case of roger

Question 1

general overview of case of roger

Answer 1

• Slightly different from Bobby’s case – instead of killing him physically, the parents seemed to be wanting to kill his spirit
• 15 yo boy, marks declined over the ninth grade – father (wealthy lawyer) was concerned
• Roger very similar to Bobby
- wants to go to boarding school, parent refused
-normal childhood on surface, but parent diplaying strange subtle tendancies
- roger-depressed-dr peck suggests a psychologist-parents dont follow up-
-roger stole from priests office at school,
-not allowed to go on NYC trip on xmas break because his “room was messy”
-parents believe this was just - dont understand rogers anger - dont have empathy for roger
-on a unconscious level they possess a good deal of animosity towards Roger – didn’t let him go to boarding school when he wanted to, didn’t go see Dr. Levenson, nor allow him to go on the trip which probably could’ve benefitted him
• Parents seemed more interested in Roger having an incurable disease rather than them going into psychotherapy
• Three weeks later received letter from parents - sent Roger to military school – Haven’t seen him since

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Question 2

rogers case analysis

Answer 2

• Difficult way to write about evil is when its subtly – ex: Bobby getting his brother’s suicide weapon (obvious), however, Roger and his parents was much more subtle
• It’s cases like Roger’s, which are more common – evil is less obvious
• His parents were people of the lie – lied not once or twice, but repeatedly – they wanted to appear like they wanted to help Roger
• Naturally, since it is designed to hide its opposite, the pretense chosen by the evil is the pretense of love
• Willing to sacrifice Roger for their preservation of their narcissistic self-image
• The most typical victim of evil is children – weakest and most vulnerable but also parents wield power over them – very close to the dominion of master over slave. This power, like all power, is subject to various forms of abuse. Also the relationship between parent and child is forced intimacy – can’t get rid of a child