Drugs in Sports
Since the beginning of time, society has constantly been competing with one another. Every human being is always trying to be, better than his/her neighbour. No matter what the task at hand, humans essentially believe that they can achieve bigger and better things, and eventually reach perfection. Perfection is defined as being a "quality or state of being perfect, or complete, so that nothing requisite is wanting; entire development; consummate culture, skill, or moral or physical excellence; maturity". It can come in different styles however, and to some perfection is attained only when they have become flawless. Jeffery Deaver's novels, "The Bone Collector" and "The Devils Teardrop" deal with perfection, in perhaps an unorthodox manner. In each of these novel's perfection is sought after in criminal activities, more specifically, murder. And in each novel, the main characters are competing with time and themselves in order to stop the serial killers from striking again. They themselves are out to attain perfection in their already distinguished careers. Through the main characters, and the plots of both novels, characteristics of the other novel are clearly evident and as well the underlying theme of perfec
"I don't care if you make me John Doe or Thomas Jefferson as long as I'm not me. Joan's coming by the house tomorrow morning at ten with some presents for the kids. If she finds out I went off on New Year's Eve to work on a case...it'll be bad" (Deaver, The Devil's Teardrop, p.61). The ransom note that was left for the mayor's office is none like Parker Kincaid has ever seen before and he has to use all of his knowledge in order to decipher the clues that lie in the letter in order to stop the Digger from striking again. In both novels, the reader discovers very heroic main characters that lead the crime scene investigation. In "The Bone Collector", Lincoln Rhyme is a retired head of forensics officer for the New York police department. Rhyme had been forced to retire from his job after a terrible accident. He had been working on a case in regards to a serial killer who was targeting police officers, and was at the scene of one of the murders when a metal support beam fell, and paralyzed him from the neck down. When the case of the Bone Collector was brought to his attention, he didn't really care much about it. In fact, Rhyme was attempting to retrieve the aid of a doctor, to assist in his own suicide. However, the doctor decides not to help Lincoln Rhyme kill himself and leaves. Rhyme decides to help the New York Police Department in trying to catch the unknown serial killer. At first Rhyme isn't very interested in the case, however, eventually he finds something that has disappeared in his life over the last few years, pleasure. Lincoln Rhyme is very set in his ways and has his own method of doing his work, and it is this characteristic which makes him the best forensics scientist in the state of New York. Rhyme is very literal when it comes to physical evidence, and this is why this case challenges Rhyme. No longer can he just look at the evidence and catch the killer, he has to place himself in the shoes of the killer and go more in depth and find the real meaning about the evidence. However, Lincoln Rhyme's biggest challenge is his physical disability, and how it does not allow him to investigate the crime scene himself. "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." -Thomas Jefferson. However, the bone collector does not mimic the exact footsteps of James Schneider, the serial killer in the old novel, because the bone collector enjoys watching his victims die. Unlike other criminals, the unidentified subject in this novel wants to lead the NYPD to the next crime scenes so that they can possibly save the victim. The reader can really tell that the bone collector has some compassion for his victims, not only because he leads the police to the next scene, but also because he actually spares some of them and gives them a chance
Some common words found in the essay are:
Parker Kincaid, Lincoln Rhyme, Devil's Teardrop, Margaret Lukas, Devils Teardrop, James Schneider, , Bone Collector, Lincoln Rhyme's, Department Sachs, bone collector, parker kincaid, lincoln rhyme, serial killer, main characters, devil's teardrop, crime scene, york police department, york police, reach perfection, perfect crime, officer york police, digger stop killing, bone collector amelia, deaver devil's teardrop,
Approximate Word count = 1940
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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