Jack the Ripper
By: Samerah Abdelhak
Who is he?
Jack the Ripper was an English serial murderer in the late 1800's who had an odd obsession with killing prostitutes. Not only would he kill them; he would brutally mutilate their bodies. He is still extremely famous today, despite his lifetime ending over 100 years ago. He had a huge impact on society. Overall, it is believed that he held the responsibility for the deaths of five women.
Below will be images depicting the murder victims. These images are very disturbing.
Catherine Eddowes
One of Jack's victims, lived from 1842-1888.
Elizabeth Stride
One of Jack's victims, lived from 1843-1888.
Mary Ann Nichols
One of Jack's victims, lived from lived from 1845-1888.
Type of Media
Since this occurred so long ago, the only way of spreading the news was through newspapers. There were many news articles written about him back in the 1800's that told of his killings. The only other way that word of the killings spread was through conversation with one another.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ripper_jack_the.shtml (Information pertaining to him never being caught.)
I feel that Jack the Ripper gets a lot of positive attention for what he did because of the story he holds- he was a serial murderer. He was never caught, which makes him appear intelligent to some. People today find that extremely interesting, enough so that they devote hours just to studying his life story. They find it interesting that he got away with so much for so long. People also find his mind very interesting- they'd study his brain if they could. I feel that their bias is more positive that negative- which I find very disturbing!
Criticism
I'm going to look at this through feminist criticism- why were women the only target? He found prostitutes repulsing, enough so that he wanted to end their lives. But why only women prostitutes? While not as common, there are still male prostitutes. What makes them different? Nothing. Jack had something against just women. His repulsion was only targeted at female prostitutes, but males are no better.
Works Cited
http://www.jack-the-ripper.org/
"WELCOME TO JACK THE RIPPER 1888." Jack the Ripper. Web. 4 May 2015.
http://www.casebook.org/victims/eddowes.html
"Casebook: Jack the Ripper - Catherine Eddowes." Casebook: Jack the Ripper - Catherine Eddowes. Web. 4 May 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2utTgPNU5o