Charles Manson Essay

Charles Manson Essay
The 1960s were a volatile era of social and political turbulence – a majority of which was centered in
culturally progressive areas (San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, etc.). In 1969, Charles Manson,
an American criminal, rose to infamy with his orchestration of seven gruesome murders in Los
Angeles, California. What's even more shocking than the murder scenes, was the fact that Manson
did not perpetrate any of the murders himself, but instead convinced others to commit the crimes for
him: the murderers had been done by the Manson Family, a cult Manson himself had created.
Manson's total control over his followers marked him as a manipulative and cunning psychopath,
however the development of his cult was largely due to the 1960s...show more content...
In addition, these criminals have affected our public perception to view them as popular figures
rather than for the violent acts they have committed (Schmid 4). By buying their merchandise,
watching their movies and treating them as celebrities, society no longer sees the killer – they see
the mask, hence alternating our perception to judge if a killer is 'good' or 'bad'. That is to say,
serial killers are psychopaths that shouldn't be idolized. Although some serial killers react to social
changes, society has a reaction to all serial culture.
In order to understand how serial killers are affected by social changes, one must understand their
psyche. Aserial killer is "sexually motivated but the underlying reason is power" (Newton 197). The
killer wants power over his victims. Serial killing, itself, is a "distinctly modern phenomenon, a
product of relatively recent social and cultural conditions to which criminologists can provide fresh
insight by accentuating the broad institutional frameworks, motivations, and opportunity structures
within which serial killing occurs" (Haggerty and Ellerbrok 6). According to John E. Douglas,
co–author of Mindhunters, the reason that murders committed by serial killers, at first blush, seem
to be senseless crimes is because serial killers are often "motivated by a strong emotional feeling"
(Dokterman), such as hate, vengeance, or regret. FBI agents have identified domination,
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Charles Manson Charles Manson has been named "the most dangerous man alive." Society
referred to him as the devil. They believed he was the reason society was so bad in the 1960's. The
1950's to the 1960's was uncontrollably filled with violence. Our culture was shattered by the
assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Senator Robert F.
Kennedy. At the same time, body bags from Vietnam were building up from a war that was tearing
our nation apart. Riots and antiwar protesters marched across America. Many people worried that the
US was getting out of control. "The Sixties ended abruptly on August 9, 1969..." wrote Didon in The
White Album. On August 8,1969, director Roman Polaski's housekeeper found...show more content...
At the age of twenty–six Charles Manson was sent to the US penitentiary. By 1959 Charles had been
committed of rape, drug use, pimping, stealing, and fraud. Manson was emotionally insecure and
was lacking attention. Manson had obsessions with music; the Beatles and his guitar. He hoped
that in his future he would be employed in the music business. (UMKC) On March 21,1967,
Charles was released from prison for the second time. The 32 year old went to San Francisco.
Charles Manson protested his freedom, "Oh no, I can't go outside there..." "I know I won't be
able to adjust to the world, not after I spent all of my life locked up and my mind was free. I am
content to stay in the penitentiary, just to take my walks around the yard in the sunshine and play
my guitar." The prison guards ignored Manson and unleashed the evil man into society once again.
For Charles Manson, religion was a strong force that he used to manipulate the minds of his
followers. When Charles was 34 he decided he wanted a family. Charles started to attract a group of
followers, many of whom were young women with troubled lives, rebelling against their parents and
society. All ofCharlie's followers were weak willed people who were naГЇve, gullible, and easy to
lead. Manson used LSD and amphetamines to alter his followers personalities. (Manson) Manson's
"family" referred to Charles as "God" or "Jesus Christ." The family traveled around California trying
to find

