Research Paper on Jodi Arias and the Killing of her Boyfriend, Travis Alexander

Introduction

The murder of Travis Alexander is an important occurrence that helps to reveal the true character of Jodi Arias who happens to be the sole suspect in this case. The attention given to this case by the general public and interest groups necessitates the needs to look at the case in a totally different perspective. One of the most important ways of analyzing the murder case involves an understanding of the personality of Jodi Arias. The main question in this perspective is whether Jodi Arias is Narcissist or not. While she requests for representation by a lawyer, Jodi Arias narcissism influenced her to kill her boyfriend, Travis Alexander because she shows arrogance, portrays fantasies of unachievable success, she shows the need for self-importance through the quest to be a star, and she shows narcissism though arrogance in interviews as she explains their relationship.

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Narcissism Definition

Narcissism can be defined as a mental disorder associated with an excessive feeling of oneself, over-confidence in oneself, without being sensitive to the immediate environment, persons or objects and chances of violence are high with the slightest provocation or criticism (Miller et al., 2018). Narcissism is generally an example of personality disorder.

According to Miller et al. (2018), a narcissistic person normally is a problem initiator in various aspect of life such as school, relationships, work or financial affairs. The characters normally get provoked and disappointed when they are not given the excess attention and the favors as they always believe they are the best and therefore deserve everything, a condition that may make friends and others see them as a nuisance thus avoid their accompany.

There are various signs and symptoms that are associated with a narcissistic personality disorder and they include the following: superiority complex syndrome and therefore tend to move along with only special people; unwillingness and inability to appreciate the feelings and needs of those around them; belittles people around them and while in conversation, they tend to show off by wanting to dominate; they always act arrogantly; boastful and have the tendencies of always wanting the best; a condition that makes them take advantage of others in order to achieve or get whatever they want; are exaggerative when talking about their talents and achievements (Miller et al., 2018).

More importantly, narcissistic people always have challenges dealing with criticism as they have interpersonal problems and are easily provoked, they are emotionally draining, always feel insecure, vulnerable and hesitant to change and managing stress and their behaviors is always a challenge to them.

Jodi's Lie to Investigators

Klung (2013) claims that Jodi's lie to the investigators was one of the most interesting steps in finding a solution to this case. The first important lie was the claim that she had nothing to do with the murder of her boyfriend, Alexander Trivia. During the investigation, she denied having been involved in the murder of Trivia and she weeps to make her arguments justifiable. Her emotional status during the investigation makes her statements look real (Klung, 2013)). However, her reactions when she is left alone in the investigation room proves otherwise as she begins to sing and laugh. Her weird behavior makes it clear that she was only crying for the purpose of convincing the police officers that she was innocent. Her innocence is questioned after review of her behaviors when she is alone and her later confessions prove that she was actually lying to the police officers.

She tells the police officers during the interrogation that her windows were broken by intruders (Klung, 2013). She alleges that the intruder had killed her boyfriend before running away after attempting to attack her as well. She changed this story when she realized that she would be indicted for murder. She then claims that she had killed Trivia Alexander in the process of defending herself from his attack. She paints a picture of Trivia being an abusive boyfriend throughout their relationship and claims that she always lived with fear while dating him (Morrow & Valez-Mitchell, 2013). She changed her story several times from an instance of intruders killing Trivia to a situation when Trivia fought him and she had to defend herself and finally accepting that she killed him due to the fact that he would live her for another lady (Klung, 2013). This changes in her story proved that she had great involvement in the murder of the boyfriend and when she finally accepts it was proved beyond doubt that her involvement in the murder of Trivia was true and she was suffering from narcissism.

Arrogance with the Police Officers

Jodi is concerned more by seducing the police officers and not the case of her boyfriend. Klung (2013) believes that this is considered as arrogance as she concentrates on making body lovely to look at and uses seductive language possible for the purpose of having the police officers on her side. Her arrogance was also shown by her quest for self-importance and exaltation even after the death of her boyfriend was quite shocking (Morrow & Valez-Mitchell, 2013). During her arrest, she does not show any sign of shock or sadness. Ordinarily, it is expected that she would have been remorseful or shocked by the fact that she was more concerned with her make up more than the investigation that was ongoing concerning the death of her boyfriend. The concerns about her looks and hair make it evident that she could have been involved in the murder of her boyfriend. It is possible that she was doing these to have the police officers on her side as she also uses seductive language. This is a real manifestation of narcissism and a possible lead to the person who could have killed Trivia Alexander (Morrow & Valez-Mitchell, 2013). It is evident that Jodi Arias was convicted of enough evidence especially with regards to her personality.

