Seven deadly sins and the psychopathic behavior of John Doe in Andrew Kevin Walker`s Seven screenplay.

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SEVEN DEADLY SINS AND THE PSYCHOPATHIC

BEHAVIOR OF JOHN DOE

IN ANDREW KEVIN WALKER’S

SEVEN SCREENPLAY

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

In English Letters

By

KEZIA KINANTHI KASIH

Student Number: 094214032

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2013


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i

SEVEN DEADLY SINS AND THE PSYCHOPATHIC

BEHAVIOR OF JOHN DOE

IN ANDREW KEVIN WALKER’S

SEVEN SCREENPLAY

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

In English Letters

By

KEZIA KINANTHI KASIH

Student Number: 094214032

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2013


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SEVEN

DEADLY

SINS AFID THE

PSYCHOPATIIIC

BEHAVIOR

OF JOIIN DOE

IN AI\DREW

KEVIN

WALKER'S

SEWN

SCREEI\IPLAY

-Rd

Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani S.S.. M.Hum. Co-Advisor


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SEVEN

DEADLY

SINS AND THN PSYCHOPATHIC

BEHAYIOR

OF JOHN DOE

IN

AI\IDREW

KEVIN WALKER'S SEVEN

SCREENPLAY

By

KEZIA KINAIYTHI KAStrI

Student Number: 094214032

Defended before the Bomd ofExaminers on Septentber 2,2013

and Declared Acceptable

BOARD OF EXAMII\ERS

Name Chairperson Secretary

Member I

Member2 Member 3

Signntu*

I

..

Dr.F.X.siswadiM.A. F

Dra. A. B. SriMulyani, M.A.,

Ph.D. t W

J. Harris Hermansyah S., s.S.,

M.Hum.

#Ltl U -XA

P. Sarwoto, S.S., M.4., Ph.D.

Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum.

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llxatr$

Yogyakarta, August 30, 20 I 3.

Faculty of Letters

Sanata Dharma University


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STATEMENT

OF ORIGINALITY

This undergraduate thesis is submitted for the degree of Sorjana Sastra in the

Faculty of Letem at the Sanata Dharma University. The work contained in this

undergraduate thesis has not been previously subrritted for a degree or diploma at any other higlrer education institution. To tre best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except wherc due references are made.

Yogyakarta, Septeinber 4, 2013

Wr--

/r

KeziaKinanthi Kasih


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KEPENTINGAI\I AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:

Nama

:KeziaKhanthi Kasih NomorMahasiswa :094214032

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

SEVEN DEAI}LY SINS AI\[D TIIE PSYCHOPATIIIC BEHVIOR OT JOHN DOE IN AITDREW KEVIN WALKER'S SEWN SCREEI{PLAY.

Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan

kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dhamra hak

untuk

menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan datao mendistribusikan se,caf,a terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Intenret atau

media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta

ijin

dari saya

maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya

sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal : 4 September 2013

Yang menyatakan


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vi

However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived:

the things God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 C o r i n t h i a n s 2 : 9


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vii

For my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sugiono my brother, Yoshua

my sister, Naomi with love


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viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Apart from Jesus’s blessing for giving me faith and strength, the completion of this undergraduate thesis also depends on the people that give me encouragements and guidelines. I take this opportunity to show my gratitude to them. I would like to express my special thanks to Mr. Sarwoto for being such a great thesis advisor. I can not say thank you enough for his comments, remarks, and ideas through the process of this undergraduate thesis. Furthermore, I would also like to offer my gratitude to my co-advisor, Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani to give me constructive comments.

I also owe a great appreciation to my academic advisors, Tatang Iskarna, S.S., M. Hum. and Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M. Hum. Special thanks to Dewi Widyastuti for the help she gave me relating to this study. Then, special appreciation to all the lecturers of English Department for the trust and support during my study in Sanata Dharma University. My appreciation also goes to all the staff of Sanata Dharma University for helping my administration.

I would like to thank Pita, Febi, and Mov. Discussion with them have been illuminating. To my best friends, Dori, Aul, Pucil, Gita, Lia, Kepiks and all of the class 2009 for giving me such a wonderful experience.

Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my parents, brother, and sister, they are always there to cheer me up when I feel down.


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ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ………... i

APPROVAL PAGE ……… ii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE ……….. iii

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ... iv

PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... v

MOTTO PAGE……… vi

DEDICATION PAGE ………. vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……… viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……… ix

ABSTRACT ………. xi

ABSTRAK ……… xii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ……… 1

A. Background of the Study ………. 1

B. Problem Formulation ……… 5

C. Objectives of the Study ……… 6

D. Definition of Terms ……….. 6

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ………. 8

A. Review of Related Studies ……….. 8

B. Review of Related Theories ………. 12

1. Theory of Character ... 12

2. Concept of Psychopath ... 16

3. Theory of Psychoanalysis ... 21

4. Precept of Seven Deadly Sins ... 24

C. Theoretical Framework ……… 25

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ……….. 26

A. Object of the Study ………. 26

B. Approach of the Study ……… 27

C. Method of the Study ………... 28

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ……… 30

A. Characteristics of John Doe ………. 30

1. Loner ... 31

2. Sadistic ... 35

3. Selfish and Egocentric ... 41

4. Bookworm ... 43


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x

6. Clever ... 45

7. Methodical ... 50

B. The Psychopathic Behavior of John Doe Related to Seven Deadly Sins ....………. 52

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ………... 67

BIBLIOGRAPHY ……… 71


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xi

ABSTRACT

Kezia Kinanthi Kasih (2013): Seven Deadly Sins and John Doe’s Psychopathic Behavior in Andrew Kevin Walker’s Seven Screenplay. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

Seven was written in 1994. This story is about a serial killer named John

Doe who murders people by using a religious precept called seven deadly sins. The focus of this study is the character, John Doe who suffers a mental disorder which is psychopathy. It is interesting to analyze the character of John Doe because he takes a concept of religion which is formed basically to be a moral teaching into a concept of murder.

There are two problems to be discussed. The first one is the characteristics of John Doe. The second problem deals with his characteristics which reveal the characteristics of a psychopath and its relation to seven deadly sins.

In order to accomplish this study, the writer applies two methods which are divided into primary and secondary references. The screenplay, Seven by

Andrew Kevin Walker is the primary source. Meanwhile, the secondary references involve library researches and internet sources which help the writer to collect data and information related to the study. The approach which is used is a psychoanalytic approach which is related to John Doe’s unconscious mind.

The result of this study shows that John Doe is a psychopath who is showed through the most of his characteristics which tend to reveal psychopathic characteristics. His psychopathic behavior leads him to be a serial killer. John

Doe’s unconsciousness drives him to do redemption to the people in the city he lives by taking a religious precept, seven deadly sins as his motivation. John Doe feels frustrated to see seven deadly sins which are gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy, and wrath every day, everywhere, in every corner of the street, and in every home in the city. His choice to do those homicides portrays his disappointment to God for not doing any punishment to the sinners in the city he lives in the same way He does to the people in Sodom and Gomorrah. In the result, his psychopathic behavior causes abnormal minds and actions which bring him to do sadistic and unusual ways to murder people by taking seven deadly sins as the root of evil deeds.


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xii

ABSTRAK

Kezia Kinanthi Kasih (2013): Seven Deadly Sins and John Doe’s Psychopathic Behavior in Andrew Kevin Walker’s Seven Screenplay. Yogyakarta: Jurusan

Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Seven ditulis pada tahun 1994. Ini bercerita tentang seorang pembunuh

berantai bernama John Doe yang membunuh orang orang dengan menggunakan sebuah ajaran agama yang dinamakan tujuh dosa kematian. Titik pusat dari studi ini adalah karakter John Doe yang menderita sebuah sakit mental yaitu psikopati. Sangatlah menarik untuk menganalisis karakter dari John Doe karena dia menggunakan sebuah konsep religi yang pada dasarnya dibentuk sebagai sebuah ajaran moral menjadi sebuah konsep pembunuhan.

