Mad Man A psychopath, according to Kent A. Kiehl, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, and Morris B. Hoffman, District Judge and research fellow for Gruter Institute for Law and Behavioral Research, is a person who possesses the qualities of “lack of empathy, guilt and remorse… and impulsivity,” (Kiehl and Hoffman 1). While it can be common for a psychopath to hide these qualities from outsiders, Edward Pierce, the mastermind behind the Great Train Robbery, exhibits these qualities excessively throughout the novel The Great Train Robbery. It is reportedly unknown what the motive behind the Great Train Robbery truly is, yet it can be argued that Edward Pierce committed this outrageous crime because of the fact that he is a psychopath. Since Pierce has a lack of empathy, guilt, and remorse and acts impulsively, it can be proven that he is a psychopath, and, therefore, shows that Pierce executed this robbery because he is a psychopath. …show more content…
From the beginning of the novel to the end, Pierce only cares about receiving the gold for himself and never realizes that what he is doing is wrong. Crichton states that once Pierce “knew what he wanted… Pierce did not recall the rest of the conversation, for it was of no interest to him,” (Crichton 29). This shows that Pierce has no remorse for manipulating the people he grew close to. Pierce also refuses to show remorse when he is caught by the detectives. After Pierce is caught, he continually denies having any part in the robbery. To the very end, Edward Pierce never admitted to committing the crime, proving that he has no remorse. (Crichton