The Language of Lone Wolf Terrorists An in-depth study of the use of personal pronouns and identity terms in lone wolf terrorist manifestos

2020

Master´s thesis in English (EN501) This thesis examines the manifestos written by four lone wolf terrorists, Elliot Rodger, Dylann Roof, Christopher Harper-Mercer, and Patrick Crusius before they carried out mass killings in the United States. By conducting an analysis of these perpetrators’ use of the personal pronouns I, me, us, we, you, they, and them, this thesis looks at their presentation of themselves, their actions, and the perceived threats against which they are fighting. Additionally, an examination of the identity terms Black, Hispanic, White, Asian, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, woman, man, and immigrant will further investigate ideological perceptions of the different identity gr…