Essay about Heavenly Creatures

Heavenly Creatures Murder always leaves one asking why and it is especially puzzling when a daughter and her best friend decide to kill a seemingly loving mother. It is easy for one to jump to the conclusion that these teenagers were bad girls; however, as Costello (2012) argues, “this film is disturbing because of how innocent and seemingly like other young teenage girl from any time or place Juliette and Pauline seem to be. This normality of behavior makes the murder plot all the more terrifying.” In reality, this movie mirrors recent current events; often people shake their heads and wonder what happened to young people when they are driven to commit murder. Heavenly Creatures exemplifies how opposites attract. Pauline, from a working class family, is a sullen, slightly overweight, and withdrawn 14-year-old. While she is a good student, she displays no real joy in her life until a new student, Juliette, arrives from England. Juliette’s family is wealthy and prominent. Juliette is a beautiful, cultured, vibrant, and articulate 14-year-old. She expresses herself with a raw animated exuberance for life. Pauline is clearly smitten when Juliette proceeds to correct their teacher’s instruction of French in front of the entire class. Juliette is intrigued and attracted to Paulette. She notices that Pauline is different and this strikes a chord within her; she strives to find out more about this mysterious girl. Juliette observes Pauline’s artwork and incorporates part of Pauline’s technique into her own. Juliette is very intuitive, probably from her history of prolonged forced isolation. She watches people, studies them, and gains a unique understanding into their psyche. It becomes almost a game to her as she asserts her opinion, with a seeming innocence into adult conversations. Pauline and Juliette share an elaborate fantasy world. At any signs of distress, the girls retreat. However, like other addictions, the girls quickly find any reason to retreat. Together, they laugh, they play, they fantasize in their pretend world, and they sexually experiment with each other. Their relationship appears to have no boundaries; their rapport appears to be cemented with elaborate fantasies. As Pauline and Juliette’s relationship develops and their time together intensifies, Pauline’s mother tries to establish limits. Pauline is resentful even though she virtually ignores the fact that Juliette’s parents also try to set parameters. In Pauline’s mind, it was only her mother who tried to separate her and her them. In her delusional state, she thinks that Juliette’s parents claim her as another daughter. Juliette’s parents consciously did not correct this perception because they did not want to deal with the unpleasantness of establishing and maintaining limits. When a child becomes a murderer, it is natural to demand explanations. The questions why and what when wrong resonate within the community-at-large. According to Heide (1992), there are those few children who seem to kill without any remorse, yet whose parents seem to be loving and kind. Dangerously antisocial children (DAC) kill the parent to further their own goals. In these cases, the parent is an obstacle in their path to getting what they want. These individuals, for example, may kill to have more freedom, to continue dating a person to whom the parents object, and to inherit money they believe is eventually coming to them. If this behavioral pattern is not corrected, the youth is diagnosed as having a Conduct Disorder. If this behavior continues past the age of 18, “it is likely that this individual may be diagnosed as having an Antisocial Personality Disorder. This type of parricide offender is far more dangerous to society than the others in terms of re-offending and hurting other people in the future” (Heide,

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