Consider the Blogspot review. In your analysis examine the following passage:
"Amid the important sociopathological elements in the novel and its unusual little killer, there exists an acute rendering of the state of contemporary (1954) society.
The notion of a "bad seed" is not just the seed that carried the killer instinct across generations, but a seed that lies dormant within the confines of western society, and that sprouts more and more frequently as the society maintains its unhealthy repressive lifestyle."
How might this assessment help us to understand aspects of the novel that are below or near the surface that might help to produce a sociopath like Rhoda? To develop the analysis, examine characters who represent the larger community (Monica, Leroy and his wife, the Fern sisters, the Daigles, Emory, and Reginald). Begin by thinking about the individual character's traits that might appear positive but may contribute to what our reviewer refers to as an unhealthy and repressive lifestyle.