Leading Character’s Antisocial Personality Disorder In James B Stewart’s Blind Eye Chapter III V

CHAPTER III
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Method is a procedure or way of knowing anything with systematic steps
(Subyantoro, 2006: 30). The method in this study used qualitative research methods.
A qualitative research method is a research procedure that produces descriptive data
in the form of words written and spoken of people and behaviors that can be
observed. The data emerging form of words, not a series of numbers. The data is
processed through recording, typing and editing, but the analysis still use the words
organized into expanded text. Thus, the research contains excerpts of data to provide
images studied so easily understood by the reader.
In this research the writer applies qualitative approach and descriptive
analytic method to achieve the writer goal of this research. By using this method, the
writer attempts to identify and describe the data collected. This method is appropriate
to this research because the writer is able to find out, identify and explain issues in
the novel. In this study also seeks to explain the problems studied in detail,
systematic, accurate, and factual about the personality of the leading character in the
novel Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who Got Away with Murder.
3.1 The Object of Research
The object of research literature is the subject or topic of research literature.
The object of this research is antisocial personality disorder of leading character in
the novel Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who Got Away with Murder

by James B Stewart. The leading character in this novel is Dr. Michael Swango.

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3.2 Data and Data Sources
Data and sources of data in this study are as follows:
1. Data
The data in this study a text which is a word or phrase that describes the actions,
words which indicate antisocial personality disorder in the novel Blind Eye: The
Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who Got Away with Murder.
2. Data Sources
Source of data in this study is novel Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who
Got Away with Murder by James B Stewart with 336 pages thick. The novel
published in 1999 by Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
3.3 Data Collecting Procedure
In this research the writer collects the data found in the novel. In this process
of this research, writer collect the data found in the novel related to main character
then the data will be analyzed with antisocial personality disorder theory, such as the
Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM IV), a manual that is

referred by mental health professionals when diagnosing mental illnesses.
The procedure of collecting the data in this study uses the technique of
reading, record and library. To obtain the data contained in the novel writer must
read novel Eye: The Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who Got Away with Murder by
James B Stewart to get data that related to the study. After reading the novel, and
obtain data that connect with antisocial personality disorder on the key figures the

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data is recorded. Note technique, writer as a key instrument do registrar data.
Technique is a technique that uses a library written sources for obtaining data.
Collecting Data used are taken from the data that written materials in the
library in the form of primary data (data obtained directly from the source) and
secondary data (data not obtained directly from the source). The primary Data of the
research is the literary work itself. There is Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story of a
Doctor Who Got Away with Murder by James B Stewart. The writer uses the novel
as Swango’s actions; behaviors, motivations, and past are depicted throughout the
novel that it used the theory to the general idea. The secondary of data are taken from
some Necessary books and the internet sources. Some books are used because they

are relevant to the analysis.
3.4 Data Analyzing Procedure
Function of Process data Analyzing is to simplify into a form that is more
easy to read and interpreted. Dalam penelitian kualitatif, ada tiga hal dalam proses
analisis data, yaitu reduksi data, sajian data, dan verifikasi serta simpulan (Sangidu,
2004: 73). In data reduction, the authors chose the data that are considered important
and potentially in the context of data analysis according to the problem to be studied,
which is associated with antisocial personality disorder on the leading character in
the novel Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who Got Away with Murder
by James B Stewart. Data presentation is to present the data in an analytical and
synthesis in the form of a description of the data that lifted accompanied by textual
evidence available.

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In the analytical data presentation, the author describes one by one the data
obtained coherently. In the synthesized data presentation, the authors associate the
data have been analyzed so that it can be concluded in an integrated and does not
give rise to a double interpretation of the results of the analysis.

In the verification and the conclusion, the authors check or recheck the data
have been analyzed to validate the results of the analysis, which subsequently
concluded the answers while on the issues discussed that antisocial personality
disorder on the leading character in the novel. It can be concluded that the techniques
of data analysis can be taken through the steps of identifying and classifying the data
to draw conclusions.
In use descriptive method qualitative textual model of psychological studies,
the authors through the following steps:
1. Analysis intrinsic element in in the novel Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story of a
Doctor Who Got Away with Murder by James B Stewart;
2. Locate and determine the characters that will be studied, character in the
novel Blind Eye is Dr Michael Swango as a principal or leading character is
the focus of research that use method telling and showing;
3. Tracing the development of the character of the hero who studied through
acting, thinking, and dialogue of the characters;
4. Determine personality disorder main character in the novel Blind Eye: The
Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who Got Away with Murder by James B Stewart
uses theory antisocial personality disorder;

