Scotty Joe Walters’ sexual sadism in Beverly Barton’s Close Enough to Kill

ABSTRACT

Literature is the impression as human experiences such as novel that emerges character by its author. Therefore, understanding characters need to learn psychology which can explain the behavior. Literary psychology is an analyzing of text by combining the role of psychology.

Close Enough to Kill is the story about a brutal rapper and murderer. Then, he kidnaps his victims without any forcing. Before he rapes his victims, he tortures them. The strange thing is his position as a secret admirer. He woos them with beautiful flattery, phone calls, love letters, and special gift. His desire in dominating them is form of taking revenge against. Then, he shows his domination by torturing and raping. After swallowing, he kills them. He shows his sadistic characteristics. In this case, he describes he does not have his freedom again. Then, he thinks he will get his freedom right when his loneliness is released by dominating another person. It is shown from his sadism.

In this study, the researcher formulates two research problems; how are the symptoms and causes of Scotty Joe, main character s sadism. To answer the problems, the researcher analyzes his sadism seen from Erich Fromm theory, escape from freedom and social unconsciousness. His theory explains whoever in escape from freedom, authoritarianism, is influenced by his families and types of personality.

Based on the analysis, the researcher concludes that Joe has five sadism symptoms. They are; Joe uses physical torturing such as raping, Joe takes revenge against other women as a representation of his enmity, his love expression is for his dominating way, his symbiotic families background influences his thought of controlling and threatening someone, and his personality is included in exploitative orientation that he often forces and threatens his victims to do what he wants. Then, the researcher has three conclusions of Joe s sadism causes. They are; Joe s sadism is caused by his deep traumatic experience, his symbiotic families shapes he must be loved, and his personality trades on his obsession in loving as a form of his enmity.