Characterization
General biography
Dexter was born on February 1, 1971. At the story's outset, Dexter knows very little about his life prior to being adopted byPsychological profile
Since childhood, Dexter Morgan has felt homicidal urges directed by an inner voice he calls "the Dark Passenger"; when that voice cannot be ignored, he "lets the Dark Passenger do the driving". He abides by a moral code taught to him by his adoptive father,''Modus operandi''
In both the books and the show, Dexter selects his victims according to his adoptive father's code and kills them only after he has discovered enough evidence to prove their guilt. For each victim, he ritually prepares a kill site that has some symbolic relevance to the killer (e.g., killing a boxer in aDexter in the book series
''Darkly Dreaming Dexter''
Doris Morgan, Dexter's adoptive mother, dies of cancer when he is 16. When Dexter reaches puberty, he realizes that he is uninterested in sex and needs instruction by his father on how to behave with women. Around this time, Harry discovers that Dexter has been killing neighborhood pets and realizes that the boy has an innate need to kill. Harry decides to channel Dexter's urges in a "positive" direction by teaching him to kill people who "deserve it", and to get rid of any evidence so he does not get caught. When Dexter is 18, Harry is diagnosed with cancer and hospitalized. There, Harry gives Dexter his "permission" to kill his first human victim, a nurse who is murdering her patients with overdoses of morphine. Throughout the novel, Dexter is involved in the investigation of the "Tamiami Butcher", a serial killer who dismembers his victims and puts the body parts in refrigerated trucks. The killer begins leaving taunting clues for Dexter to draw him in personally. The killer kidnaps Deborah and meets with Dexter in a storage container, and reveals their true connection: he is Brian, Dexter's biological brother. Brian tells Dexter that as children, they witnessed their mother's brutal murder at the hands of drug dealers, and were locked in a crate for two days, surrounded by dead bodies. Dexter persuades Brian to spare Deborah, and instead the two of them kill Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta (this does not occur in the TV series, in which LaGuerta — whose first name is changed to "Maria" — is a recurring character until her death at the end of the seventh season). At the end of the novel, Deborah learns of Dexter's secret life after he saves her from Brian. She appears to accept it, but in subsequent books feels torn between her duties as a police officer and her loyalty to Dexter, whom she loves as her real brother.''Dearly Devoted Dexter''
Dexter's nemesis, Sergeant Doakes, suspects Dexter of being involved in LaGuerta's murder, and starts following him around. Doakes and Dexter are soon forced to work together to stop "Dr. Danco", a''Dexter in the Dark''
In '' Dexter in the Dark,'' the third novel of the series, third-person narrative reveals through an entity referred to as "IT" that the Dark Passenger is an independent agent inhabiting Dexter, rather than a deviant psychological construction. Later, Dexter realizes the Dark Passenger is related to''Dexter by Design''
'' Dexter by Design'' opens in Paris, with Dexter and Rita on their honeymoon. There, while visiting an art gallery, Dexter and Rita see an ''''Dexter is Delicious''
In ''''Double Dexter''
In '' Double Dexter'', Dexter is seen by an anonymous Shadow while killing a victim in a secluded house. He continues on with his life until he starts receiving threatening emails from the person who claims to have seen him over a pile of dead body parts. Instead of turning him in, the Shadow, as he is referred to, takes it upon himself to take Dexter down. While Dexter tries to find and dispose of this Shadow, he quickly finds out that this person is much more capable than he initially suspected. Dexter is eventually framed for a murder, at least circumstantially, by his still anonymous Shadow. While on suspension from the police force for being a 'person of interest' in a murder investigation, Dexter finally finds out who his Shadow is: Doug Crowley. When he goes to dispatch Crowley, he finds he is once again being tailed by Doakes. Realizing that no way exists to take down Crowley with Doakes on his tail, he enlists the help of his brother, Brian, and finally thinks that his problems have been taken care of. While Brian is dispatching Doug Crowley, Dexter goes down to Key West with his family. Despite learning from his brother that a Doug Crowley had been taken care of, he finds the body of Detective Hood, the lead detective investigating him for murder, in his hotel suite, with the only explanation being that Brian killed the wrong Doug Crowley. While Dexter is preoccupied with the Key West police, Crowley finally attacks Dexter by abducting Cody and Astor. Dexter hunts Crowley down to a small island off the coast of Key West. He finally gets the drop on him, and Crowley escapes with Astor on a speedboat. Dexter manages to sneak aboard and overpower Crowley, with some assistance from Astor. They shove Crowley overboard, where he is eaten by a''Dexter's Final Cut''