Ada dua permasalahan yang dibahas dalam studi ini. Permasalahan pertama adalah karakteristik John Doe. Permasalahan yang kedua berkaitan dengan karakteristik John Doe yang mengungkapkan karakteristik dari seorang psikopat dan hubungannya dengan tujuh dosa kematian.

Dalam rangka menyelesaikan studi ini, penulis mengaplikasikan dua metode yang dibagi menjadi sumber utama dan sumber pendukung. Naskah film,

Seven oleh Andrew Kevin Walker adalah sumber utama. Sementara, sumber

pendukung melibatkan studi pustaka dan sumber internet yang membantu penulis untuk mengumpulkan data dan informasi berkaitan dengan studi ini. Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah pendekatan psikoanalitik yang berhubungan dengan motivasi John Doe dalam menggunakan tujuh dosa kematian untuk membunuh.

Hasil dari studi ini menunjukkan bahwa John Doe adalah seorang psikopat yang ditunjukkan lewat sebagian besar karakteristiknya yang mengarah pada karakteristik psikopat. Tingkah laku psikopatnya menjadikan dia seorang pembunuh berantai. Ketidaksadaran John Doe mendorongnya untuk melakukan penebusan kepada orang-orang di kota dia tinggal dengan menggunakan sebuah aturan agama, tujuh dosa kematian sebagai motivasinya. John Doe merasa frustrasi melihat tujuh dosa kematian yaitu kerakusan, ketamakan, kemalasan, nafsu, kesombongan, iri hati, dan kemarahan yang terdapat di setiap hari, di mana-mana, di setiap pojok jalanan, dan di setiap rumah di kota itu. Pilihannya dalam melakukan pembunuhan tersebut menggambarkan kekecewaannya kepada Tuhan karena tidak melakukan adanya hukuman kepada para pendosa di kota itu seperti yang Dia lakukan kepada orang-orang di Sodom dan Gomorah. Pada akhirnya, tingkah laku psikopat dari John Doe mengakibatkan pemikiran dan tindakan yang tidak normal yang membawanya melakukan cara membunuh yang kejam dan tidak biasa dengan menggunakan tujuh dosa kematian sebagai akar dari perbuatan-perbuatan jahat.


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1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Literary work is one of media which gives us sense of pleasure, improves our knowledge, increases experiences, and also teaches moral values in our life. It consists of plot, theme, conflict, setting, point of view, message, and tone. However, the most influential element in literary work is characters. Characters in literary works have been described in different ways. In Abrams

and Harpham’s A Glossary of Literary Terms, a character is “sketch in prose

of a distinctive type of person” (2009:42). As in real life, literary works have similar ways to describe characters through human characteristics. In order to be interesting and understandable, the characters are potrayed as real as human beings. As stated in The Art of Watching Films:

To be interesting, characters must seem real, understandable, and worth caring about. For the most part, the characters in a story are believable in the same way that the story is believable; in other words, they either conform to the laws of probability and necessity (by reflecting externally observable truths about human nature), conform to some inner truth (man as we want him to be), or they are made to seem real by the covincing art of the actor (Boggs, 1978: 43).

Literary works are included novels, poetry, and play. However, there is a screenplay which is also one of literary works. Literature has two basic characteristics that are narrative and fictional (Zanjani, 2006: 8). Since screenplay brings these two characteristics (narrative and fictional), then it can be concluded as a work of literature (Zanjani, 2006: 9). As Zanjani stated in


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Screenplay: Movie Script or Literature? that screenplay also has elements

which obtain in novel and play but they are different from novel or other works of literature in the way of writing.

As a "narrative" and "fictional" writing, the screenplay like [sic] the novel and play, carries all the required elements for an "artistic language," it has plot, it has character, it has dialogue, it has description and it has "thought." But the way these elements work within the format of the screenplay, both individually and collectively, are different from those of the other narrative writings (Zanjani, 2006: 9).

Screenplay is also named as blueprints of finished movie which is not similar with stage play, prose or poetry and more instant structure lacking of complex method. As Nelmes stated in Analysing the Screenplay:

…the screenplay is considered merely the first stage towards the final product, the feature film, and therefore not on a creative par with the stage play, prose or poetry, which are more immediate creative forms with a less complex production process (2011: 1).

The writer chooses a screenplay because it is more direct rather than novel. As we could see in novel, the author has freedom to extent the lines without any limitation. Different from novelist, the screenwriter is allowed to convey his writing on particular set such as one page has to cover one minute shot, “a page of script is equivalent to a minute of screen time” (Nelmes, 2011: 204). The setting descriptions in screenplay are also written in short forms such as INT to abbreviate interior, EXT for exterior, and setting of time; NIGHT, DAY, or MORNING. Therefore, the screenplay is made to be more efficient in conveying the information through images. For example:

INT. CAB -- NIGHT

Somerset throws his suitcase in and shuts the door behind him. CAB DRIVER


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(about the crowd)

What’s the big fuss?

Somerset looks out at the crowd, looks at the driver. SOMERSET

Why do you care? CAB DRIVER (under his breath)

Well, excuse me all to hell. (Walker, 1994: 3)

It is interesting to analyze screenplay by seeing the character’s speech, not only observing the narration, since most of the content of screenplay is dialogues. The screenplay dialogues appear to be everyday conversation in order to help the reader to understand the contents of the text as living life.

“Because screenplay dialogue is constructed to give the impression of how people talk in real life it often appears to be inarticulate and lacking in complexity (Nelmes, 2011: 218)”. Since, it takes daily conversation; screenplay dialogue is used to cover real theme or meaning of the text. For instance, in real life, humans usually do not say directly what they mean and try to disguise it and having intended meaning (Nelmes, 2011: 229-230). In addition, it does not produce long narrations as the novel does. Along with its efficiency on telling information, the writer believes that screenplay is able to create a lot of underlying motives to the meaning.

In a screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker entitled Seven, there is a

character that becomes a focus on the analysis of this study in which the writer has explained previously that character is the most influential element of literary works. John Doe, the character, is described as a psychopath who murders people by using seven deadly sins as his motivation. Psychopath itself


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is one of deviant behaviors that is described as the most unsympathetic, remorseless, and “pure criminal” (Rimm and Somervill, 1977: 333).

Psychopaths lack of love, loyalty, and empathy which means that they do not

care if a child is left alone in an empty house or a friend’s credit cards are

stolen, they are able to ignore all of that matters (Alloy, Riskind, and Manos, 2005: 292).

What makes this study interesting is a concept of religion which is basically made to be a moral teaching to make a good life instead of conversed to be the main reason to kill people. Most of religions teach some moral values, such as bad things and good things in which the writer believes that most religions or beliefs have similar lists of do’s and don’ts in life. Yet, there are some people who misinterpret religion itself. They have different perspectives on the precepts of belief. They sometimes blend their personal desires into religion and cause some distinctive interpretations. Religion itself

has important roles to form human’s characteristics. In addition, if their interpretations are far from what people believe in general, it may influence on their characteristics to be different from others. Values and beliefs are not determined generally in every person, so we cannot say that people have the same thought in taking steps on the relationships with others, how to act toward the superior, the explanation of main matter, and also the particular way he or she explains something. As stated by Kalish in The Psychology of Human Behavior that:

Each person has a set of values and beliefs that affect his feeling about and behavior toward a supreme being, his relationships with people,


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his definition of his ultimate concern, and his method of explaining the unknown (1973: 388).

