what happens in the end, John Doe kills Tracy for not following his will . “I
tri ed to play husband…, but it didn‟t work out. So, I took a souvenir… Her
pretty head” Walker, 1994: 117.
2. Sadistic
The second characteristic of John Doe is sadistic. He is proven to be a sadistic person in the way he kills his victims. It shows obviously that he gives
no mercy to the victims. These sadistic murders for people who offend of each sin are divided into five parts based on how John Doe kills five victims.
i. Gluttony victim
In the first case, he kills an obese man. John Doe forces him to eat a big plate of spaghetti. It is obvious how John Doe murders the man through
the dialogues between one character and another character to describe John Doe‟s action Zanjani, 2006: 69. This description of John Doe‟s characteristic
happens through conversations among Mills, Doctor Santiago, and Somerset when they are in autopsy room. They describe how sadistic murder that is
done by John Doe. SANTIAGO
Are you looking here? First… see how big this stomach is. And, see the strange thing. Stretches. And, here it is
distended. Look at the size of that, because of all the foods.
MILLS I can see what you‟re pointing at, but…
SANTIAGO Lines of distention across the stomach, and parts have
ripped open.
SOMERSET disbelief
Doctor, are you saying… this man ate till he burst?
SANTIAGO Well, he didn‟t really burst. Not all the way. But, he was
bleeding inside himself, and there is a hematoma on the outside, on the belly. Very large. Walker, 1994: 15
John Doe makes the obese man finish the spaghetti until his own stomach rejects them and bleeds inside. The stomach is forcibly swollen. There is also
a big hematoma on the outside of the obese man‟s belly and swelling in his throat. Even, John Doe is not only finished with his cruelty to make the obese
man bursting his own stomach, but also he completes the murder with a kicking on the obese man‟s stomach until it causes a huge hematoma on the
surface of the stomach. SOMERSET
…The victim‟s throat was swollen from the effort, and there was probably a point where he passed out. That‟s
when killer kicked him in the stomach. Popped him. Walker, 1994: 18
Another indication of his sadistic murder is that there are some bruises on the v
ictim‟s head caused by a mouth of the gun which is a type of forty- five. The killer threatens an obese man to keep eating the spaghetti or be
killed. SOMERSET
The bruises were caused by the muzzle of a forty-five. So, there was a gun against his head and he was given a choice.
Eat, or get your brains blown out. Walker, 1994: 18
ii. Greed victim
In the second case, John Doe kills a prominent lawyer named Mr. Eli Gould in his apartment.
It is obvious through Walker‟s narration and conversation between Mills and Somerset in Mills‟ apartment; they are
investigating about how John Doe kills the lawyer by paying attention on photos of the crime scene.
Mills picks up one photo and shows it to Somerset. Long shot: it shows the greed murder scene. Gould sits dead in the leather chair, near the
desk where the counter-balance scale sits.
MILLS Gould was tied down, nude. The killer left his arms free
and handed him a big, sharp butcher‟s knife. See… the scale here.
Mills pulls another photo. Close up: the two-armed scale. In one suspended plate is a one pound weight. In the other is a hunk of flesh.
SOMERSET A pound of flesh.
Walker, 1994: 38 John Doe murders Gould indirectly by giving him an order to excise his own
flesh as weight as one pound to balance the scale. This murder seems sadistic because John Doe feels no objection to watch his victim suffers.
iii. Sloth victim
In the third case of murder by John Doe, it is found the body of s loth‟s
victim. It is showed in the narration of the screenplay toward the action of character of California
, one of police members when he enters Victor‟s apartment the victim of sloth.
He pulls the sheets off the bed and reveals the shriveled, sore-covered form of a man who is blindfolded and tied to the bed with a thin wire
which has been wrapped time and time again around the mattress and
bed frame. Tubes runs out from a stained loincloth around the man‟s waist and snake under the bed.
California points with his gun to the end of the man‟s right arm. The hand is gone, severed at the wrist long ago. Walker, 1994: 53
John Doe cuts Victor‟s right hand at the wrist area and ties him with a wire on his bed for a long time. Victor is tied in blindfolded condition and he is not
allowed to get up from his bed, so John Doe puts tubes for Victor‟s urine. It is sadistic
because John Doe lets Victor‟s body get wrinkled or dried and looks painful. There are some photos of Victor tied to the bed; John Doe does this
action intentionally to make the victim suffers not only in short time, but for one year
“…it‟s dated one year ago. To the day.” Walker, 1994: 54.
iv. Lust victim
The next victim of John Doe is a prostitute. It is showed in the way the narrator tells the story and the conversations among the Crazed Man, Mills,
Cop, and Somerset when they are in investigation in a hot house massage parlor in the red room. John Doe kills a prostitute by using the Crazed Man,
commands him to have sex with her by wearing a knife-underpants. CRAZED MAN
He had a gun He made me do it CRAZED MAN
Take this thing off me… take it off Please, take this thing off me Walker, 1994: 85
CRAZED MAN Get it off… Oh, God
SWEATING COP to Mills and Somerset
You‟re the detectives, right? Right? Well, you better see this
SWEATING COP Hey… you better see what‟s strapped onto this guy
Walker, 1994: 86
In the sanatorium, white room, there is one way conversation between Somerset and Crazed Man. On the desk, there is a photograph of a costume
which is worn by the Crazed Man while doing intimacy with the prostitute. A Polaroid photograph on a white table. It is the photo Wild Bill gave
to Mills. It‟s a picture of a belt, made with extra leather straps so it can be worn securely around the groin. It is a strap-on phallus, except there
is no plastic protuberance. Instead, there is a metal knife – it‟s strap-on
butcher‟s knife. CRAZED MAN
She was… she was on the bed. She was just sitting on the bed.
SOMERSET Who tied her down? You or him?
CRAZED MAN He had a gun. He had a gun… and he made it happen. He
made me do it MORE Walker, 1994: 86 CRAZED MAN
cont‟d sobbing
He made me put that… that thing on. Oh, Christ He made me wear it… and… and he told me to fuck her. He had the
gun in my mouth. Walker, 1994: 87
John Doe forces while pointing a gun to the Crazed Man to rape the prostitute by strapping the metal blade knife around his phallus. His sadistic action is
pretty obvious to let the prostitute feel the pain, suffers from the butcher knife, while he uses another person the Crazed Man to release his sadism.
v. Pride victim
In another case, the sadistic characteristic of John Doe is showed in the way he murders a beautiful woman embodied sin of pride. John Doe
slices her nose, and gives her choices whether call for help but she will not be
