We see that Gary has a lot of pent up anger in him. This is shown in a number of instances. When Gary Gilmore was first put in jail he was 22 years old. As we hear through his depiction of prison life he spent a lot of time in solitary confinement and enjoyed telling people of his “hard-core” criminal ways. He stabbed a man 57 times for no reason at all. While in jail, Gary is placed in solitary confinement for four years of his sentence because he is unable to have normal relations with other convicts. This is not the behavior that a “normal” person exhibits.

Gary also seems to be uncontrollable. He is proud of the fact that he had stolen. “By the time he was 14, Gilmore said, he’d broken into 50 houses. Maybe more.” (354) Gilmore also states that he stole from stores, such as J.C. Penney’s. He boasts about this

We can see that there are two very good reasons for the abnormal amount of violence that Gary exhibits. However, I believe that the reason for his anger and aggression is not due to his family and background, but due to the fact that prison is such a brutal environment to endure for such a long time. I think that it is fair to say that anyone’s personality could change from a lamb to a lion

We learn through Brenda, Gary’s cousin, that when they were little “he might be rough with other kids but never with her. (5) He was quiet and smart. However, Gary and Brenda’s family was rather large and somewhat of a lower class. This meant that special attention was not paid to them as much as one would expect. Perhaps this is what led Gary astray.

Perhaps Gary’s anger stems from his resentment that he has towards his father. The shadiness that Gary exhibits in terms of his personality and the violent streaks that occur without warning may have to do with the fact that his father kept most of his life to himself, and like Gary, was very much a man of mystery.

Another reason for Gary’s anger may be learned from his time in prison. The reason for this is that he spent most of his life there. It is easy to see that he feels he is the same age as when he went in to prison. We can see this by his choice in women. He only likes young girls, like Nicole who is 19. He also is very juvenile with the way he handles things. Some of the immature behavior he exhibits are bar fights and temper tantrums.

Gary is also rather short

Some topics in this essay:
Vern Gary’s, Gary Gilmore, Bessie Gary’s, Maybe Gary, Gary Brenda’s, JC Penney’s, , Brenda Gary’s, Executioner’s Song, Norman Mailer’s, gary’s anger, gary gilmore, gary exhibits, towards women, solitary confinement, cellmate gibbs,