Charles Manson Manson
The 1960s was a decade of revolution focusing on establishing peace and love throughout the
world. Throughout these ten years many social and cultural changes occurred leaving the United
States to be young and vibrant. In 1969 much of the youth was embraced in the "Summer of
Love" focusing on peace, love, and peaceful protests. Individuals were advocating for their
personal beliefs in a way they never did before. However this all came to a crashing end in August
when eight influential individuals were found murdered in their own homes. On August 9, actress
Sharon Tate, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, and Jay Sebring were found at Tate's home and
one day later, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were found murdered in the same brutal fashion. In
1971 jurors found cult leader Charles Manson and three of his followers guilty of all murders and
was sentenced to life imprisonment. This would have been Manson's third imprisonment. Although
Manson was a sadistic psychopath, he was heavily influenced by music, especially the Beatles. Cult
followers claim Manson often quoted "the Beatles and the Bible", as he believed that the Beatles
were prophets of God. In turn, many songs from The White Album and the Beatles themselves
drastically played into Manson's perspective on life and eventually the Tate–LaBianca murders of
1969. Charles Manson lived a difficult childhood. With a fifteen–year–old mother who was sent
away to prison when he was four, Manson quickly developed a narcissistic

An Assessment of
Charles Manson: Two Points of View on a Killer's Personality
Crystal L. Boyanski
Columbia College
Abstract
There are many theories about what shapes an individual's personality and when following these
approaches, sense can be made of a certain person's behavior. Charles Manson is a well–known
serial killer whose personality is reflective of two specific personality theorists' views. Sigmund
Freud, whose psychosexual stages of development could explain some of the traits held by Manson.
Karen Horney was another theorist whose views on childhood love and nurturing, or lack of it, could
explain Charles Manson's personality. Gathered information on...show more content...
Charles Manson ended up on the streets and this led to his life of crime. By 1952, Charles had
spent 17 years, which was half his life, imprisoned. He had 8 assault charges already. While in
prison, Charles Manson was known as a model inmate and he even got released against his wishes
because he felt he could not adjust to the world. (Rosenberg, 2009) He also fathered two children,
one by his ex wife and one by another woman.
In the 1960's, Manson gathered hundreds of followers which he called "The Family." They lived
on a deserted ranch. Most of Manson's followers were impressionable young females and he used
LSD and amphetamines to help manipulate and convince them to act out his wishes. He slowly
broke down his follower's beliefs and made them believe that he was Jesus and that a race war
was impending. Eventually Manson's most loyal followers carried out his acts of violence and left
seven people dead. In 1969, police raided the ranch on suspicions of vandalism, unaware of the
murders committed until after the arrests. Charles Manson has been labeled "The Icon of Evil."
(Rosenberg, 2009)
Charles Manson had a long history of neglect and abandonment since his childhood and this may
have played a role in the development of his personality. The psychoanalytic analysis could argue
that since he spent his childhood and feeling he had no control of his life due to the instability, this
could have led to his personality traits.

A family of killers that swarmed California in the late 60s. This is no ordinary family. This family is
lead by the notorious cult leader and manipulator mastermind Charles Manson. With his followers:
Charles "Tex" Watson, Bobby Beausoleil, Mary Brunner, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, Patricia
Krenwinkel, Bernard Crowe, Leslie Van Houten, and Steve Grogan. This family would brutally kill
innocent people they brought a reign of terror to California. (Crimemuseum)
Born November 12th, 1934 Charles Manson would become one of the most notorious killers of his
time. Before Manson was even born the family he was going to be in was not a good one. Manson's
mother was a runaway named Kathleen Maddox. She got pregnant with Charles at the age...show
more content...
He started with working with very successful musicians The Beach Boys. He wrote music for
them and it was recorded and played by The Beach Boys. But not long after Manson would be back
on a life of crime starting a hippy cult entitled "The Family." This family would brutally murder
individuals and send terror to everyone across the world. (Crimemuseum)
The first killing was the murder of The Manson Family friend Gary Hinman. Gary would let
members of the Manson family stay over at his place. Manson needed money and he sent three of
his members Beausoleil, Mary Brunner, and Susan Atkins over to Gary's house try and to convince
him to give them money. Gary didn't cooperate and the three members of the family kept Gary
hostage for days. Manson came with a sword and cut off Gary's left ear. Eventually Beausoleil
ended up murdering Gary Hinman by stabbing him with a knife twice in the chest. Once he was
done he wrote on the wall with Gary's blood the words "Political Piggy" and but a Black Panthers
paw right next to it. Beausoleil soon after was caught and arrested. He was found in the Gary's car
sleeping wearing the same bloody clothing that we car during the murder. The murder weapon was
also found. It was concealed in the trunk tire. (Crimemuseum)
The second murder, in a semi–isolated location located in the canyons of Beverly Hills is where the
pregnant girlfriend of famous director Roman Polanski. On that night she was