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5. Reveals the causes of antisocial personality disorder on the leading character
in the novel Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who Got Away with
Murder by James B Stewart that intrinsic elements used to support.
6. The last, make a conclusion.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS OF LEADING CHARACTER’S ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY
DISORDER
In this chapter, writer discuss about leading character’s personality disorder.
Before analyze personality disorder of the leading character in James B Stewart’s
novel Blind Eye: the Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who Got Away with Murder, the
writer gives the portrayal of leading character to introduce life and characteristics of
personality disorder. Here is the portrayal of leading character in James B Stewart’s
Blind Eye: the Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who Got Away with Murder.
4.1 The Portrayal of Leading Character
Leading character in James B Stewart’s Blind Eye: the Terrifying Story of a
Doctor Who Got Away with Murder is named Dr. Michael Swango. He is the second
of Muriel and John Virgil Swango’s three sons. John Swango is an Army officer
which meant the family to constantly moving from one place to another. It was not

until 1968, when the family moved to Quincy, Illinois, that they finally settled down.
The atmosphere in the Swango home depended on if John is there or not. When he is
not there, Muriel tries to maintain a peaceful home, yet she keeps a strong hold on
the boys. When he is on leave, the home seemed to resemble a military facility, with
John as the strict disciplinarian. All of the Swango children fear their father as did
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Muriel at times. John’s struggle with alcoholism is the main contributor to the
tension and upheaval that go on the Swango home.
John Swango is an Army officer which meant the family is constantly
moving from one place to another. The family moved sixteen times in the course of
Virgil’s military career, from Washington State, to Fort Benning, Georgia, to Fort
Worth, Texas, to San Fransisco. From 1968 to 1975, the stretch when Virgil served
in Vietnam, the family lived in Quincy, where Michael entered junior high school.
Largely at the insistence of Muriel, who recognized that Michael is
academically gifted, he enrolls in the Christian Brothers High School, a private
Catholic school known for its high academic standards. Michael’s brothers attend the
public schools. At Christian Brothers Michael excels academically and become
involved in various extracurricular activities. His main interest expresses his

mother’s love of music; he is a talented pianist and masters the clarinet well enough
to become a member of the Quincy Notre Dame band and tour with the Quincy
College Wind Ensemble.
Michael graduated as class valedictorian from Christian Brothers in 1972. His
high school achievements are impressive, but minimal college counseling is available
in Quincy and his parents are relatively unsophisticated about higher education
outside military that made Swango’s horizons seem to have been limited. He decides
on Millikin University, a small private liberal arts school in Decatur, Illinois, where
he receives a full-tuition scholarship in music. As he has in high school, Swango
excels academically at Millikin, earning nearly perfect grades during his first two
years. Based on the above information, we know that Swango was very talented. He
is able to master the academic and non-academic.

But his first year, however
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socially he became somewhat of an outcast after his girl friend ended their
relationship. His attitude become reclusive and even his look changed. He begins to
dress in military grab and paints his old ford fairlane in camouflage olive green.

During the summer after Swango’s second year at Millikin, he stops playing
music, quit college and join the Marines. He shows the different interest, namely premed courses. He showed abnormal behavior in the end of his sophomore year, premed courses at the local collage founded by Franciscan Brothers in 1860, Quincy,
Illinois, Southern Illinois University (SIU), Ohio State University, Ohio Columbus,
Virginia, Sioux Falls, and Zimbabwe also became a serial killer. He also kills his
patients by poison in each hospital where he works. A doctor is perfectly located to
reverse his purpose to kill rather than heal. Not only that, some of paramedics
becomes victims because he tries to poison his friends in hospital and his girlfriends.
FBI said that Michael Swango murdered more than sixty. A doctor that kills his
patients and poisons his friends and girlfriends is abnormal something. And then, in
the Novel his abnormality that he keeps secretly until nobody knows and realizes
about it. His abnormality is like personality disorder, namely antisocial personality
disorder, because after writer read novel Blind Eye, the writer found that Swango has
characteristics as asocial, introvert, repeatedly violation of law or norms, dishonest
and lie repeated as using another name/ cheats, impulsivity, irritability and
aggressive, irresponsibility, lack of remorse or guilt, manipulative and underhanded,
obsessed with violent death, and disorder personality before 15 years.
4.2 Michael Swango’s Characterization of Antisocial Personality Disorder
After gives the portrayed of leading character, we can enter to the main
discussion. The main discussion of this topic is focus on antisocial personality
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disorder which reflected by leading character of the novel, Dr. Michael Swango. The
story of this novel is explained about Michael Swango’s characterization of
antisocial personality disorder and the causes of Swango’s antisocial personality
disorder that writer found from the novel written by James B Stewart entitled Blind
Eye: The Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who Got Away with Murder.
4.2.1 Asocial and Introvert
Asocial and introvert behavior have relation between one to the other,
because a loner who prefers to be alone rather than with other people, certainly feels
interested to himself/ herself and prefers solitary activities. An asocial is called
individualist or a loner often feels not have connection with other people or even feel
that society or culture that is common to avoid them, while an introvert is a quite
person who is only thinking about themselves, do not find happiness to other people
or more interested in their own thoughts, solitary activities and feelings than in
spending time with other people. The quotation below shows that swango is an
asocial.
“It was Rosenthal’s classmate Michael Swango, wearing
military fatigue pants and doing jumping jack. Swango was lean
and muscled at a time when fitness was far from most students’