As already explained, people have their own perception to understand their own religion, John Doe chooses his own perspective on seven deadly sins to be used to murder people and determines to perform it as his motivation.

In this study, the writer analyzes the reason why John Doe uses a religious concept, seven deadly sins, to murder people and its significant relation to his psychopathic behavior. To know deeper about how seven deadly sins are used by John Doe as his motivation of murders and its relation to his psychopathics behavior, it is really important to do research on Seven

screenplay that is written by Andrew Kevin Walker. The character of John Doe as the psychopath is the object of this research to understand the characteristics of psychopath which is related to the possible reasons for using religious precept, seven deadly sins to his murders.

B. Problem Formulation

Based on the background, the writer formulates two problems that will be discussed in this study:

1. How is the character of John Doe described?

2. How do John Doe’s characteristics reveal psychopathic behaviors in relation to a religious precept, seven deadly sins?


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C. Objectives of the Study

The purpose of doing this research is to find out the relation between seven deadly sins and John Doe’s psychopathic behavior. This research has two main objectives. The first is by seeing the characteristics of John Doe. The second question, the writer observes the characteristics of John Doe which reveal the characteristics of psychopath and the relation of using seven deadly sins to commit murders.

D. Definition of Terms

There are three terms that should be defined in this study in order to avoid misunderstanding on the undergraduate thesis. The first one is seven deadly sins. The original seven deadly sins precept comes from the bible verse, Proverbs 6: 16-19 which declares:

“There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to

Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a man who stirs up dissension

among brothers.”

In the 6th century, Pope Gregory introduced seven deadly sins as pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth (http://www.gotquestions.org/seven-deadly-sins.html). In God’s Plan, Aspenleiter states that seven capital sins or seven deadly sins are pride, avarice (greed), lust, envy, anger, gluttony, and sloth which bring something disastrous in their influence (1959: 208).


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The writer finds two descriptions of what psychopathic behavior is. In

Coleman’s Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life: Third Edition, it is stated

that “They are frequently trouble, profit little from experience or punishment,

and maintain no real loyalties to any person, group, or code. Such individuals are often called psychopathic personalities” (1964: 361). Psychopathic people

are described as danger by causing disaster, having no correlation with society, and also having difficulty to gain benefits on experiences or punishment.

In Introduction to Psychology: Eighth Edition; Atkinson, et al stated

that antisocial personalities which are also called psychopathic personalities show inability to be responsible, moral, or loyal for other people (1953: 479).

The last term is precept. In Hornby’s Oxford Advanced Learner’s

Dictionary of Current English Seventh Edition, precept is “a rule about how to


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8

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review of Related Studies

Seven screenplay is a story of two detectives who try to discover the

identity of a killer who uses the seven deadly sins for his homicide motivation. The killer named John Doe chooses seven deadly sins which are pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust; for making a serial murders and killing people whom he sees as embodiment of seven deadly sins.

Ebert who is a famous American movie critic, journalist, and also a screenwriter mentions on his article for Chicago Sun-Times in September 22, 1995 that:

The killer obviously intends his elaborate murders as moral statement. He embodies Evil. Like Hannibal Lecter, his character must be played by a strong actor who projects not merely villainy but twisted psychological complexities. Observe his face. Smug. Self-satisfied. Listen to his voice. Intelligent. Analytical. Mark his composure and apparent fearlessness.

(Seven 1995, http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article,

2011, July 18).

The killer, John Doe chooses to go to a complicated plan for his motivation of murder only to show the good and bad values toward the seven deadly sins precept. John Doe represents an evil villain with the characteristics of psychopath such as Hannibal Lecter. Hannibal Lecter is a fictional character from serial novels by Thomas Harris who portrays as a pure psychopath (Damon, 2011, http://hanniballecterapurepsychopath.blogspot.com/). He does


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not describe only his villain characteristics but also his unusual complicated personality. The character of John Doe personifies detailed, pleased with one-self, intelligent, calm, and fearless characteristics.

The writer decides to use movie criticism because movie is believed as the finished product of screenplay and interpretation of ideas of the text. To criticize a movie is not for one purpose how good or bad a new movie is. A movie critic who is professional has to find some researches in order to give the movie a proper context. For example, a complicated movie must have to be critiqued by using psychological analysis, socio-historical study or moral philosophical analysis, which means that a movie critic need to study how to analyze all the elements of the movie by using literary skills. Besides, a movie criticism evaluates a film not only based on the director‟s work, acting performances, casting, and editing, but also the work of the screenwriter on the screenplay as the basic quality of the movie that elaborate all movie elements. “A screenplay, remember, is a story told with pictures” (Field, 2005: 53).

A study related to psychopathic personality is taken from an undergraduate thesis by Fredy Wijaya entitled Psychopathic Personality as Seen in the Main Character of Richard Wright’s Black Boy: A Record of Childhood and Youth (2007: 44):

People with antisocial personality disorder like Richard Wright typically see the world as having the problems, not him or herself, and therefore rarely seek treatment. From the story, the writer thinks that the personality disorder which Richard Wright suffered; [sic] will not be cured by itself. He does not have to go to an institution to get some treatment. He just has to realize the condition of his environment and


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take it as the way that a life must be done. But the problem is many people who are suffering from this mental illness do not take themselves as the person who considered [sic] sick by the society.

Wijaya states that a person who is suffering from a symptom of psychopathic behavior usually has assumption that all his works are correct and those around him or her are the problems. In the story that is taken by Wijaya as his study, the character of Richard Wright seems like a psychopath who does not realize that he is suffering from a mental disorder and tries to blame the environment as the cause of troubles.

Another study related to psychopathic behavior is studied by Rizky Dwi Febrianto in his undergraduate thesis entitled The Character of Miss Waynflette as a Psychopath as Seen in Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy

(2012: 46):

The person‟s pattern of thinking and behavior significantly differ from the expectations of society and are so rigid that they interfere with the person‟s ability to function effectively. This is also something that make people often asking [sic] why and how the psychopathic can do that again and again without any regret and afraid of being in prison. There is something wrong with the way she thinks and solving problem. That is why psychopath cannot be included into criminal behavior.

In this study, Febrianto states that Miss Waynflette as a murderer has no feeling of remorse after killing people. The feeling of no regret describes the characteristic of psychopaths which is caused by the distinct way of their thought in seeing society or everything. Their distinct ways to think are different from people in general. They do not learn from the punishments which make them fearless to do such a horrible action more than once. Hence, the psychopaths are unable to be classified as criminal.


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From the three studies above, they have different foci in analysis. The first one explains how the religious precept, seven deadly sins, is taken by John Doe as central theme of John Doe‟s serial murders to clarify moralization and his characteristics which represent villainous psychopath. The second study explains that a psychopath chooses to blame the society or world as the problems for him or herself because he or she assumes that there is nothing wrong with the activity that he or she does. In other words, a psychopath has no guilty feeling. The last study taken from an undergraduate thesis focuses on the absence of remorse for murdering people. He explains that a psychopath as a type of mental disorders is unable to think or behave as other normal people do. Therefore the psychopaths cannot be included as criminal behavior because of their disability to think the significance of their situation, to experience the emotions, and also to obey the laws or rules. Thus, they are viewed as a deviant by the society.

Those three different studies explain in general the same topic which is mental disorder of psychopath. Based on the first study, the writer is able to take a conclusion that John Doe is perfectly able to portray an evil psychopath using seven deadly sins to murder as moral statement. Then, in the second study, Richard Wright suffers the similar mental disorder with John Doe as a psychopath and shows guiltless characteristics. The last study by Febrianto concludes that the character‟s psychopathic personality has a typical profile as a murderer which is similar with John Doe; Miss Waynflette has no remorse and has different way to think that drives her to keep killing


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people. Seeing the character of John Doe, he uses seven deadly sins which is a religious percept as his fundamental reason and motivation to kill people. This study is reasonable since all the facts to reveal his psychopathic behavior are considered.

