"The Stranger Beside Me" part 2

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Bundy's Mental State

  • The definition of a sociopath:a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience
  • Ted Bundy is said to be a sociopath because he copies human emotion, manipulates, and can talk his way out of anything
  • Ann Rule's definition of a serial killer:
    *Exclusively male
    *More likely to be caucasian than black, and very rarely indian or oriental
    *Brilliant, charming, and charismatic
    *Physically attractive
    *Hands-on killers who use their hands as a weapon: to bludgeon, choke, strangle, or knife victims
    *Killers who seldom use a gun (with the exception of David Berkowitz and Randy Woodfield).
    *Travelers-men who moved constantly either around the city where they lived, or around the country, trolling for victims, putting many times the mileage on their vehicles than ordinary           men did
    *Men who were full of range, who killed to take the edge off that range, and who employed sex in their murder scenario principally to demean their victims
    *Men addicted to murder-as in an addict is addicted to drugs or liquor
    *Men who are fascinated by police work-who either spend time hanging around the police station, or who actually work as reserve officers or commissioned policemen
    *Men who seek a particular type of victim: women, children, vagrants, the elder, homosexuals. Vulnerable victims
    *Men who employed a ruse or a device to lure victims away from help
    *Men who had suffered from some kind of child abuse under the age of 5.  I believed serial killers were very bright, sensitive children who were abused, abandoned, humiliated, rejected-during the time when their consciences should have been developing

"Ted, I believe, was a sadistic sociopath who took pleasure from another human's pain and the control he had over his victims, an adolescent, a young man who never felt much power over his life. He chose a hideous path as he saw power and control." (pg XIV)

Ann Rule and Ted Bundy...in love?

  • Was Ann Rule in love, obsessed, or just friendly with Ted Bundy?

"I looked at the jury, and I knew. Never mind the odds. My God, they are going to kill Ted..." (pg 456)

  • What was Ann Rule to Ted Bundy?

-Ted Bundy thought of Rule as a sister, an older sister who supported him. That is why he called her in prison and wrote her many letters, and he asked her for favors regarding his relationship with Meg. He respected her, but felt no emotions toward her because of his sociopathic mental state.

  • Was Ted Bundy straight?

-In interviews with Rule, she said that she thought he didn't like women. This is remotely true because psychologically, a man who treats women this badly and hates them so much, cannot be straight.

"Ted Bundy is a killer. A 3-times convicted killer, a throwaway man now." (pg 502)

Close Readings

"When I grieve for Ted, and I do, I grieve for all the others who bare no guilt at all." (pg 492)

"I had no fear of Ted Bundy. Even if he was what he was said to be-a mass murderer-I still felt he would never harm me, but neither could I help him in his escape. That was something I just couldn't do." (pg 315)

"Ted continued by saying that he "wouldn't mind" talking to me again, "for the sake of talking," but that he would not contribute to "any more books about Ted Bundy." (pg 540)

"The evidence is there. Don't quit digging for it." (pg 380)

Discussion

  • Is there a connection between Ted Bundy's court case and Mansion's court case?
  • Is Rule writing this book to make people feel sorry for Bundy for make them made at him?
  • If Rule was really Bundy's friend why would she have written this book if he really did not like the book?

From the Blogs

  • Meredith said: Then, I feel like she became heart broken when he called her from the jail, like on page 502 when she says “I cannot forget his phone call in October 1975, the call where he calmly said, I’m in a little trouble- but it’s all going to work out. If anything goes wrong, you’ll read about it in the newspapers.” And I don’t necessarily mean like really heart broken but more as in shock that he was in trouble. But the fact that he said this really calmly really struck me.
  • What Sara said about listing out all the girls was also a good point
  • Seth said: He had everything he needed to be successful in life, but he absolutely blew when something in his head did a complete flip and that's what the tragedy is.