minds. He’d been in the Marines, and his name was stenciled on
the military garb he usually wore to class. It was weird, Rosenthal
thought. Many of his classmates had been antiwar protesters.
Swango was the only member of the class he knew who had been
in the military.
Swango’s military garb and fanatical devotion to fitness
were noticed by just about everyone in his class at SIU. Beside
the military fatigues, he wore combat boots to class. When
Rosenthal and other classmates struggled out of bed in the
morning after a late night of studying, they would often see
Swango outdoors doing early-morning calisthenics, chanting
Marine cadences. Sometimes, at breakfast in the cafeteria, they
teased him about his uniforms and military bearing. Swango
bridled at their ribbing and increasingly keep to himself.” (Blind
Eye, 1999:22)
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In the above quotation explains that Swango choose to be a loner. In the
sentences “Michael Swango, wearing military fatigue pants and doing jumping jack”

and “they teased him about his uniforms and military bearing” the author directly
asserts that Swango who loved military-style appearance, so he often uses as military
clothing and shoes in the classroom. Every morning he is gymnastics and at the same
time he loves to sing rhythmic Marine Corps. The fascination appears at the time of
his first year in Mallikin and at the end of his second year he enrolls in the Marine
Corps. But many friends in SIU choose to become antiwar protesters. So his style
made him withdraw from his classmates, because he often hears their mockery about
his style. The behavior is like social isolation is a state of loneliness experienced by a
person because of other people gives negative expressing and threatening. Someone
that has withdrawn of personality would avoid interaction with others. Because
Rawlins (1993) said that withdrew behavior is an attempt to avoid interaction with
others, avoid contact with others. However, not only Swango that choose to avoid
from his friends, but his friends also keep away from him. The following are quotes
that show the relationship between Swango and his friend.
…. Rosenthal ended up having very little contact with his
partner. This may have been because Swango was still working
for the ambulance corps and frequently was either unavailable or
fidgeting because he was going to be late for ambulance duty. But
it was also because Rosenthal didn’t like being around Swango.
He was Jumpy, nervous, and seemed unable to relax. (Blind Eye,
1999:29-30)
Though most students sharing a neurosurgery specialty
would observe each other’s surgeries, Sweeney stayed away from
Swango’s˗˗ he was horrified by the prospect of what he might
see˗˗and Swango never showed up at Sweeney’s, either.
Zawodniak, though he was genial and friendly, also
developed an aversion to Swango. When Swango was out of
earshot after one particularly frustrating encounter, Zawodniak
turned to Sweeney and lamented, “What did I fucking doo to
deserve him?”(Blind Eye, 1999:31-32)
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Rosenthal is Swango classmate. Swango is his partner to give an oral
presentation in the surgery rotation. From the quote above the words “very little
contact” shows that Rosenthal and Swango have little communication. Furthermore,
Rosenthal do not like being around Swango that seems uncomfortable because
Swango like to show his attitudes as nervous, anxious, and can’t relax. Not only
Rosenthal, Sweeney also avoids Swango as well as Mark Zawodniak that is a
resident who would oversee the work of Sweeney and Swango and act as a mentor.
Zawodniak doesn’t want to meet Swango which has made Zawodniak frustrating and
the sentence “What did I fucking doo to deserve him” Zawodniak really doesn’t
accept to be a mentor to Swango. It is contrast with Sweeney who avoid Swango
because he is afraid with something that he ever seen like incidents the corpse that
time. Incident corpse is a surgical task presented by Swango that the results are
surprising his classmates, his surgery that did the hip region into a form that is not
recognized. It is also the subject of ridicule of his friends in the party and the class
meeting. But Swango never attend it. He preferred to avoid it.
At SIU, the first-year students were divided into groups and each
students was assigned one part of the cadaver to dissect and
present to the rest of the group. Swango’s assignment was the hip
and buttock region, including the gluteus muscles.
…………………………………………………………………
For when his presentation finally came, and he unveiled his
dissection, his fellow students gasped. He had transformed the hip
region of his cadaver into an unrecognizable mess of tangled flesh
and bone. (Blind Eye, 1999:23)
Yet the combination of his weird grab, chiseled physique, odd
nocturnal habits, “Swangoing,” and now the cadever mishap,
made him one of the best-known of the seventy-two members of
the class, much talked about and derided at the many class parties
and gatherings, from which he was usually absent. (Blind Eye,
1999:23-24)
From some of the above quotation can be seen that the author portrayed
character of Swango directly that shows his withdrew because he don’t want to hear
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mockeries from his friends. Withdrew is an attempt to avoid interaction with others,
avoid contact with other people. Someone who decides to avoid the surrounding
environment or shunned by her friends are asocial attitude. Based on Swango’s
action who choose to avoid their friends as well as friends and mentors who do not
want to be near him, it can be said that a person who has an attitude Swango asocial.
He deliberately refused social relationships with his classmates because he felt better
and comfortable because it is far from mockeries his friends.
Moreover, Swango who chooses to withdraw from his friends, he prefers
doing activities that are his own and do not ever attend the party. It appears in the
following quotation.
But Swango never came in during the day evening, preferring to
work on his dissection after mid night, when the lab usually
deserted. Indeed, some members of his group, who nwver saw
him in the anatomy lab at all, wondered how he was going to
make his presentation.
What Swango gained in privacy from his unorthodox
hours he lost in guidance from faculty and other students. (Blind
Eye, 1999:23)
………………………………………………………………...
But Swango didn’t drink alcohol and, despite his close
relationship to Wacaser, never attended the parties. (Blind Eye,
1999:33)
Someone who likes to spend time alone and enjoy doing activities lonely can
be called a man of introverted nature. From the quote above, we can know that
Swango has introvert personality, because the words “preferring to work on his
dissection after mid night” explains that Swango like to do lonely activity and the
sentence “his close relationship to Wacaser, never attended the parties” shows that he
also don’t like to have socialization with other people in the parties.

