Thursday, December 9, 2010

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by: Jeff Lindsay

At first glance, Dexter Morgan seems to be as average as anyone could possibly be. He has a job as a blood spatter pattern analyst for the Miami Police, a good relationship with his girlfriend and her two kids, and a wonderful bond with his sister, Deborah. Though Dexter appears to be a normal gentlemanly guy, he has a dark secret: he leads a double life as a serial killer.
The book begins with Dexter on one of his killing sprees, after the "Dark Passenger", which is what drives him to kill people, takes over his body and mind. However, Dexter is unlike most serial killers in the fact that he only kills people who have committed horrible crimes and not been caught or punished for them. For this reason, in the beginning of the novel, Dexter is killing Father Donovan, a priest who has murdered seven children. Once Dexter has killed someone, the Dark Passenger leaves his body and he returns to his normal life.
Dexter is completely aware of the monster that he is, and goes to great lengths to cover up his murders and be a seemingly normal guy. In the novel, Dexter talks about how he lacks normal human emotions and has covered up for any peculiarities towards him with acting through meetings with people by faking charm and feelings. Dexter's sister, who is not his real sister and is the closest person to him, has no idea of Dexter's other life either. The only person to ever learn of what Dexter was, was his adoptive father Harry. When Dexter was a kid, Harry found out about his murdering of animals, and knew that people would soon be next. Harry told Dexter that he can control the Dark Passenger, and could choose who he wanted to kill. Ever since, Dexter adopted Harry's philosophy and thus only kills those who deserve it.
The Miami Police start finding a bunch of women murdered throughout the following weeks, and they all point to one person committing this horrible crime, they just do not know who the killer is. Specifically, when the police finds a body, it is cut into pieces and no blood is found anywhere. For some reason, Dexter becomes intrigued by the killer's murdering style and goes to all the crime scenes even though he isn't permitted to be at crime scenes without blood. Dexter soon is wanting to find the serial killer himself, since the police has no leads and are taking all the wrong steps to get there. Dexter starts going out at night following the Dark Passenger and where it tells him to go. However, the killer is smarter than he seems and now he's dropping Dexter clues as to where he can find him. Dexter decides not to tell the police about the killer's clues and find him himself, but it isn't easy for Dexter to cover up his trail towards the killer when his fellow coworkers become suspicious of his behavior.

1.) In the novel, Dexter learns that there are many other people like him with Dark Passengers that drive them to kill. He even finds one in the form of a nurse, and suspects that his coworker may be one too. How would you feel if someone you thought was able to be trusted was committing murders due to a force inside them?

2.) The serial killer in this novel, leaves Dexter plenty of clues that tell on how to find him. Dexter decides to take matters into his own hands and go to the killer alone without informing the police. Do you think that Dexter should have dropped his interest in the serial killer and told the police? Or do you think he was not doing anything wrong since the killer was giving Dexter the clues and not the police?

12 comments:

Sarah N. 7-8 said...

1. Honestly, I would be scared. It would be difficult for me to except that they kill people, even if if it is not really their fault. I think I would fear for my own life, and struggle with accepting this new information.

2. I think that he could have worked closely with the police and told them about the clues. I think that if he worked with the police it would be more successful than him by himself.

Hannah K. 1-2 said...

1) As an average person, I would be very scared and shocked, but if I were Dexter I would probably only find it interesting.
2)I think that as the clues were left specifically for Dexter, explaining them to the police could have put him in a dangerous position, so though telling the police may have been the right thing to do, it was not a viable option.

Sydney S. 1-2 said...

1. If I were in that position, I would be scared and very suprised. Despite the fact that killing someone is a sin, I would hope that their "Dark Passenger" is like Dexters; only killing the evil and bad people of the world who truely deserve it.

2. I think that he could have sought help from the police, but I feel like he would have gotten farther then they would have. If the serial killer specifically left clues for Dexter, then I think they're something that only Dexter could really solve.

(P.S. ; Dexter is such a good show! I didn't even know there were books!) :)

Ashlyn W. 7-8 said...

I would be really scared if someone I trusted was killing people. I would also be shocked because it would be very unexpected. I would hope they would get control of themselves eventually and get rid of the Dark Passenger.

Laura P 7-8 said...

Hannah: I agree that telling the police of the clues may have put Dexter in a even more dangerous situation, and explaining them may have led to more problems.

Laura P 7-8 said...

Sydney: I also think that it would be horrible to put in that position with someone, and would seriously hope that their "Dark Passenger" was similar to Dexter's.

Sara D. 7-8 said...

Question #2: I think that it was a good idea for Dexter to follow the serial killer. If I were him I wouldn't tell the police though because it would run the risk of me getting arrested because I (Dexter) had committed so many crimes myself. However he's still running the risk of getting himself hurt by following the killer.

Freddy B. 7-8 said...

1. I would feel afraid that he might kill me next.
2.He should've told the police because they would be able to handle it better than he could by himself.

Lisa T. 1-2 said...

1. I would be shocked and disturbed, and it would be hard to trust that person when it was possible they could kill me or other innocent people. I wouldn't just accept their habit, but depending on the relationship (whether they are completely crazy or if they are like Dexter with some sort of control), I would try to understand and not completely walk away because of something that isn't really their fault.

Andrew C 7-8 said...

1. If I discovered someone I trusted was committing murders I would feel betrayed and confused as to what to do next. It would be hard to understand what is really making them do this.

Millie W. 7/8 said...

1) Umm I would be pretty scared and freaked out all the while I would probably become a bit paranoid myself.
2) If he was smart he should have gone to the police. That way he wouldn't become suspected at being a serial killer himself or a accomplice of one.

Mrs. Sherwood said...

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