Deborah and Dexter are assigned as "technical advisors" to the stars of a police procedural TV series. Deborah is shadowed by female lead Jackie Forrest and Dexter is left with over-the-hill star Robert Chase. Sensing a strangeness in him, Dexter keeps Robert at arm's length. When a series of murders leads Miami Metro's Detective Anderson through a loop, Dexter is assigned to guard Jackie. Deborah and Dexter quickly realize that the string of bodies all bear a striking resemblance to Jackie. Dexter is assigned to protect her in her hotel room. At first, things seem perfectly routine; Dexter accompanies Jackie to the station each morning and returns with her to the hotel at night, but when the killer's identity is revealed to him, Dexter's "Dark Passenger" leads him out into the streets in pursuit. While working a crime scene where police have found another body matching the pattern of Jackie's obsessed fan, Dexter notices a man fitting the description in a kayak out in the bay watching the scene. Stealing away to his boat, Dexter slips alongside the man and kills him. After a hard day's work, they return to the hotel only to be disturbed in the night by sirens; Jackie's assistant Kathy has been murdered in the room below. The murder seems to fit the pattern, but Dexter notices several errors. That night, Dexter and Jackie have sex, and start a brief but intense affair. Dexter thinks he has fallen in love with Jackie, and considers leaving Rita. Dexter is called onto the set to appear as a minor character in the series following a conversation with Jackie and Robert. Suddenly, Dexter gets a panicked phone call from Rita: Astor has disappeared. Fearing the worst, Dexter goes in search of Robert, who had shown a suspicious interest in Astor. He questions the show's director, who confirms that Robert is a''Dexter is Dead''
In the final book of the series' ''Dexter in the television show
Season one
By the start of season one, Dexter is a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department; in his "secret life", he is a serial killer who preys on people who are themselves murderers. In his private life, Dexter maintains superficial relationships – with his sisterSeason two
In season two, Dexter is so haunted by killing his own brother that he cannot resume killing. To make matters worse, Debra, traumatized by her ordeal with the Ice Truck Killer, moves in with Dexter, which hinders his secret life. Dexter's nemesis, Sergeant James Doakes (Season three
In season three, Dexter finds his life manageable until he discovers that Rita is pregnant. Dexter, afraid of what kind of father he would be, considers leaving Rita to parent alone, until Debra convinces him that he would be a great father. After a few failed marriage proposals, Dexter proposes again by mimicking a declaration of love from one of his victims. Rita finally accepts, with her children's blessing. Meanwhile, after killing Oscar Prado in self-defense while attempting to murder a homicidal drug dealer named Freebo, Dexter forms an unlikely friendship with Oscar's brother, Miguel (Season four
At outset of season four, Rita has given birth to a baby boy, Harrison. Dexter is happy to have a child of his own, but his responsibilities as a new father leave him too exhausted to kill.{{cite episode, title = Living the Dream , series = Dexter, series-link = Dexter (TV series) , network = Showtime , airdate = September 19, 2009, season = 4 , number = 1 Dexter finds it increasingly difficult to keep concealing his secret life, which leads to conflict with Rita and Astor, who has entered adolescence. At Rita's urging, Dexter and she enterSeason five