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4.2.2 Dishonesty, Lie Repeated Using Another Name/ Cheats, Manipulative and
Underhanded
Lying is a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an
intentional untruth; a false hood. Arnold Goldberg, a professor of psychiatry at Rush
Medical College in Chicago said that lying is as much apart of normal growth and
development as telling the truth. But psychiatrists see lying as pathological when it is
so persistent as to be destructive to the liar’s life, or to those to whom he lies.
Pathological lying can be moderate or high:
•

•

In moderate form: they will be shrewd, crafty, cunning, sly, and clever.
In extreme form, they will be deceptive, deceitful, underhanded,
unscrupulous, manipulative, and dishonest.
After explanations above and write found that there are Swango’s lying from

moderate to extreme form like cunning, lying, manipulation, and underhanded, that
portrayed of leading character in novel Blind Eye: the Terrifying Story of a Doctor
Who Got Away with Murder. Cunning is an act that many bad sense; clever trick;
deceitful; cheating. According to Oxford, cunning is able to get what you want in a
clever way, especially by tricking or cheating. Lie is say something that is not true to
make people believe. Often people lie to keep a secret or reputation, protect
someone's feelings or to avoid punishment or repulsion for one action. Manipulation
is an engineering process by adding, concealment, removal or obfuscation against
part or the whole of a reality, reality, facts or history. They also often show dramatic
emotions even though they do not mean it. So they often referred to as “cold man”.
An antisocial can manipulate the appearance and manner of speech. They have the

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tendency to be smooth, engaging, charming, slick, and verbally facile. Some of the
quotations state about lying of Swango can be seen in the following quotations.
•

Swango was cunning on his exams.
That didn’t deter Swango, however, from using his notes during
the exam. He would choose one of the tests, take it, then choose
his next test topic and sprint from the room back into the hallway.
There he would frantically page through his notes and books,
cramming for the second test. Then he would return, take that test,
and repeat the process. His fellow students were dumbfounded,
and some were disgruntled. Dashing into the hallway between
tests seemed perilously close to cheating, though it wasn’t
expressly forbidden. As the weeks went by and Swango continued
the pattern, several students mentioned to him that they thought it
wasn’t fair, but Swango was defiant, and continued his cramming.
Inevitably, other students began to do likewise, which let to
considerable faculty concern. Finally Chandra Banerjee, the firstyear professor of pulmonary medicine, admonished his students:
“Goddammit, no Swangoing.” A new word was coined.
“Swangoing,” the noun, or “to Swango,” the verb, described the
practice of racing into the hall and cramming between tests.
(Blind Eye, 1999:22-23)
Swango is a cunning, because the word “cheating” that means about act in a

dishonest way in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game, a competition, an
exam, etc. So, we can conclude that Swango who ran into the corridor between the
two test times or called swangoing seemed to be approaching the act of cheating,
where cheating is the act of cunning, because cunning is an act that many bad sense;
clever trick; deceitful; cheating.
•

Fabrication of documents
Still, after he was admitted he decided to embroider his record.
On a form he submitted to the college’s public information office,
he falsely claimed that he had received both a Bronze Star for
heroism in combat, and a Purple Heart for combat wounds during
his relatively brief tenure as a Marine.” (Blind Eye, 1999:26)

