The Perfect Crime A Cause and Effect Relationship - Essay Example

 “The Perfect Crime” A Cause and Effect Relationship “Just because a problem can be explained, doesn’t mean it can be solved” (189) is the analysis of the hostage taker’s motives concluded by its author Tom Wolfe. In the article “The Perfect Crime” Wolfe theorizes people who are at the end of their tether, struggling to beat “the system” are the people who sometimes became Hostage Takers. These people feel that if they can commit a crime, like hostage taking then they are better able to deal with other problems involving love, class and money. Ultimately, they will receive what they feel they deserve: Hostage Takers are therefore that group of people that crave attention and would do anything just to be in the limelight of things. They would go to any extent to be in the media glare because they feel that they have a cause which has to be satisfied. Wolfe explains on July 17th 1992, a twenty two year old hair stylist, walked into a suburban bank near Richmond, Virginia carrying a 12 gauge shotgun in his hand. He meant real business for he fired two shots at a door and took one man and nine women as hostages. He herded the hostages into a room at the back where he spent five minutes terrifying them and about four hours charming them with his witty jokes and the story of his life. After entertaining them with some cheap food, he ordered the police and bank Leong 2 officials to give him $500,000 in cash and a 1972 White Lincoln Continental to drive away in. In the flashlights of the television and radio coverage, he puts down his shotgun, says goodbye to all the hostages and gets into the same Lincoln Continental that carried the huge sum of money and was taken in by the police (192).Wolfe quotes a hostage saying, “As long as I have my hostages, as long as the drama has not been played out, I have the ultimate certification that my new status is real and true - that in the most modern sense, my class position is secure: “I am a celebrity!” (192). The cause in the above mentioned lines in the “Perfect Crime” s shows how the hostage taker is out to make his presence felt by calling the media to be a witness to all that he is doing. He craves attention to serve his cause. The effect that took place was that the hostage taker was out to have a good time and meant no harm to anyone. He proved that he could take control of the whole situation if he wanted to. Raffaele Minichielo, an Italian born- US Marine, pulled off one of the most spectacular air plane hijackings ever undertaken. Wolfe explains in this hilarious account how the hostage taker took his hostages on a wild trip from Los Angeles to Rome. Though Raffaele had grown up in the United States, his English was quite poor and he felt quite awkward and gauche to ask American girls out on dates. Though he was decorated for bravery having served in the Vietnam War, he drank six beers and broke into a PX and stole merchandise worth $200, before passing out. When he came to, he asked his Commanding officer to bring him the good news but was shocked to find that they had slapped him down with a court martial which would ruin his whole career. The hostage taker craves for attention to serve his cause (192). As Wolfe quotes one of the Leong 3 hostage takers saying, “No possible “ransom”, or “prisoner release” could compare to the ecstasy of this moment – when for a change I have these people whimpering like dogs at my feet” (192). The hostage taker describes how exhilarating it feels to take control of the lives of other humans. The crimes committed in modern times are not the kind of crimes that were committed in the 70’s. They are more sophisticated and planned more thoroughly. An example of the perfect crime of 2007 would be that of the Coco Cola Company whose employees (3 of them) tried to sell the trade secrets of the company for a huge sum of money. The company alerted the FBI who took immediate action. An undercover FBI agent posed as the buyer and met the employees who handed them the Coco Cola Company’s trade secrets and crucial information of the new product which was about to be launched. The agent received the information in a manila envelope and he handed over a huge sum of money stating that he would give the rest when he is furnished with more information. When enough evidence was gathered, they closed down on them as they were found guilty. They are now serving their sentences after being slapped down with a huge fine. In today’s sophisticated and complex world, even the crimes are more hi-tech and sleek. The three people involved in this crime were sure that they could beat the system and get away with it. Though everything was planned so well by them, yet it was the system that got the better of them! The Coco Cola Company in Atlanta was badly let down by their Administrative Executive Secretary who was caught red handed stealing those secrets. Phone records and further investigation proved that she was the prime accused in the case. Wolfe in his attempt to portray the perfect crime has indeed succeeded in giving us a clear picture of how a hostage taker craves for media and attention in his struggle to “beat the system”. By gaining attention the hostage takers believes he can solve other issues that he faces in his life. Reference: Federal Grand Jury Indicts Three for Conspiracy to Steal and Sell Coco….. http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan/ The rest of paper is awesome! Good job! Read More