On the other hand, this study has a different focus from the three studies above. None of them explains about the hidden related motivation of a psychopath using religious precept for killing people. The writer chooses to explore the dynamic of unconsciousness of John Doe why he uses the seven deadly sins as his motivation of murder through his psychopathic behavior. As a result, these three studies show the relevant topics to the study in the seven deadly sins as the motivation of murder and the psychopathic behavior of John Doe revealing his hidden relation.

B. Review of Related Theories

In this research of study, the writer applies two theories and two concepts. They are theory of character and characterization, concept of psychopath, theory of psychoanalysis, and concept of seven deadly sins.

1. Theory of Character

Character is one of elements which is important in literary genre. It is represented in short word, usually witty, and described in different type of person in literary works (Abrams, 2009: 42).


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Abrams and Harpham‟s A Glossary of Literary Terms explains that the

readers know the character‟s desires and feelings through the dialogue and attitude or action from the characters.

Characters are the persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by reader as possessing particular moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying it – the dialogue – and from what they do – the action (2009: 42).

Characters in literary works have contributions to express, describe, and show their influences or roles that are construed and concluded by the readers.

Characters‟ motivation is described through their personality, wants, and moral quality in the way they speak and act. “The grounds in the characters‟ temperament, desires, and moral nature for their speech and actions are called their motivation” (Abrams, 2009: 42).

In Reaske‟s How to Analyze Drama, characters‟ motivation is covered

in the progress of the play which is found through their actions (1966: 41). He alsostates that there are central motivations in most plays which motivate the most people in real life through their emotions (Reaske, 1966: 41). One of them is hope for reward which means that the character has an ambition to get happiness for himself or others that he loves and plan for his actions to reach the end of his pretension (Reaske, 1966: 41). Then, there is love as motivation to extent the hope of reward (Reaske, 1966: 41). The third one is fear of failure which is the opposite of hope for reward, it means that everything that he works on is to avoid the suffering of failure (Reaske, 1966: 41-42).


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Another motivation is religious feelings. Religious feelings here focus on the motivation of character which is affected by the faith. This motivation leads the character to a belief and in a result he or she assumes that what is done is what God commands to. His or her motivation often causes particular results towards his or her acts because what he or she does based on his or her thought.

Occasionally, but not frequently, we discover a character who is motivated by religious faith. The character acts out of deep feelings and convictions that he is acting as God so directs. His motivation is diminished to the extent that he acts as he thinks he is supposed to act

(Reaske, 1966: 42).

The next motivation of characters behind their actions is revenge. There are many plays that perform the idea to avenge the death of loved friends or relatives, even the characters are eager to give up their life in order to murder someone who wrongs them (Reaske, 1966: 42). Besides that, there is also a greed as the motivation. This is type of motivation “in the category of „hope for reward,‟ which becomes an outstanding motivation in its own right in many plays” (Reaske, 1966: 42). The last one is jealousy as one of the most specific motivation related to both love and the fear of failure (Reaske, 1966: 42).

Zanjani explains in Screenplay: Movie Script or Literature? that there

are three ways to build characteristics of characters in screenplay: description, dialogue, and action (2006: 67). The first way is started through description. Zanjani states that it is necessary to create descriptions of the character through “his or her physical description, his look, his clothes, his gender, his


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age and so on” (2006: 67). In addition, a setting also has important role to create characteristics of character connected with his deeds, hobbies, jobs, etc as he mentions that “Since settings can reveal many things about character, his attitudes, hobbies, jobs, and so on, describing a set is a way of describing the character's personality” (Zanjani, 2006: 68). For instance there is a different identity between a man who is driving an old car and a man with a motorcycle (Zanjani, 2006: 68).

The second way is through dialogue. Dialogues in screenplay have similar assignment as in novel and play which is to give information about the characters‟ emotions, thoughts, feelings, intentions, hopes, or dreams (Zanjani, 2006: 68). The dialogue is not always from the character himself but also from the other characters that do descriptions about another character as he says “it is either through the dialogues of the character himself or through the dialogues of the others that he or she gets revealed” (Zanjani, 2006: 69).

The third way to reveal the characteristics of the character is by observing the character‟s action. As Zanjani quotes from Field‟s The Screenwriter’s Workbook that “Action is character. What a person does is what he is, not what he says (Ibid, p.79)” (2006: 70), a character‟s action reveals his personality. Besides, Zanjani also agrees with Seger‟s theory that character‟s action is divided into two parts which are “the decision to act and the act itself” (2006: 70). He mentions Seger‟s argument that the character‟s thought is printed through his decision how he will act his action. “She argues


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that in a drama we usually see only the action, but it's the decision to act that helps us understand how the character‟s mind works” (Zanjani, 2006: 70).

Besides the character‟s descriptions, dialogues, and actions, Zanjani also explains that a name of character can give great value to characterize his personality and provide a lot of descriptions about the character. “Name of the character can play an important role in building his identity, because, name can suggest many things about character” (Zanjani, 2006: 73).

2. Concept of Psychopath

Coleman and Broen‟s Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life stated

that a psychopathic personality is obviously labeled as antisocial and incompetent to be loyal to others, society, or moral values. Despitefully, he is intelligent, impulsive, and very pleasant on first introduction. He also has no business on past or future things, and also behaves insensitively towards other people‟s matters.

Basically, they are unsocialized and incapable of significant loyalty to other persons, groups, or social values. Typically intelligent, spontaneous, and very likeable on first acquaintance, they seem to live in a series of present moments, without consideration for the past or future and with callous disregard for the rights and well-being of others (1972: 366).

VanderVeldt and Odenwald explain in Psychiatry and Catholicism that

“psychopaths are always interested in people who are newcomers in the neighborhood” (1952: 305). Psychopaths seem very caring to the newcomers by visiting their house or even helping voluntarily to sew new curtains (1952: 305).


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Cleckley‟s The Mask of Sanity also states that a psychopathic person

has sixteen characteristics. The first one is superficial charming and good intelligence. Cleckley explains that a psychopath makes himself as agreeable person and positive impression at the first time he is introduced (Cleckley, 1988: 339). He tries to perform “well-adjusted, happy person” in order to show nothing is abnormal in his behavior which is like “the real thing” (Cleckley, 1988: 339). Besides, psychopath is also well endowed with high intelligence which is showed in psychometric test. “Psychometric tests also very frequently show him of superior intelligence” (Cleckley, 1988: 339).

The second characteristic of psychopath shows absence of delusions and other signs of irritional thinking. The psychopath shows no indication of hearing voices such as a psychosis (Cleckley, 1988: 339). He also performs in normal emotions. “Not only is the psychopath rational and his thinking free of delusions, but he also appears to react with normal emotions” (Cleckley, 1988: 339).

The third characteristic of psychopath is absent from nervousness or psychoneurotic manifestations. These criteria such as hysteria, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety state, or “neurasthenia” do not fit in psychopath‟s attributes (Cleckley, 1988: 339). He is incredible poise rather than worry or nervous (Cleckley, 1988: 340).

The fourth characteristic is unreliable. In the beginning, the psychopath shows reaction for being a reliable person but later it will be found out that he gives no willingness to be responsible on many occasions


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(Cleckley, 1988: 340). Even, it does not matter for him how important the circumstance is (Cleckley, 1988: 340). His unreliability and ignorance for obligations and consequences are explained in both unimportant and important problems. They are covered by performing nice personality and unable to be considered as common motives or persuasion.

The psychopath‟s unreliability and his disregard for obligations and for consequences are manifested in both trivial and serious matters, are masked by demonstrating of conforming behavior, and cannot be accounted for by ordinary motives or incentives (Cleckley, 1988: 340-341).