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The word “embroider” above is to make Swango’s record more interesting by
adding details that are not always true. It is seen clearly that from the words “he
falsely claimed” author explains that Swango is full of lies and deception, because in
the quote above Swango fabricates his record that he claims he had received
appreciation as a Marine. Fabrication is an act dishonest or cunning because it has
same purpose as to trick other person, which is an action to invent false information
in order to trick people.
Given that he had spent a mere ten minutes with the patient, the
carefully written report was perhaps too complete and polished,
and it raised doubts in O’Connor’s mind. She visited the patient to
inquire about Swango’s visit, and learned that the woman had
barely talked to Swango. He hadn’t conducted any physical
examination; he’d never even touched her.
Stunned, O’Connor concluded that in the entire three-page report
was either a fabrication, a plagiarism from an earlier H&P by a
resident, or a combination of the two. She had never encountered
such behavior by a student.
………………………………………………………….
The faculty members were appalled and angry at Swango’s
brazen misconduct and dishonesty, which very well might have
posed of threat to a patient’s health… ( Blind Eye, 1999:49)
O’Connor reported this to the committee. She also testified about
Swango’s performance in the OB/GYN rotation, detailing his
frequent absence and presenting the evidence suggesting he had
fabricated at least one patient’s history and physical, and perhaps
others. (Blind Eye, 1999:51)
Swango also is accused of falsifying on the results of patient’s H&P. H&P is
a test in which the patient interview, recorded their medical history, perform a
routine physical examination, and enter the results in the patient chart. If we look the
quote above from the sentence “He hadn’t conducted any physical examination; he’d
never even touched her” shows that Swango don’t do H&P his patient, so it is
impossible that he can write his report was too complete and polished. Then there is
a possibility that Swango falsifying his patient’s report. This action is like an act
cunning and manipulative. It is an act dishonest.
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Dr. Schultz also checked with the Illinois Department of
Professional Regulation, the body that had suspended Swango’s
license, and learned that he had not, in fact, been convicted of
battery because of any “altercation” in a restaurant, but had been
convicted of six counts of poisoning. Dr. Schultz confirmed this is
a phone conversation with the state’s attorney in Quincy.
……………………………………………………………
Among the documents Swango provided was a prison discharge
“fact sheet,” which explained the battery as a brawl. “Releasee
struck a blow with his fist,” the document said. Similarly, a
“docketing statement” contained this description of the case.
……………………………………………………………
Scott Walden, the Adams County state’s attorney, immediately
sent Schultz copies of Swango’s sentencing order and of the
appellate court opinion rejecting his appeal. He also sent copies of
the materials to Judge Cashman, urging that he, too, contact
Schultz. In his note to Cashman, Walden wrote, ‘As you can see,
Swango has gone to great lengths to cover-up what he has
done−even to the point of falsifying documents.” (Blind Eye,
1999:158-160)
Miller was taken aback. So this was why such an attractive
candidate had failed to gain a match. “What was all that about?”
he asked, curious to know more.
Swango explained that he’d been convicted of battery in Illinois
after a barroom brawl got out of hand. He said he hadn’t meant to
injure any one, but that, having been a Marine, he sometimes
forgot his own strength. (Blind Eye, 1999:205)
Swango who want to work as a doctor in Ohio Valley Medical Center in
Wheeling, West Virginia provide some documents, where Dr. Jeffrey S. Schultz is
head of medicine at the hospital to get the document liberation and prison in Illinois
medical license suspended. He is also seeking information about the document and
checks the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. So he knows that content
of the document caused by attempt to murder by poison and it is not about crime/
persecution that started from contention in a restaurant. He finally ascertained that
Swango give false documents to an exemption from a prison that happened. From the
sentence “Swango has gone to great lengths to cover-up what he has done−even to

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the point of falsifying documents” that statement of other character, Walden shows
us that Swango is a liar and deceiver.
Falsification of documents contains two meanings which acts make a false or
fake letter mail. Creating a false letter is to create a letter that is wholly or partly false
contents, while the fake letter was an act to change it in any way by those who are
not entitled to the letters that result part or all of its contents into another/ different
from the contents of the original letter. The act of forgery can be classified first in the
group of evil “deception”. Based on analysis above, the writer found that Swango is
falsifier who makes false documents on his appreciation as a Marine and falsifying H
& P his patient and the liberation of the prison.
•

Manipulation of emotions
After reviewing his sterling record of accomplishments, Swango
made an eloquent, almost tearful, plea that he be allowed to pay
his debt to society. Citing his “faith in God” and “[the] support of
my family and friends,” he said he was left with one overriding
question: “What can I do, Judge Cashman… to convince you and
show you that I still have a great wealth of good and caring to
return to this society and that I should be allowed…to resume that
service to society?
After graduation from medical school took the Hippocratic Oath
and I have never nor would I ever violet the sacred trust of the
doctor-patient relationship …. In no way, shape, or form, under
no conceivable circumstance am I now, or have I ever been, or
will I ever be, a danger to any human being on the face of this
earth.” With that, Swango folded his notes and sat down. (Blind
Eye, 1999:142)
Cashman is a judge where he will lead the trial once the sentencing of

Michael Swango. Based on the above quote states that Swango plead and he does not
commit acts that violate the Hippocratic Oath. He shows dramatic emotions that
Cashman believes that he still cares for the people and does not violate the oath. His
expression shows that Swango manipulates his emotion because manipulation is an
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engineering process by adding, concealment, removal or obfuscation against part or
the whole of a reality, reality, facts or history that they also often show dramatic
emotions even though they do not mean it.
•

