English 1301 Spring 2016

English 1301 Spring 2016
(Works Cited Posted with Conclusions of Essays)

Monday, May 9, 2016

Marilyn Monroe by Victoria Garcia




         

       
         Marilyn Monroe was a socialite and a sex symbol of her time. Monroe’s death was ruled as a drug overdose on August 5, 1962, in her Los Angeles home, but is that the truth? There are many conspiracy theories about Monroe’s death, such as being murdered by the Kennedy’s, she knew too much and was ordered to be killed by the Chicago mafia, and simply was unhappy with life and overdosed. There have been rumors that Marilyn Monroe had relations with President John F. Kennedy and/or his brother Robert prior to the time of her death (“Marilyn Monroe”). Let’s examine the case and theories and the possibility of the Kennedys as the murder suspects if Marilyn Monroe’s death.


Norma Jean Baker, also known as Marilyn Monroe was an American actress and “sex symbol” of her time. She was born June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles, California. Her childhood wasn’t very pleasant; her mother was schizophrenic, and had several other conditions. Growing up in a series of foster homes took a toll on Monroe, and was used to being alone. Marilyn loved watching theater productions. Her foster parents would give her money to go to the movie theater; it was their way of keeping her occupied, or out of their way. Although Monroe is very attractive, she had many insecurities. Marilyn Monroe was known for her beauty, but people were unaware of what was behind the beauty.

            Monroe had many internal conflicts and went through a lot growing up. Her childhood effected the way she saw people and especially herself. Many people in her life disappointed her, so she had trust issues and scared of abandonment. Marilyn developed an inferiority complex, which means “an individual’s exaggerated feelings of personal incompetence that result from an overwhelming sense of helplessness or some experience that leaves him or her powerless” (Friedman, 119). Monroe’s development of inferiority complex was due to the consistency of abandonment from not growing up with a proper father figure, and a different mothering figure after another, this also resulted in her believing there was something wrong with her that needed to be fixed. She was a part of many movie productions, but had difficulties getting out of her dressing room because she was terrified of messing up her lines, she stayed mute until someone could calm her down (Spoto, 1993). Because of the absence of a consistent female role model, Marilyn had trust issues and difficulty connecting with other females (Spoto, 1993; Friedman, 136).

            Marilyn also had some external conflicts as well. She was taught to always strive for perfection, which led Marilyn to develop a likelihood for “perfection striving”, which is defined by Alfred Adler as “an individual’s attempt to reach fictional goals by eliminating her perceived flaws”, (Friedman, 120). Monroe’s goal was to be a charming actress that everyone loved, which means she always had to look and feel beautiful. Many people viewed her as a “dumb blonde”, which made it harder for Marilyn to be herself around others. When she was onset for a movie or a photo shoot, it would take her a while to get out of her dressing room because she was scared of disappointing people. When asked, people that have worked for or with Monroe would say she was difficult and unreliable at times. Monroe was loved by many, but mostly men. Women despised her because of her beauty and for being a “man stealer”. Love was very important to Marilyn and was obsessed with the feeling of being loved; she was married a couple time, so this didn’t help her image. Marilyn was a “sex symbol” of her time, and when asked about this she said, did not favor the possession of being a symbol, but was fine with it because it was a positive outlook for many females.

            In the case of Marilyn Monroe, there are many conspiracies of her death. There are three quite popular conspiracies that fit into her time of lifestyle. One suggests the Kennedy family had her death arranged. The second theory suggests that she was simply done living and found out that pills can just end all her pain. The third and last theory is a Chicago Mafia, she was rumored to have been in contact with one of the leaders.

            The first Conspiracy proposes that John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe were having secret affairs. Many conspiracy theorists believe that Marilyn had an affair with not only John F. Kennedy, but also his brother Robert F. Kennedy. The murder was said to be done after Marilyn threatened the president to tell people about some political secrets not even she should’ve known about. Actor Peter Lawford told reporters “Bobby Kennedy was determined to shut her up, regardless of the consequences”, he later said “it was the craziest thing he ever did—and I was crazy enough to let it happen” (Maria Vultaggio). The execution was done by a lethal injection, and there were pills were not found in her stomach when given that autopsy. At the scene of her death, there was not water or any kind of beverage to help take the many pills around her, and there was no vomit. Usually when a person takes an excessive amount of pills, the body starts to reject it and causes the person to vomit.

