Summer Reading Book Blog Post

The central theme of the book My Friend Dahmer is that if adults would have intervened in Jeffrey Dahmer's life, maybe he could have ended up something other than a cannibalistic serial killer. The theme emerged in the beginning of the book, as Dahmer showed early signs of being a sociopath, such as torturing animals in a shed, yet not one adult said anything to him, or tried to get him help. The theme really became present when Dahmer started drinking, and was constantly in an alcoholic fog during class, and smelled of booze all day, and yet he did not get in trouble, probably because the teachers just didn't want to bother. If the teachers who noticed his drunkenness had spoken up, maybe his fate would have ended differently. In the book, Dahmer starts out as an average student, though seems to be more alone than the other students in his grade. But as Dahmer ages, he becomes more and more dark and alone. His home life was a mess, and he was constantly battling evil sexual fantasies that tortured his mind. These diffifulties eventually led to Dahmer becoming one of the most feared serial killers in American history, but if an adult had stepped in and tried to help him, could things have ended differently?