Swango did not acknowledge or lying that he had been poisoned his patients
and friends.
In novel Blind Eye, many patients and several paramedics became Swango’s

victims by poison. One of his patients is Mrs. Cooper. We can see two quotes below.
Freeman returned to the ninth floor, where Swango was
still on duty, and confronted him with the allegation that he had
given Cooper an injection. Swango denied that he had even been
in cooper’s room after the doctors finished their rounds. Later,
after hearing more reports from nurses, Freeman again asked
Swango if he was sure he had never been in the room. Swango
repeated that he had had no contact with Cooper. As Freeman
later put it, “I confronted him and did question him and he said he
was not in the room. Nor did he see her just previous to the
incident.” (Blind Eye, 1999:69)
Dr. Carey, too, spoke to Swango, mentioning that there
had been an “incident report” concerning him that would need to
be investigated. Unlike Goodman, Carey did ask Swango
specifically whether he had “done anything” to Cooper or
“injected anything in her IV.” Swango said no, but then
volunteered a detailed account that differed sharply from his
answers to Dr. Freeman the night before. He said that he had gone
into Cooper’s room because either Cooper or Utz−Carey couldn’t
remember which−had told hi m her feet were cold, and asked him
to fetch her slippers. He did so and left immediately, without
doing anything to an IV line.( Blind Eye, 1999:73)
According to the quotes above, from the sentences “I confronted him and did
question him and he said he was not in the room. Nor did he see her just previous to
the incident” that statement of Dr. Rees Freeman, a chief resident of neurosurgery
and “he had gone into Cooper’s room because either Cooper or Utz
−Carey couldn’t
remember which−had told him her feet w ere cold, and asked him to fetch her
slippers” show that Swango give two different reasons to the same question. In the
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fact, Swango give an injection that contains the liquid into Mrs. Cooper's infusion.
The liquid is poison. When someone give different answer in the same question and
give lengthy reasons that it is signs of their lies. Swango give two versions are
different, making it difficult to find the truth. So it is possible elements lie in it.
Swango gives the different answer in order that people can believe and he want to
cover up his mistake which means there is something to hide with a lie. Body
language or gestures can also explain the person is lying or not. So the following is a
quote.
“What did you do, Mike, poison us?” joked Unmisig. Swango
looked incredulous, sitting forward in his chair and shaking his
head earnestly.
“No, I didn’t,” he replied, staring down at the floor as he said it.
“You know I wouldn’t do anything like that.” He picked up the
box with the remaining doughnuts, saying he was going to take
them down to the nurses’ station. (Blind Eye, 1999:97)
In the quote, there is sentence as “No, I did not, he Replied, staring down at
the floor as he said it” means that Swango trying to avoid eye contact with Unmisig
by staring at the floor. If someone is doing a lie, so it will looked in her eyes. The
eyes of people who lie will not clear the direction of view.
•

Using a fake name and age
Someone uses other name, identity, and age has a specific purpose for the

benefit of them with lying to other people. A liar has different reasons. In the first
and second quotes below, Swango uses false name. From the words in quotes below
“Kirk” or “Dr. Michael Kirk” that explain to reader that the other name of Swango
namely Dr. Michael Kirk. In the first quote Swango uses Kirk as his identity to
introduce himself for his first rotation in the Stony Brook Medical School and people
were interested with his name that it is the captain’s name. So Swango uses the fake

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name in order to accept to work in the hospital and cover that he had a problem
previously. His purpose also is to make other people interested with him, because his
name like a name of the starship captain in Star Trek that is assigned to internal
medicine at the sprawling, modern Veterans Administration hospital in Northport,
Long Island.
For his first rotation, Swango
−or Kirk, as he introduced
himself to some people, Kirk being the name of the starship
captain in Star Trek
−was assigned to internal medicine at the
sprawling, modern Veterans Administration hospital in Northport,
Long Island, one of the two hospitals affiliated with the Stony
Brook medical school. (Blind Eye, 1999:208)
After a brief consultation with a respiratory specialist,
Harris was assigned to a resident. When Elsie Harris arrived, she
found the doctor sitting attentively near his husband’s bed in the
private room. He had blond hair, clear blue eyes, an athletic build,
and abroad smile that Mrs. Harris found immediately reassuring.
He introduced himself as Dr. Michael Kirk. (Blind Eye, 1999:215)
The gardener admitted Michael Swango through the front
gates a few days later, on March 31, 1996, and O’Hare met him at
the door. She noticed a tic, or squint, that seemed on affect his
right eye. She looked around to see what kind of car he drove, but
there was none in sight. He introduced himself as Michael Swan.
(Blind Eye, 1999:259)
From the sentence above in the third quote “He introduced himself as
Michael Swan” shows us that Swango also uses false name to introduce himself to
O’Hare. Swango also lied about his age in order to attract the attention of his
interlocutors, namely Lorimer and O'Hare. Swango says to Lorimer that his age is
twenty seven years old. While with O’Hare, Swango admits his age is thirty five like
O’Hare’s daughter. The following are some excerpts stating that Swango used false
age.
As the two became close, Lorimer, twenty-seven,
naturally talked about his upbringing: his father was Irish; he’d
been born in Zambia but moved to Zimbabwe when he has two,
had grown up in Harare, the capital, and had graduated from
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medical school there. For his part, Swango said he, too, was
twenty-seven years old. (In reality, he was now forty). (Blind Eye,
1999:228)
O’Hare invited him into the parlor, where the two sat
down and Keredo served them tea. O’hare was immediately
reassured when “Swan” told her he was a doctor, a profession that
was not only eminently respectable but would assure her of steady
rental payments. He said he had been working at Mpilo Hospital,
and had come from America to help “uplift” the Africans, “to do
his part for humanity.” She asked him his age, and he teasingly
replied, “How old do you think I am?”
“Thirty-five,” O’Hare guessed.
“Oh no,” he answered, in mock indignation. “I’m twentyseven.”
“That’s Paulette’s age,” O’Hare exclaimed, delighted that
she would have someone her daughter’s age around the house.
(Blind Eye, 1999:259)
4.2.3 Impulsivity
Impulsivity is a psychological term that indicates that individuals who
involved and entangled themselves in the form of reactions that are performed
without thought, so that they are not able to withstand to respond. They are not able
to suppress or control the desire itself in response to stimulus. They are unconscious
and put forward command of id or instinct. Impulsive of people or their behavior are
acting suddenly without thinking carefully about what might happen because of what
you are doing. The occurrence of behaviors that are unpremeditated and lack
reflection or planning, inability to resist temptation, frustrations, and urges, a lack of
deliberation