On the morning of August 9, 1969, three LAPD officers arrived at 10050 Cielo Drive (Bugliosi 7).
The scene that awaited them was horrendous. In the driveway, in a parked car, the body of Steven
Parent was found. He was shot four times and stabbed once. Laying about eighteen or twenty feet
past the front door of the house, Voytek Frykowski had been shot twice, beaten over the head with a
blunt object thirteen times, and stabbed fifty–one times. Also discovered on the lawn was coffee
heiress Abigail Folger, stabbed twenty–eight times. Inside the home, in the living room, were the
bodies of Jay Sebring and Sharon Tate. Sebring, a hair stylist, had been stabbed seven times and shot
once, dying of exsanguination. Tate, who was eight...show more content...
45). The highest level of awareness in Scientology is called "theta clear." Manson claims to have
reached theta clear while in prison. He supposedly achieved this through many "auditing sessions,"
the method that Scientologists use to teach awareness, taught by his cell mate, Lanier Rayner
(Bugliosi 195–196). Most likely, he picked up many of his methods of mind control from these
sessions, along with ideas such as karma and reincarnation (635). The Process Church of the Final
Judgment, labeled a Satanist cult by the media, was founded in 1963 by Robert DeGrimston, a
former Scientologist. The basis of this religion was the book of Matthew of the New Testament,
and it began as a mixture of Zoroastrianism and Scientology. The name "The Process" refers to the
"changes necessary to avoid the end of the world with its associated judgment." Processeans worship
Jehovah, Lucifer, and Satan ("Process" par.17). Even though The Process fervently denies that
Charles Manson was ever a member, many ideas from his philosophy parallel Process concepts.
Both Manson and The Process taught of a violent and unavoidable Armageddon in which all but the
few chosen ones would be destroyed, and both thought that motorcycle gangs would be the "troops
of the last days." One Process pamphlet described the second coming of

Charles Manson Speech
Most people don't remember that day because it never affected them, and though some people have
chosen not to remember, others are still shaken by the events of that day. What makes that day
memorable? Was it Charles Manson on trial for the Helter Skelter murders, or Ronald Reagan
beginning his second term as governor of California? This is my story, an average eight–year–old
toe headed blond, Southern California boy (a real charmer) just beginning his day. That morning
started like any other morning, with my sleep being broken by RRRRRRRRRing,
RRRRRRRRRing, RRRRRRRRRing. Unconsciously I reached over and flipped the switch on the
top of the alarm to the opposite position, thereby turning off the infernal ringing. The alarm was not
a clock radio,...show more content...
Adults and children alike began congregating in the center of the street, the adrenaline and shock of
the preceding moments subsided and one by one stories of near death experiences, bravery,
heroism, and survival emerged. About the neighborhood were the ruins of an ancient civilization, or
the aftermath of a bomb dropped by a phantom jet. Sides of houses lay fallen, crumbled and broken
on the ground, block walls that once demarcated each property were toppled. Up the street the large
two–story's second floor shifted by more than a foot. It was surreal to walk into the bedroom and
see a bed wedged at an unnatural angle against the outer wall, its headboard all that kept its lucky
occupants from plunging to the grass below. Water was scarce, and there was no running water for
what felt like months. Whenever the water did run, though the use of the word run would imply
movement, I think the term oozed aptly describes the action the rust colored muck took when it
would appear from the tap. On a larger scale, the dam above the valley had cracked, I recall on the
news a structural engineer commented "if the ground shook for another two seconds the dam would
have ruptured and many more would have lost their

Charles Manson Essay

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Charles Manson Essay