The fifth characteristic of psychopath is untruthful and insincere. He shows personality which is unable to be trusted. He chooses to lie on every matter and situation with no good reason, and sometimes he admits his own errors and performs to face the consequences with singular honesty, fortitude, and manliness (Cleckley, 1988: 341-342).

The sixth characteristic of psychopath shows lack of remorse or shame. He cannot accept any blame to his attitudes and denies all the responsibility and returns to blame others as responsible. He shows no sense of shame even though he puts his life in trouble for a bunch of times but leaves without any evidence of regret (Cleckley, 1988: 343).

The seventh characteristic of psychopath shows inadequately motivated antisocial behavior. He is not only irresponsible, but he will also act more in active ways. He will show a tendency for cheating and committing crimes which is difficult to understand the reason. He feels free to do crimes


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in which shows a characteristic of remorseless. Therefore, psychopath is viewed negatively by society.

He will commit theft, forgery, adultery, fraud, and other deeds for astonishingly small takes and under much greater risks of being discovered than will the ordinary scoundrel. He will, in fact, commit such deeds in the absence of any apparent goal at all (Cleckley, 1988: 343). In contrast, his antisocial and self-defeating deeds are not circumscribed (as, for example, in pyromania and kleptomania), he shows little or no evidence of the conscious conflict or the subsequent regret that are not regularly absent in these other manifestations (Cleckley, 1988: 344).

The eighth characteristic of psychopath is poor of judgment and failed to learn by experience. Psychopath does not appear to learn from their mistakes. Besides that, he will continue his antisocial behavior instead of ending it and will not be afraid of getting caught. His poor judgment is found for example when he wastes the opportunities to produce some money, to get close with his spouse, to be sent away from hospital (Cleckley, 1988: 345).

The ninth characteristic is pathologic of egocentricity and incapable for love. This is clear that this symptom is not presented in normal people. Psychopath is skillful in pretending to be in love with someone else. It means that he has no emotion to react in pure feelings of loving and he only cares about his own matters (Cleckley, 1988: 347).

The tenth characteristic of psychopath shows general poverty in major affective reactions. This symptom is an addition of incapacity for object love, which explains that the psychopath cannot reveal or show any affective emotions such as exciting, shouting, etc. This considers the inner feeling to react not to pretend. Feelings such as annoyance, hateful, alert, labile signs of


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showing almost sympathy, bad-tempered, self-pity, childish, unreasonable, poses of angry are presented obviously in psychopath. However, there is lack of deep feelings such as mature, wholehearted anger, consistent wrath, truthful, sorrow, maintain of pride, deep joyfulness, and despair (Cleckley, 1988: 348).

The eleventh characteristic shows specific loss of insight. The psychopath is absolutely more horrible in insight than some schizophrenic patients. He has no ability to observe himself as the others observe him. He is not able to know how others feel about him (Cleckley, 1988: 350).

The twelfth characteristic is unresponsive in general interpersonal relations. It is stated by Cleckley that psychopath is incompetent to show ordinary responsiveness to kindness or trust from others. It does not matter how kind he is treated by his family, friends, police, or hospital attendants, he is incapable to show any consistent reaction to appreciate those kindness (1988: 354).

The thirteenth characteristic of psychopath is fantastic and uninviting behavior with drink and sometimes without. The primary point on psychopath‟s drinking is found in the shocking, the fantastic, uninviting, or relatively inexplicable attitude which reveals only when he drinks, although only a little (1988: 356).

The fourteenth characteristic is showing that suicide rarely carried out. It is seldom to find out that psychopath who is superficial self-content, ease, charm, and brilliant is inclined to reach the final end in suicide (1988: 358).


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Besides that, psychopath also shows another characteristic (fifteenth) in sex life which is impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated. Their sexual lives reveal unconventional, other deviations such as homosexuality, but this is not regarded as an important characteristic (1988: 359).

The last characteristic (sixteenth) is that he fails to follow any life plan. He shows inability to follow any life plan frequently, no matter it is good or evil, he also has no effort to reach any goal (Cleckley, 1988:364).

In Maladaptive Behavior: An Introduction to Abnormal Psychology,

Lahey and Ciminero also characterize psychopath into thirteen ways. They are violation of social conventions (breaking the rules of home, job, or school, and law); violent (aggressive behavior which provoke criminal acts of violence and vandalism); dishonest (their lies are often skillful and elaborate in order to avoid punishment); irresponsible; absence of guilt; impulsive (inability to resist frustrations); fail to learn from punishment; stimulation seeking (they appear to seek any thrills and excitement); intelligent; underachieving; socially deviant (they cannot endure long term relationship); sexual unconventional; and abusive of drugs and alcohol (1980: 318-322).

3. Theory of Psychoanalysis

Freud‟s basic concept of personality theory in levels of mental life which is stated in Theories of Personality by Jess Feist and Gregory J. Feist, is

to focus on an analysis of the unconscious mind that makes people to be motivated in which they are not aware of (Feist, 2006: 23). It consists of all drives, urges, or instincts which motivates most of our words, feelings, and


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actions (Feist, 2006: 24). The unconscious mind does not exist in the conscious mind. Hence, the existence of the unconscious mind is found indirectly (Feist, 2006: 24).

Freud explains that the unconscious is “the part of the mind beyond conciousness which nevertheless has a strong influence upon our actions” (Barry, 2002: 96). This unconcious mind has connection with what Freud calls repression which includes “the forgetting or ignoring of unresolved conflicts, unadmitted desires, or traumatic past events”, that is lifted up out of conciousness (Barry, 2002: 96-97). The repressed feelings might multiply and grow extensively driving away from the consciousness in result they will come back through the unconsciousness.

Hidden away from the influence of consciousness, and an idea can grow more profusely. It actively „proliferates in the dark‟ (ibid: 148) as Freud puts it.

This being the case there is always likely to be „a return of the repressed‟ (ibid: 154) (Easthope, 1999: 32).

For example, Freud mentions in a case of a medieval monk who tries to push away a sexual temptation in a way of viewing the image of the Crucifixion, but suddenly an erotic image of naked woman emerges in the same crucified image (Easthope, 1999: 32).

However, the repressed materials in unconscious mind find the way out through daily activities not only through dreams but also through “slips of the tongue, slips of the pens, or unintended actions” which are named as parapraxis or Freudian slips (Barry, 2002: 98).


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Gemes‟s Freud and Nietzsche on Sublimation states that a repression

has a drive that includes both an ideational component which is the content of the drive and aim and an energetic component which is the force and strength of the drive; as Freud called a quota of affect (2009: 43). There is also a sublimation which is similar to the repression where the things that are repressed is being forced out to be something greater or disguised into something “noble” (Barry, 2002: 96-97). For instance, a sexual desire is sublimated into religious actions intensely (Barry, 2002: 97). Sublimation is a picture which includes a quota of affect which is not released. Repression itself is considered as a link of former or earlier things which are brought up through sublimation process. Sublimation removes the repressing of energetic component and drives it out in form of an aim which differs from original one. All sublimations involve an expression of a pent-up quota of affect. The picture suggested here is that all sublimations typically take repressions as causal antecedents. In this sense sublimations are another manifestation of the phenomenon that Freud calls “the return of the repressed.” What sublimations undo is the repressing of the energetic component; they steer it to an outlet, an aim that deviates from its original aim (Gemes, 2009: 43-44).

Freud also mentions that all human drives are acceptable to be sublimated, included all cultural activities such as art, science, professional life, religion, and ethics; and believes that those drives have pleasure quality, especially art and religion which have moral significance and important role in spiritual feelings of human drives (Vergote, 1998: 202-203). The objectives of sublimation can be different, but they all have one same point as what Freud confirms in terms of cultural values or higher values (Vergote, 1998: 202).