            The second conspiracy theory is suicide, which not many people believe it to be true. Rumors were around that Marilyn was very depressed during her last couple of weeks. The Coroner’s believed that her death was the effect of an ongoing mental illness that Marilyn was passed onto by her mother. Although she was seen as perfection by many, she did have some problems with her appearance. It is certain that Monroe had some issues with her inner self, and that’s what her pills were for. She also had a good support system around her majority of the time when she did not feel like herself. The downfall of believing it was suicide, is that there were no pills found in her autopsy, just the drugs. It is revealed that they were injections, not pills.

            The third conspiracy theory is that the Chicago Mafia were responsible for Marilyn’s death. It was reported that Monroe was seen with the leader of the mafia on the last night of her death. Sam Giancana is the mafia boss and was seen with Marilyn at Frank’s Sinatra’s Lodge. The two were reportedly discussing Marilyn and JFK’s affairs and how Monroe wanted to come out to the public about it. Apparently JFK tried to get Sam to convince her to keep quiet. She flew back to Los Angeles early the following morning and was found dead that night (Daniel Bates in New York). It was also documented that Monroe was seen at the lodge during her last two weeks of her life.

            During my research, I took a survey on campus and asked random individuals who they believed to have murdered Marilyn Monroe. About 90% of the individuals believe that John F. Kennedy was responsible for her death. In my opinion, I too believe JFK is the reason why Monroe died. Suicide just seems like an easy alternative and it would have looked real bad on the government if they found the President of the United States responsible for a murder. If it wasn’t JFK himself, then my other theory is the Chicago Mafia.

            There are many conspiracy theories about Monroe’s death, such as being murdered by the Kennedy’s, she knew too much about the Chicago mafia, and simply was unhappy with life and overdosed. There have been rumors that Marilyn Monroe had relations with President John F. Kennedy and/or his brother Robert prior to the time of her death (“Marilyn Monroe”). There will always be many conspiracies over Marilyn Monroe’s death. I analyzed the three most probable conspiracies that make sense. Although she was loved by many and quite the socialite, Monroe had many conflicts in her life and a lot of them resulted into her death. I truly believe that John F. Kennedy is responsible in the case of Marilyn’s “suicide”. A lethal injection via enema was the cause of her death.

WORK CITED

Vultaggio, Maria. "Marilyn Monroe Death Conspiracy Theories: How Did Norma Jean Die? [PHOTOS]." International Business Times. IBT Inc., 2016. Web. 09 May 2016. <http://www.ibtimes.com/marilyn-monroe-death-conspiracy-theories-how-did-norma-jean-die-photos-1944669>.

York, Daniel Bates In New. "Marilyn Monroe 'spent Her Last Night with Mafia Boss Sam Giancana at Frank Sinatra's Lodge'" Mail Online. Associated Newspapers. Web. 09 May 2016. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1381431/Marilyn-Monroe-spent-night-mafia-boss-Sam-Giancana-Frank-Sinatras-lodge.html>.

Warhol, Andy. "Andy Warhol Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works." The Art Story. The Art Story Foundation, 2016. Web. 09 May 2016. <http://www.m.theartstory.org/artist-warhol-andy.htm>.

Biography.com Editors. "Marilyn Monroe." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 2016. Web. 09 May 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/marilyn-monroe-9412123>.

Spoto, Donald. "Marilyn Monroe: The Biography Paperback – July 17, 2001." Marilyn Monroe: The Biography: Donald Spoto: 9780815411833: Amazon.com: Books. Amazon. Web. 09 May 2016. <http://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Monroe-Biography-Donald-Spoto/dp/0815411839>.

Emanuelson, Rachel. "Marilyn Monroe." PersonalityPsych2011 -. Friedman, H. S. & Schustack. Web. 09 May 2016. <http://personalitypsych2011.wikispaces.com/Marilyn Monroe>.

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