without

considering

the

consequences,

and

foolhardy,

rash,

unpredictable, erratic, and reckless.
Swango’s impulsive is clearly expressed in the novel. It can we see his
behavior or action and when he interacts with his friends. Swango is not able to
control his interest with the car crashes and his emotion. He behaves or acts without
considering the consequences especially when his speech with other people.

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“With his postgraduate career seemingly secure, Swango all but
gave up any pretense of interest in his medical studies and
indulged his growing fascination with the car crashes and
emergencies he encountered on the ambulance crew.”(Blind Eye,
1999:48)
Impulsive behavior of individual is usually characterized by not being able to
control his desire. Based on the above quote “indulged his growing fascination with
the car crashes and emergencies” author describes indirectly that Swango has
interesting in cases of collision and emergencies. From word “indulged” shows that
Swango is not able to control his interesting without thinking carefully about what
might happen that he almost ignors his career. From the sentence above “Swango all
but gave up any pretense of interest in his medical studies” explains about he is
nearly sacrificed his education.
Impulsive also a form of reaction without thinking carefully like reactions
gets angry because cannot control emotion and gives a threat and when asked the
reason, they give different reasons and unclear. The quote below in the novel blind
eye also shows that Swango act without thinking. The word “she” is Kristin Kinney,
a nurse and Swango’s girlfriend. She found fact about the poison recipes and asks an
explanation it. From sentence below “he reacted angrily, even threatening to leave
her” shows us that Swango responds with abundant emotion that can not control,
because he gives a threat in the form of threatening to leave Kristin.
Whenever she confided any of her own concerns to Michael
−
such as when she asked for an explanation for the poison
recipes−he reacted angrily, even threatening to leave her. Every
day, it seemed, she learned new fact that needed different and
convoluted explanations. (Blind Eye, 1999:195)
Lorimer’s only real concern, and a minor one in the scheme of
things, was the frequency with which Swango swpre or, as
Lorimer put it, “blasphemed.” Lorimer and his wife Cheryl, a
former ballet Dancer, are, and led a weekly Bible discussion and
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prayer group at Bulawayo Central Presbyterian Church. When
Lorimer asked Swango to watch his language, Swango seemed
startled that he might have offended, and never again took the
Lord’s name in vain in Lorimer’s presence. (Blind Eye, 1999:227228)
Person or impulsive behavior, they speak without thinking carefully. As the
quote above where the author indirectly explains that Swango is impulsive. It is
showed by the word “blasphemed” that is a word to speak about God or holy things
of a particular religion in an offensive way. Swango likes to say it but Lorimer and
Cherly as devout Presbyterians don’t like it. The following quotation also refers to us
that Swango is impulsive because he insults African country.
He and the others were particularly offended by one of Swango’s
comments to the effect that “as Africa was a jungle, syringes can
be used repeatedly without harm.” Swango added, by way of
example, that in the Congo”injections were used again and
again.” (Blind Eye, 1999:239)
Some of the above explanation states that Swango is not careful in speech and
don’t think the consequences to other people. Swango statements as “as Africa was a
jungle, syringes can be used repeatedly without harm” and “injections were used
again and again” heard like a humiliation to Africa that make “he” as P.C. Chakarisa
that is a superintendent in Zimbabwe Republic police and his friend offended.
4.2.4 Irritability and Aggressive
Person that have poor behavioral controls, actually they will act such as
expressions of irritability, annoyance, impatience, threats, aggression, and verbal
abuse; inadequate control of anger and temper; acting hastily. Irritability is behavior
of person that can’t control their emotion. They feel so hard to control their emotion,
sometime their get aggressive. Aggressive is angry, and behaving in a threatening
way; ready to attack. Aggression is feeling of angry and hatred that may result in
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threatening or violent behavior or a violent attack or threats by one person against
another person or by one country against another country. But aggression of person
also can threat themselves. In Blind Eye author directly describe the behavior
Swango quick-tempered and aggressive to himself and others that show by the
following quotations.
Aggressive to himself, means that self-injurious actions resulted by the
reaction of others or their greatest desire from within. In the novel, Swango always
does push-ups every criticism from others. It is a punishment that he charges for
himself, and is one of aggressive action. Not only that, he only spend very little time
for a break and then jump up, for the sake of his desire to be able to be in a long time