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4. Precept of Seven Deadly Sins

Aspenleiter explains in God’s Plan that seven deadly sins are basically indicated as vices or bad habits instead of sins. He stated that they are actually the basic evil tendencies as the origins of sins in human beings. They are also called as seven capital sins because of the significance of their influence which is damaging. They are pride, avarice, lust, envy, anger, gluttony, and sloth (1959: 208).

Pride is exaggerated love of oneself superiority. It is also described as over desire to be honored and recognized for authority without considering God‟s will. It can cause sins such as “false ambition, vanity, disobedience, hypocrisy, and boasting” (Aspenleiter, 1959: 208-209). Avarice is also named greed. It is exaggerated desire to have all worldly goods. From greed, it may affect desires to sins for covetousness and stealing (Aspenleiter, 1959: 209). Lust is the habit of impurity. It is a vice for seeking the pleasure of flesh (Aspenleiter, 1959: 209). Envy is sadness and jealousy over other‟s prosperity. It is stated that there is a sad feeling to know another person has more than he deserves and desire to wish that the person cannot live in richness. It may lead to sins such as “hatred, selfishness, detraction, and calumny” (Aspenleiter, 1959: 210). Anger or wrath is a description of explosion of emotion which is usually based on the desire to revenge. Anger might cause sins such as profanity, blasphemy, quarreling, and hatred (Aspenleiter, 1959: 210). There is gluttony as a vice of over desire to possess foods and drinks (Aspenleiter, 1959: 210). The last one is sloth which is a laziness which might deliver


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disregard acts to spiritual and temporal duties. It may lead into sins of indifference, laziness, and carelessness (Aspenleiter, 1959: 211).

C. Theoretical Framework

The first problem in this study is to understand the characteristics of John Doe by seeing descriptions in the screenplay. The theory of character and characterization is used to know John Doe‟s characteristics through the devices of characterization.

In the next step, the characteristics of John Doe bring the writer to analyze the second problem which is characteristics of psychopathic behavior and how his psychopathic behavior is related to seven deadly sins. In order to be able to analyze the second question, the writer employs the concept of psychopath to find the detailed specifications of the characteristics of John Doe which reveal the characteristics of psychopath.

The writer uses theory of psychoanalysis and the concept of seven deadly sins to uncover the dynamic of the unconscious of Doe motivating him to use seven deadly sins as the motivation of murder. The result for using those theories and concepts to reveal the psychopathic behavior of John Doe which is related to seven deadly sins as formulated in chapter I.


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26

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of this study is a screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker entitled Seven. The screenplay was printed in 1994. Seven consists of 122

pages. It is written by Andrew Kevin Walker who is a screenwriter that

specializes in “violent and dark noir-type screenwriting”

(http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Walker__Andrew_Kevin.html).

Seven is his first screenplay. In order to finish Seven, it took several years for

Walker to complete the story. This film is described as a dark film which is showing a serial killer kills people based on the seven deadly sins.

Seven had won 15 awards in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1999. In 1995, Seven won Society of Texas Film Critic Award, New York Film Critics Circle Award, and National Board of Review, USA as Best Supporting Actor, Kevin

Spacey (as John Doe). In 1996, Seven was successed to win Universe

Reader’s Choice Award as Best Horror Film; MTV Movie Awards as Best

Movie, Best Villain (Kevin Spacey), and Most Desireable Male, Brad Pitt (as Mills); Hochi Film Award as Best Foreign Language Film, David Fincher (as

the Director); International Fantasy Film Awards as Best Film (David

Fincher) and Best Screenplay (Andrew Kevin Walker); Chicago Film Critics Association Award as Best Cinematography (Darius Khondji); Saturn Awards


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ASCAP Award as Top Box Office Films. Then, Seven also won several awards

in 1997, they were Blue Ribbon Award as Best Foreign Language Film, Empire Award in UK as Best Actor, Morgan Freeman (as Somerset) and Best

Film, ALFS Award as Actor of the Year (Morgan Freeman), and Audience Award as Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera) by David Fincher.

Another award was in 1999, Seven won Golden Trainer Award as Best of the

Decade (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/awards).

Seven is a story which tells about two main characters, the detectives

who want to discover the homicide case which is perpetrated by a psychopath named John Doe. John Doe takes the seven deadly sins as his motivation for killing people. Seven is a good work to analyze the characteristics of

psychopathic behavior as seen in John Doe which is related to seven deadly sins as the motivation of murder.

B. Approach of the Study

To analyze the psychopathic behavior of John Doe and its relation to seven deadly sins in Seven, the approach that is used is psychoanalytic

approach since it helps to give explanation on “the hows and whys of human actions” (Bressler, 1999: 148). Barry also mentions in Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory that psychoanalytic approach is

the criticism of literature that applies psychoanalysis methods to interpret the literature works (2002: 96). Psychoanalysis itself is a method to cure mental disorder through an investigation between the interaction of unconscious and conscious mind (Barry, 2002: 96).


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Hence, the psychoanalytic approach is appropriate to analyze Seven to

understand the characteristics of a psychopathic behavior as one of mental disorders. Also, it is helpful to analyze the hidden motivation of John Doe using seven deadly sins to murder people by observing the thoughts and actions of John Doe through his unconscious mind.

C. Method of the Study

The writer used a library research for analyzing Seven screenplay by

Andrew Kevin Walker. The references used in this study were divided into two parts; primary and secondary references. The primary one was the screenplay itself, Seven and the secondary one involved some books of theory,

such as, Abrams and Harpham’s A Glossary of Literary Terms, Reaske’s How to Analyze Drama, Zanjani’s Screenplay: Movie Script or Literature?,

Cleckley’s The Mask of Sanity, Coleman and Broen’s Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life, VanderVeldt and Odenwald’s Psychiatry and Catholicism,

Lahey’s and Ciminero’s Maladaptive Behavior: An Introduction to Abnormal Psychology, Feist’s Theories of Personality, Barry’s Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, Easthope’s The Unconscious,

Gemes’ Freud and Nietzsche on Sublimation, Vergote’s Ethics and Sublimation,and Aspenleiter’s God’s Plan.

In order to finish this study, the writer took some steps in analyzing the screenplay. The first step was to read the screenplay for several times to get understandings of the idea of the story, and then specified systematically the problems of the study. The second step was to find the studies which were


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related to the study of Seven, and the theories focused on character and

characterization, characteristics of psychopathic behavior, psychoanalysis, and seven deadly sins. The third step applied the theories of character into the character of John Doe in the screenplay. Then the fourth step, the writer found out the symptoms or characteristics of psychopath in John Doe’s character

based on the concept of characteristics of psychopathic behavior. The last one was to try to observe the significance relation of seven deadly sins as the motivation of murder and the psychopathic behavior through the characteristics of John Doe.


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30

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter contents two sub-chapters according to the problem formulation of this study. The first sub-chapter is the descriptions of the characteristics of John Doe in Seven. The second sub-chapter is to explain

John Doe‟s characteristics revealing psychopathic behavior characteristics and its relation to seven deadly sins as the motivation of murders.

A. Characteristics of John Doe

John Doe is one of main characters in Seven screenplay besides

Detectives Somerset and Mills. He is a sadistic serial murderer which is addicted to kill people who suffer one of seven deadly sins. In the beginning of the story, Walker does not mention the name of John Doe. He starts to introduce John Doe indirectly through the first homicide scene where an obese man is killed by eating spaghetti forcibly and there is found a note and a letter written gluttony. This murder brings Detective Somerset to suspect that there will be six homicides continued to complete. His suspicion is showed by the first one named gluttony as one of seven deadly sins. Then, what Detective Somerset suspects is true through the second homicide named greed, the third homicide which is found as sloth murder, the fourth homicide which is lust, and the fifth homicide which is pride. John Doe‟s name is not discovered yet until Detective Somerset and Mills find Doe‟s apartment with the help of Somerset‟s friend in Bureau illegally. The further explanation of John Doe‟s


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characteristics is defined by observing John Doe‟s action, thought, and physical appearance. The following lists are the characteristics of John Doe which are analyzed by using the theories of character by Zanjani.

