Why Did the Whitechapel Murders Attract so Much Attention in 1888? Essay Example
In this essay I am going to address the variables that influenced the attention focused on the Whitechapel murders in 1888.
During the Victorian times people didn’t really take much notice of Whitechapel. What attracted these working class citizens to take an interest in the place were the murders. But it wasn’t only the murders it was the nature of the murders and how grotesque and sickening they turned out to be. People heard about the extent to which the victims were harmed and suspense grew with every time the murderer got away scott free (due to the failure of the police) so obviously took a deeper interest into what was happening.
The working class had to take an interest because these murders could have possibly caused an uprising among the poor people which would have automatically caused disorder among the residents (This could have affected their jobs). Also prostitutes were scared for their own lives because they saw the pattern of all the victims being prostitutes and realized that they were targets. They were particularly focusing their attention on whether Jack the Ripper gets caught because his savage acts were interrupting their businesses.
But overall everybody was on the look-out for the murderer so that they could feel safe in their own homes. The middle class felt sympathy for the poor prostitutes (for being poor and prostitutes) that died but didn’t really care about the prostitutes or the kids that they left behind.
Around this time serial killers were not common so a physco going around the town killing helpless prostitutes was quite new to them. The rich people took a huge interest but were also confused by the fact that they were not being murdered for their fortune and only poor people were being killed. The reason for this could have been because the streets of the poor were dirty, damp and unprotected (with satisfactory street lightings) where as the streets of the rich were well-lit, policemen looked after them particularly, they
During the Victorian times people didn’t really take much notice of Whitechapel. What attracted these working class citizens to take an interest in the place were the murders. But it wasn’t only the murders it was the nature of the murders and how grotesque and sickening they turned out to be. People heard about the extent to which the victims were harmed and suspense grew with every time the murderer got away scott free (due to the failure of the police) so obviously took a deeper interest into what was happening.
The working class had to take an interest because these murders could have possibly caused an uprising among the poor people which would have automatically caused disorder among the residents (This could have affected their jobs). Also prostitutes were scared for their own lives because they saw the pattern of all the victims being prostitutes and realized that they were targets. They were particularly focusing their attention on whether Jack the Ripper gets caught because his savage acts were interrupting their businesses.
But overall everybody was on the look-out for the murderer so that they could feel safe in their own homes. The middle class felt sympathy for the poor prostitutes (for being poor and prostitutes) that died but didn’t really care about the prostitutes or the kids that they left behind.
Around this time serial killers were not common so a physco going around the town killing helpless prostitutes was quite new to them. The rich people took a huge interest but were also confused by the fact that they were not being murdered for their fortune and only poor people were being killed. The reason for this could have been because the streets of the poor were dirty, damp and unprotected (with satisfactory street lightings) where as the streets of the rich were well-lit, policemen looked after them particularly, they