The season opens with a shocked, guilt-ridden Dexter clutching Harrison as the police respond to his call, in which Dexter says "It was me". While he means that he killed her by letting Mitchell know his identity, the police interpret this as an admission of direct guilt. The FBI, however, soon clear Dexter, as he was with the police at Mitchell's house at the time Rita was murdered. Dexter spends the next day completely numb, unable to even fake any sort of emotion or grief. As Dexter plans to disconnect and restart, he finds himself confronted by Rankin ( Brad Carter), a brash, foul-mouthed hillbilly. When Rankin insults Rita, Dexter kills him in a fit of rage. Harry tells Dexter that this act is the first human thing he has seen Dexter do since Rita's death. Distraught over Rita's death, Astor and Cody leave to go live with their grandparents. A struggling Dexter attempts to move on by hiring a nanny to look after Harrison while he goes out to find his next kill. He settles on Boyd Fowler (Season six
About a year later, Dexter has begun searching for a preschool for Harrison, though his atheism conflicts with the religious preschools to which he applies. He finds a greater understanding through Brother Sam (Season seven
In the season-seven opener, Dexter tells a bewildered Debra that he killed Marshall on impulse after Marshall ambushed him. Debra believes him at first, and helps him destroy the old church, with Marshall's body inside. A few days later, however, Debra finds Dexter's knives and collection of blood slides, and asks him point blank if he is a serial killer. Not knowing what else to say, Dexter replies that he is. Debra is horrified, but resolves to help Dexter stop killing by moving in with him and keeping a constant eye on him. After weeks under Debra's surveillance, a stressed out Dexter kidnaps Louis Greene ( Josh Cooke), a former coworker with a grudge against him, with the intent of killing him. Dexter relents at the last minute, however, and calls Debra so she can talk him out of it, reassuring her that there is good in him after all. Dexter escapes Debra's watch long enough to dispose of Ray Speltzer (Season eight
The eighth season opens six months later, with Dexter growing increasingly worried about Debra, who has quit the police force and spiraled into depression and self-destructive behavior. Dexter goes to her new job as a private investigator and learns that Debra is pursuing, and sleeping with, drug dealer Andrew Briggs (''Dexter: New Blood''
Approximately 10 years after the original series' finale, Dexter has moved to the fictional small town of Iron Lake, New York, posing as Jim Lindsay, a local shopkeeper. He is in a relationship with Angela Bishop (Other formats
In conjunction with the TV show, Showtime produced an animated web series, called ''Dexter: Early Cuts.'' This series was a prequel and portrayed Dexter's early years as a serial killer. Jeff Lindsay has written two comic miniseries forReception
Critical reception
Michael C. Hall's portrayal of Dexter Morgan has received critical acclaim and has won many awards. ''Connections to actual crimes
Mark Twitchell
Connections were established between Dexter Morgan and Mark Twitchell, ofAndrew Conley
Andrew Conley said the show inspired him to strangle his 10-year-old brother. In an affidavit filed in Ohio County court, police said Andrew stated that he "watches a show called ''Dexter'' on Showtime, about a serial killer, and he stated, 'I feel just like him.'". Even further, after killing his brother, he put a plastic bag over his brother's head, mimicking a practice that Dexter ritualistically commits to dispose of his victims.{{cite news, first=Charles, last=Wilson, url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/39690698/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/teen-who-strangled-brother-gets-life-prison/#.WuRgEVMvyT8, title=Teen who strangled brother gets life in prison, work=Notes
{{cnote, a, While Harry finds the boys in the shipping container on the television show, the investigating officer who finds Dexter is never specified in the novels. {{cnote, b, Brian was ultimately sent to aReferences
{{Reflist, 30emFurther reading
{{refbegin * {{citation , last=DePaulo , first=Bella , author2=Leah Wilson , year=2010 , title=The Psychology of Dexter , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xiLKbcCX-RIC&q=Dexter%20(TV%20series)&pg=PA99 , work=Benbella Books , isbn=978-1-935251-97-2, ref=none * {{citation , last=Lindsay , first=Jeff , edition=1st , year=2009 , title=Darkly Dreaming Dexter , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8sSIpbGdGyYC&q=Dexter%20(TV%20series)&pg=PP1 , work=Vintage Crime/Black Lizard , isbn=978-0-307-47370-7, ref=none * {{citation , last=Teuteberg , first=Jasmin , year=2009 , title=America's favourite serial killer , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s6UuvTMuH4UC&q=Dexter%20(TV%20series)&pg=PA20 , work=Stockholm University , isbn=978-3-640-44920-0, ref=none {{refendExternal links