1. Loner

The first characteristic of John Doe is a loner. The writer sees loner in two types. The first one is a loner by own choice. The second type is a loner because he is rejected socially by people. John Doe is both types of loner. He likes for being solo. According to Zanjani, the character is described through his clothes description and setting (2006: 67-68). “A male figure, JOHN DOE, is standing at the stairwell, wearing a hat and standing in shadow…” (Walker, 1994: 65). John Doe is found by Detective Mills and Somerset in his apartment building because Somerset got a help from his friend in Bureau for John Doe‟s location. From the description above, he wears a hat which means that he wants to cover his face. Besides, his standing in shadow brings an interpretation that Walker intentionally hides John Doe‟s appearance for not being discovered by the detectives.

In addition of the setting description, his apartment is also full of darkness and creepy things. He encases himself in his apartment whose entire rooms are covered in black color.

The room is bizarre, with some areas cluttered and others barren. All the walls are painted black. All the large, curtainless windows are painted over.

Somerset comes to look at John Doe‟s “bed.” No mattress. It‟s only a metal frame and springs with a sheet spread across it. The sheet is sweat stained and dotted by stains of rust at many points where springs have worn through. (Walker, 1994: 73)


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By observing Walker‟s description about Doe‟s apartment which is full of black colors, the writer interprets that John Doe lives in solitude. It is hidden in black color which means unknown, mysterious, and secretive (Scott-Kemmis, http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-black.html). Even, the windows are painted. The room is very strange, unusual, and untidy. Moreover, it shows a desolate place which describes nothing is pleasant or attractive and also full of emptiness, “The room is bizarre, with some areas cluttered and others barren” (Walker, 1994: 73). Besides that, his oddity is showed in the depiction of his bed that has no matress and only the metal frame and springs covered with a sheet which has stains of sweat and rust dots. This information states vividly that he lives by himself because there is no possibility of indication of any other person who stays with him. His apartment completes the interpretation that he is indeed loner by his own.

Besides his own choice to be a loner, he is also a loner for being rejected by society. In the story, it begins with Detective Mills‟ chance to have an eye contact with John Doe. It happens in time of his visiting to John Doe‟s apartment with Somerset. John Doe suddenly shoots Mills and Somerset when he sees them in front of his apartment door. This action makes Somerset and Mills run to catch him. In the end of city alleyway, Mills cannot find John Doe and all of sudden Doe attacks him and takes Mills‟ gun. Mills is trapped and his mouth is inserted his own barrel of gun by John Doe. However, Doe leaves after he shoots Mills‟ chest. Somerset comes after and helps Mills to stand up.


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They get angry by Doe‟s action to shoot them, so they decide to go back to Doe‟s apartment to find out his identity. They pay a thin vagrant to make false statement so they have a right to enter his apartment accompanied by cops. In this case, Mills asks a sketch artist to draw John Doe‟s face through Mills‟ description. Considering with the characterization by looking the facial features (Zanjani, 2006: 67), John Doe is described through his face‟s sketch by the sketch artist.

SKETCH ARTIST You‟re sure this is him?

Mills stands over the sketch artist. Two deputy detectives, SARA and BILLY, are at work along with two other forensics searching, photographing and dusting.

MILLS Just put it in circulation.

SKETCH ARTIST

You got it. Tomorrow morning, this city‟s good citizens will be on the lookout for Elmer Fudd. (Walker, 1994: 75) John Doe‟s face is portrayed as similar as Elmer Fudd. Elmer Fudd is a cartoon character from The Looney Tunes Show. He is a created as an odd figure with an egg-shaped head, squat body, and bulbous nose (http://looneytunes.wikia.com/wiki/Elmer_Fudd). Egg-shaped head is famous with the nickname of nerd or geek. Considering with the description of the character‟s look (Zanjani, 2006: 67) and dialogue from other characters to describe another character (Zanjani, 2006: 69), Walker implicitly puts a name of Elmer Fudd through the sketch artist‟s description as an explanation that John Doe is rejected by people because of his facial look. It is unusual for


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people to meet someone whose face looks strange and unearthly. For another instance, John Doe finds difficulty to stay in conversation with people.

SOMERSET (reads)

“On the subway today, a man came to me to start a conversation. He made small talk, this lonely man, talking about the weather and other things. I tried to be pleasant and accommodating, but my head began to hurt from his banality. I almost didn‟t notice it had happened, but I suddenly threw up all over him. He was not pleased, and I couldn‟t help laughing.” (Walker, 1994: 77)

The quotation above is John Doe‟s notebook which is found by Somerset in his apartment. Through Zanjani‟s statement that the character‟s action is his mind which reveals who he is (2006: 70), the writer interprets that John Doe‟s saying shows his disability to stay in long conversation with people. He even says “tried” (Walker, 1994: 77) which means that he makes an effort to make the man to be more comfortable. He cannot stand the man‟s boring subject conversation and it causes him to behave unpleasant action. He does not apologize about it. Instead, he keeps laughing on his unintended mistake which afflicts the man. His reaction shows an action which is considered as a social mistake and not polite. This action shows that John Doe is a loner because he wants to be and he is rejected by people.

Another example to show that John Doe is loner by social rejection is found when John Doe comes to visit Detective Mills‟ house and suddenly wants to play a husband with Mills‟ wife. His action is very impolite because he does not know Mills‟ wife. Even, he never meets Tracy (Mills‟ wife), but suddenly he wants to play a husband-wife with her. So, Tracy rejects him. But


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what happens in the end, John Doe kills Tracy for not following his will. “I tried 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.


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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 victim‟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)


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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 sloth‟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


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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)


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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


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74

APPENDIX

(Summary of The Screenplay)

The story begins with two homicide detectives (Somerset and Mills) who work together to trace a serial killer named John Doe. In the beginning of

the story, the name of “John Doe” is not identified yet. Somerset at the first time wants to retire from his work as a detective to leave the place of this nameless city which is horrible, but later he chooses to stay for a little bit longer. Then, Detectives Mills comes over and joins as a new partner of Somerset to finish the case of murderer. Their cooperation begins with the case of homicide which is done by the serial killer, John Doe. He justifies his crime as official redemption, especially in the Christian religion, for something which is monstrosity that is done by people who commit seven deadly sins.

The first homicide which is figured out as gluttony homicide that the name of gluttony written on the wall of the crime scene. It is found an obese man who is forced by John Doe to eat a big full plate of spaghetti until his stomach bursts. John Doe also ties around his hands and legs. After the obese man eats all of them, his stomach is kicked by John Doe until it causes a hematoma around his stomach. By seeing the words gluttony, Somerset suspects that there will be six more homicides of greed, sloth, lust, pride, wrath, and envy. Somerset is correct; this murder is about preaching seven deadly sins. Then, the homicide is continued to second murder which is greed.


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A wealthy defense lawyer is forced by John Doe to cut off a pound of his own flesh as a punishment of his sin which is greed. In the crime scene of greed, Somerset finds out fingerprints behind a painting, and they form words

“HELP ME”. After those fingerprints have been analyzed, it shows that those

fingers belong to Victor (drug sealer), so the police and the detectives visit his house, but unfortunately they find Victor as the sloth victim of John Doe. He is tied on his bed for a year in blindfolded form and his wrist is cut off.