in America Ambulance, Springfield. This is due to his interest in the victims of a
collision, heart attack, and other serious crimes.
“……………………………………………………………..
Whenever they criticized Swango – as they often did, because of
his incompetence – Swango would immediately drop to the floor
and begin a strenuous set of push-ups. He could do hundreds of
them. It was almost as if he was still in the Marines, and this was
his self-imposed punishment.”(Blind Eye, 1999:59)
Swango told fellow paramedics that he could maintain such a
schedule because he subsisted on only two or three hours of sleep
a night. Indeed, colleagues in the ambulance service were amazed
that Swango would sleep only thirty minutes, then jump up and
work for twelve hours straight, almost manic with energy. They’d
never seen anything like it. (Blind Eye, 1999: 47)
Aggressive to other people, means a response to anger, disappointment,
feelings of resentment and anger provoke threats that can lead to violent behavior as
a way to fight back or punish the form of action to attack, destroy, to kill other
people. In Blind Eye, Swango has an aggressive nature to others using poison. The
action is an act of murder to his Patients and poisons his friends, and girlfriend.
There are many patients poisoned by Swango. One of them is Rena Cooper, a sixty49
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nine-years-old widow who had had an operation that morning for a lower back
problem. She is dying after her infusion getting injections from Swango.
Swango had apparently responded to the call. He was standing at
Cooper’s bedside, only about three feet from Beery, and the
student noticed that he was adding something to Cooper’s
intravenous tube by inserting a syringe. “Her line must have
clotted off” was her only thought; she assumed Swango was
clearing a blockage. Berry stepped outside to enter data on Utz’s
chart. She was running late, and ready to move on to her next
patient when, no more than two minutes later, she heard Utz call
out, “Are you all right, Mrs. Cooper?” then Berry heard a violent
rattling of bed rails, followed by Utz’s screams.
She rushed into the room. Utz cried out, “There’s something
wrong!” Cooper was turning blue and had stopped breathing.
(Blind Eye, 1999:65)
Swango also can poison his friends and girl friends. Swango poisons his
friends and girlfriend by food and drink that he has brought. This action shows
aggressive of Swango. The examples are Kentucky Fried Chicken to residents of the
Children’s Hospital and donut to Blessing Hospital’s Paramedics in the following
quotations.
Swango completed his general surgery rotation and in April
moved to Children’s Hospital for his pediatrics rotation. Swango
had often mentioned to his fellow interns and residents how much
he loved fried chicken, and one night he offered to get Kentucky
Fried Chicken for the residents on duty with him. Thomas Vara,
the senior resident, said that wouid be fine, but suggested,
“instead of getting separate boxes, why don’t you get a big bucket
for all of us to eat?”
“No, no,” Swango said. “Let’s keep it separate,” He insisted on
taking everyone’s chicken and drink order. He returned with the
orders about five P.M.
……………………………………………………………
Vara, Hashimoto, and a third resident, Douglas Hess, ate the
chicken. About three hours later, all three fell violently ill, with
fever, nausea, and vomiting that lasted over a week.
……………………………………………………………
After all, Swango, too, had eaten Kentucky Fried Chicken. He
hadn’t been sick at all. (Blind Eye, 1999:85-86)
Based on the quote above explains that Swango have put something that
make her friends sick after eating the Kentucky Fried Chicken. Because Swango eats
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it with separate boxes, he is not sick. His friends were poisoned with symptoms such
as fever, nausea, and vomiting. It is also happened to paramedics at the hospital
blessing, they also poisoned after eating doughnuts that Swango brought. He doesn’t
take the doughnut, because he has put something into it so that it looks as if it had
melted slightly.
“I got you guys a bunch of doughnuts,” Swango said as he put the
box on the table. Krzystofczyk took a doughnut, as did the three
other paramedics in the room that morning. But Swango didn’t
take one; he sat down near the TV.
……………………………………………………………
The doughnut tasted okay, though the icing on it looked as if it
had melted slightly, maybe from exposure to heat.
…………………………………………………………….
About a half-hour later, one of the paramedics began to feel
nauseated, flushed, dizzy, and had to rush to the bathroom to
vomit. Within another fifteen minutes all four who had eaten the
doughnuts were ill with similar symptoms. (Blind Eye, 1999:97)
In Blind Eye, Swango is able to poison his girlfriends, Kristin Kenney and
Joanna Daly. Kristin Kinney is a nurse in the intensive care unit at Riverside hospital
where place Swango enrolled in an advanced life-support course during the summer
of 1991. They became engaged in May 1992. Swango give poison to Kristin, because
of the anxiety that could provoke Swango’s anger because Kristin asked for an
explanation of the recipes in the poison that she found. The following quotation
shows us about Kristin’s symptoms of poisoning.
Then, on January 13, Kristin became violently il