Obsession With Killing in Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory

Obsessed With Killing In the novel The Wasp Factory, by Iain Banks, All the characters possess an uncommon character trait. The main character, Frank Cauldhame is obsessed with killing. He has been obsessed with killing since he was a young child, when he murdered three innocent children. His obsession has evolved into a daily ritual due to multiple reasons. First, Frank’s dad has secretly put additional male hormones in Frank’s food since he was a young child. (Frank was born female, but after years of irregular male hormone in-take, his body and mind slowly transformed into male) This degenerate act caused Frank to react to situations much differently. Frank is also obsessed with killing because, in his perspective, he has nothing better to do. His boredom led him to kill every day. Moreover, his desire for control combined with bad parenting does not help his predicament. Frank’s obsession is a result of bad parenting, too much free time, and his passion for control. The primary reason why Frank is so deadly is the daily intake of irregular hormones. Franks father has been putting excess male hormones in his food since he was a young child. “When Old Saul savaged me, my father saw it as an ideal opportunity for a little experiment.”(181) Frank’s dad was more interested in Frank as an experiment, rather than Frank as an offspring. His disgusting way of raising a child scarred Frank’s mind forever, and in result, Frank kills children and animals. The unnatural hormones in Frank’s body correlate with the unnatural acts he does to children and animals. “I slit the buck in the anus. I checked that the bomb was all right.”(34) His violent but calm approach to a rabbit he killed shows he is a cold hearted killer with no remorse. His crude actions confirm his obsession for killing. It is hard to imagine an innocent girl, who was raised properly to commit that type of act. Frank’s father had no right or the experience to perform such a task. Frank’s obsession was also