Later, Somerset decides to find out everything related to seven deadly sins in a library. He asks his bureau friend to find out the name of person who reads books related to seven deadly sins. Then, the friend of Somerset in bureau gives a name of person included his address who reads those books

through the computer‟s bureau that is used to monitor reading‟s habits. It is written Jonathan Doe. Afterwards, Somerset and Mills try to visit John Doe‟s house. While they stand in front of John Doe‟s door apartment, a man figure

appears in a shadow wearing a hat and then he suddenly pulls his gun out and shoots Mills and Somerset, after that he runs away. In result, this man is found out as John Doe.

This attack raises Mills‟ temper and drives him to forcibly enter John

Doe‟s apartment to get proof to arrest John Doe immediately. After having a permission letter to enter Doe‟s apartment by a false statement of a thin vagrant, they find many notebooks of his thoughts for about thousands; and photos of Mills and Somerset; also there is a photo of young woman (a prostitute) who is believed will be the next victim of Doe. The young woman


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soon is found out dead with a letter of lust written in her room. She is killed by a man who is forced by John Doe to have a sexual intercourse while wearing

“a strap-on phallus, except there is no plastic protuberance. Instead, there is a metal knife – it‟s strap-on butcher‟s knife” (Walker: 1994, 86). The next

morning, a model is found out dead with a letter “Pride” in her room. Doe cuts off her nose in order to make her become ugly, so she cannot be proud again of her face. Doe gives her choices whether call for help but she will not be recognized or take sleeping pills to reduce the pain.

When, the two detectives just have arrived in the police headquarters after pride crime scene, John Doe walks after them into the police headquarters with his hands full of bloods. However, he does not want to just give up like that, he brings a lawyer to help him in court session. He commands his lawyer to ask Mills and Somerset to take him to the crime scenes of two bodies. If they agree for doing so, then he promises to confess his murders.

After arriving at the place in which John Doe promises about the two more bodies, suddenly there is a van approaching, and Somerset asks the driver to go out from the car. The driver says that he is ordered to deliver a package for Detectives Mills right there at exactly seven o‟clock. Then, Somerset asks him to leave, and tries to open the box carefully, and it turns out into a horror seen on Somerset‟s face. He shouts to Mills to throw out his gun directly to prevent unwanted action that he might shoot John Doe right on the place. John Doe realizes Somerset‟s action to command Mills to not shoot


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him, so he start to tell Mills that he admires Mills‟ life and jealous for having a

beautiful wife. Doe tells Mills that he visits Mills‟ house and tries to play a

husband and wife, but it does not work well, so he tells that he takes a

„souvenir‟ which is a Tracy‟s head. He asks Mills to shoot him because he is guilty of envy; moreover Doe tells him that Tracy is having a baby which is not known by Mills. This brings Mills become anger, frustrated, and wrath. That is why Somerset tries to convince Mills for not shooting Doe, because it will make him win and seven deadly sins will be completed. However, Mills cannot stand the idea for losing a beautiful wife and kid that is done by John Doe. Then, Mills empties his bullets to John Doe‟s body. In the end, Mills


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xi

ABSTRACT

Kezia Kinanthi Kasih (2013): Seven Deadly Sins and John Doe’s Psychopathic Behavior in Andrew Kevin Walker’s Seven Screenplay. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

Seven was written in 1994. This story is about a serial killer named John Doe who murders people by using a religious precept called seven deadly sins. The focus of this study is the character, John Doe who suffers a mental disorder which is psychopathy. It is interesting to analyze the character of John Doe because he takes a concept of religion which is formed basically to be a moral teaching into a concept of murder.

There are two problems to be discussed. The first one is the characteristics of John Doe. The second problem deals with his characteristics which reveal the characteristics of a psychopath and its relation to seven deadly sins.

In order to accomplish this study, the writer applies two methods which are divided into primary and secondary references. The screenplay, Seven by Andrew Kevin Walker is the primary source. Meanwhile, the secondary references involve library researches and internet sources which help the writer to collect data and information related to the study. The approach which is used is a psychoanalytic approach which is related to John Doe’s unconscious mind.

The result of this study shows that John Doe is a psychopath who is showed through the most of his characteristics which tend to reveal psychopathic characteristics. His psychopathic behavior leads him to be a serial killer. John

Doe’s unconsciousness drives him to do redemption to the people in the city he

lives by taking a religious precept, seven deadly sins as his motivation. John Doe feels frustrated to see seven deadly sins which are gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy, and wrath every day, everywhere, in every corner of the street, and in every home in the city. His choice to do those homicides portrays his disappointment to God for not doing any punishment to the sinners in the city he lives in the same way He does to the people in Sodom and Gomorrah. In the result, his psychopathic behavior causes abnormal minds and actions which bring him to do sadistic and unusual ways to murder people by taking seven deadly sins as the root of evil deeds.


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xii

ABSTRAK

Kezia Kinanthi Kasih (2013): Seven Deadly Sins and John Doe’s Psychopathic Behavior in Andrew Kevin Walker’s Seven Screenplay. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Seven ditulis pada tahun 1994. Ini bercerita tentang seorang pembunuh berantai bernama John Doe yang membunuh orang orang dengan menggunakan sebuah ajaran agama yang dinamakan tujuh dosa kematian. Titik pusat dari studi ini adalah karakter John Doe yang menderita sebuah sakit mental yaitu psikopati. Sangatlah menarik untuk menganalisis karakter dari John Doe karena dia menggunakan sebuah konsep religi yang pada dasarnya dibentuk sebagai sebuah ajaran moral menjadi sebuah konsep pembunuhan.

Ada dua permasalahan yang dibahas dalam studi ini. Permasalahan pertama adalah karakteristik John Doe. Permasalahan yang kedua berkaitan dengan karakteristik John Doe yang mengungkapkan karakteristik dari seorang psikopat dan hubungannya dengan tujuh dosa kematian.

Dalam rangka menyelesaikan studi ini, penulis mengaplikasikan dua metode yang dibagi menjadi sumber utama dan sumber pendukung. Naskah film, Seven oleh Andrew Kevin Walker adalah sumber utama. Sementara, sumber pendukung melibatkan studi pustaka dan sumber internet yang membantu penulis untuk mengumpulkan data dan informasi berkaitan dengan studi ini. Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah pendekatan psikoanalitik yang berhubungan dengan motivasi John Doe dalam menggunakan tujuh dosa kematian untuk membunuh.

Hasil dari studi ini menunjukkan bahwa John Doe adalah seorang psikopat yang ditunjukkan lewat sebagian besar karakteristiknya yang mengarah pada karakteristik psikopat. Tingkah laku psikopatnya menjadikan dia seorang pembunuh berantai. Ketidaksadaran John Doe mendorongnya untuk melakukan penebusan kepada orang-orang di kota dia tinggal dengan menggunakan sebuah aturan agama, tujuh dosa kematian sebagai motivasinya. John Doe merasa frustrasi melihat tujuh dosa kematian yaitu kerakusan, ketamakan, kemalasan, nafsu, kesombongan, iri hati, dan kemarahan yang terdapat di setiap hari, di mana-mana, di setiap pojok jalanan, dan di setiap rumah di kota itu. Pilihannya dalam melakukan pembunuhan tersebut menggambarkan kekecewaannya kepada Tuhan karena tidak melakukan adanya hukuman kepada para pendosa di kota itu seperti yang Dia lakukan kepada orang-orang di Sodom dan Gomorah. Pada akhirnya, tingkah laku psikopat dari John Doe mengakibatkan pemikiran dan tindakan yang tidak normal yang membawanya melakukan cara membunuh yang kejam dan tidak biasa dengan menggunakan tujuh dosa kematian sebagai akar dari perbuatan-perbuatan jahat.