really really interesting issues, such as bringing up children, relationships and also the question of whether people are born 'evil' or if society shapes them. It's written by Kevin's mother, who spends most of the book questioning if her behaviour and the way she brought up her son is the reason that he massacres a dozen classmates & teachers when he's about 16 years old. It's a really interesting thought - was he born that way, or did his childhood influence him to the point where he could commit such a horrendous crime. It's hard to believe that anyone could do such a thing, but it's fairly often that you hear in the news of another event similar to this occuring somewhere in the world. So what is the point at which a child turns from a normal child into a killer? Do they really understand what they are doing? Also in this book the mother says that the child never really bonded with her, no matter what she did - does this imply that the child was already locked into a certain mindset? How strong is the nature vs nurtre and how much could this really affect someone?
Summary: A good, easy book to read with some interesting issues in it. It made me think about the consequences of having children beyond the normal ones that I would have thought about before reading it. It did make me cry at one point though ;-)
*** Worth a read.
More: This wiki article doesn't totally give the plot away, but you might not want to read this site unless you've already read the book or don't plan on reading it.
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3 comments:
It's certainly an interesting and worrying topic to explore given the changes in society and the number of massacres that occur. I recently read Jodi Picoult's novel Nineteen Minutes which explores the same topic. For anyone who has ever read a Jodi Picoult book, you'll know that each of her books explores a rather controversial topic - she explores the different perspectives of several characters throughout each novel and she likes to challenge and confront the reader. Considering the perspective of the shooter, and particularly the shooter's mother's perspective, thoughts and feelings are explored in Nineteen Minutes and the mother asks herself similar questions as above. Selina, thanks for the book recommendation, I'll check out my local library to see if they have this novel, it sounds like a good read.
It's interesting, isn't it, what makes people behaviour in ways that most of us find it hard to imagine behaving? That was an interesting comment about the mother feeling like she never really bonded with her child. In psychology, it is seen as important for children to develop a secure attachment with a caregiver. If a child has a secure attachment, they feel more at ease exploring the environment, trusting that their caregiver will be there to support them when they need it. Insecure forms of attachment include avoidant attachment (eg as a baby, not responding to parent, not caring if parent leaves the room, reacting to stranger in same way as parent). There is also resistant attachment (eg clinging to parent, failing to explore environment, being angry with parent if they leave room), and disorganised attachment (confused, contradictory behavioural pattern with flat, depressed emotion).
Preschoolers who as babies who were securely attached have longitudinally been found to show more enthusiasm, flexibility and problem solving skills. At age 4, these kids were rated by their kindy teachers as having higher self esteem, as more socially competent, cooperative, popular and empathetic. The insecurely attached kids were seen as more disruptive and difficult. So attachment may have been a factor with this boy in the book.
Of course, attachment is only one part of the picture. Perhaps this boy was born with a temperament with a tendancy to be withdrawn, short-tempered, thin-skinned or depressed. This temperament in itself may have meant that he was more at risk of aggressive behaviour. Over time, due to his attachment, temperament and environmental factors, he may have been at greater risk of experiencing more negative situations (eg bullying), which may have added to his anger/frustration at the world and probably himself. Also, if he was going through a stressful life event just prior to the killings, this may have been enough for him to go ahead and plan the massacre.
Anyway, just some thoughts...an interesting topic Selina, I might have a look at the book!
Thanks for the comments guys. I've never read a Jodi Picoult book, but they sound like they're worth checking out.
It's also really interesting to hear a psychological analysis of behaviour. Really reminds me that we can be viewed as complex machines, and a comment by Richard Dawkins regarding jail, etc as punishment for a crime. His opinion (paraphrased) is that when you start thinking about people as complex machines, then you should view crimes as the machine being broken, and as an indication that repair is needed. This is not to absolve the individual of responsibility, but to remove the revenge component of crime punishments. (I'm not sure whether I totally agree with his position or not)
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