Jodi performs Yoga in the investigation room when left alone and this shows a great level of arrogance and her lack of concern in the case that was ongoing (Klung, 2013). Initially, she had been crying as she was being interrogated by the police but when left alone, her mood changed drastically. She became happy and even began laughing. The behaviors she showed while left alone such as standing with the head and singing are an indication that she was not feeling any pain for the death of her boyfriend. This is quite weird and proves that she was not perturbed by the fact that she had lost her boyfriend. This kind of an attitude can only be found in a narcissist. This proves that Jodi Arias is a narcissist and her involvement in the murder of her Trivia Alexander is not a shock from a psychological point of view. Someone with this kind of behavior has a high risk of violence that could have prompted him to kill his boyfriend.

Jodi Arias arrogance, narcissism and possibility of violence is shown by her lack of empathy (Klung, 2013). Jody Arias lies to the police officers about the events that transpired on the day her boyfriend died (Hogan, 2013). The lies she tells looks so real to the extent that the police officers easily believe her story. A normal person would not have told such lies without being detected. The revelations of her relationship prove that she was mostly concerned with herself and no other people.

Arrogance in the Courtroom

Jodi's arrogant behavior does not end within the confines of the investigation room but rather extend up to the court. In the courtroom, Jodi was short with the prosecutor (Klung, 2013). This was her opportunity of defending herself and showing everyone that she was not involved in the death of her boyfriend, Instead of elaborating and explaining the chronology of the events that occurred during the death of her boyfriends, she responds the prosecutor's question with short replies that are accompanied by a bad attitude.

Additionally, she is curt and combative during the court's proceedings. She does not allow witnesses, prosecutors and even the lawyer to finish their points before she can interject (Klung, 2013). Her combative behavior makes it seem as though she is hiding something from the public. However, it appears arrogant in the sense that it makes it appears as though it is a waste of time to try and understand her case. Her behaviors make it difficult even for her lawyers to convince the judges that she was actually innocent. The combative nature and curt form of communication are irritating to the entire courtroom.

On the other hand, the claims by Jodi Aria that her action was part of self-defense was so arrogant that it shocked many people (Morrow & Valez-Mitchell, 2013). It is often the duty of the judges to determine if a case of murder was as a result of self-defense. Such understanding is arrived at after thorough investigation of all the available pieces of evidence and analysis of the situations that surrounded the case. It was arrogant for Jodi to make such claims in the courtroom even before her case was completely heard.

The fact that Jodi used tactical manipulation while at the stand to convince the court was also rude and uncalled for in the court (Morrow & Valez-Mitchell, 2013). She cries and changes the tone of her voice for the purpose of convincing the jury that she is innocent. This makes it clear that her actions were planned and calculative. The motive is to be freed of the charges he was facing. She cried at the stand to gain sympathy and not because she was emotional. Looking for sympathy while facing serious charges like murder as an indication of lack innocence and proof of her involvement in the murder of Alexander Trivia (Morrow & Valez-Mitchell, 2013).

Talking to the Media

Jodi's arrogance was greatly disturbing throughout the investigation of the case. The address to the media and social media activities by Jodi Arias portrays the greatest level of arrogance that is only acceptable for persons who are considered to be narcissistic (Morrow & Valez-Mitchell, 2013). Her immediate concern is her looks and beauty as she addressed the media. The arrogance is coupled with egocentric attitude and lack of remorse for the death of someone who was once her lover. Her social media activities involved putting a hefty price tag on her 'drawings' which are still bought by some of her fans. The exploitation of the fans is as a result of her arrogance which can be best believed to be due to a narcissistic personality. The new interest, in this case, should give great consideration to the arrogance shown by Jodi Arias. The arrogant behavior is a manifestation that Jodi Arias murdered her boyfriend.

Additionally, during her address to the media, she states that she cannot be found guilty since she was innocent (Klung, 2013). This address was done with highest levels of confidence and arrogance. Her level of arrogance was intolerable and is considered as an indication of the possibility of her being a narcissist. Any normal person would have addressed the media with humility and remorsefulness.

Causes of Narcissism

Miller et al. (2018) believe that low self-esteem and threatened egotism are believed to be important contributors to narcissism. While many people are baffled as they try to understand the real cause of narcissism research findings proves that it can be caused by either low self-esteem which contributes to the quest for self-importance and elevation of threatened egotism. Self-esteem is the confidence in the abilities that someone possesses (Miller et al., 2018). This is an important trait that helps to define most personalities. People with high self-esteem often do no give consideration to opinions and views of other peop...