Jim Morrison Essay Research Paper Mr Mojo

Jim Morrison Essay, Research Paper

Mr. Mojo Risin. and Fallin.: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison

He is often referred to as the .electric poet. for his tantalizing words and mesmerizing music, and called to be the .Lizard King. for his deep obsession for all creatures of nature. His name is James Douglas Morrison. Jim Morrison is one of the most influential artists in history. His life brought inspiration to many young people.s lives, and his death continues to weave us into the mysteries that he left behind for us to break through. One certain mystery happened the night his soul passed on. No one really knows what happened to Jim that made him leave the world that night. There are rumors of death from natural causes, a heroin overdose, or even that he is still alive and well keeping the rest of his life a secret to us all.

To better understand Jim Morrison himself, a background of his life and especially his character is necessary. James Douglas Morrison was born on December 8, 1943, in Melbourne, Florida (Hopkins 5). He was the first child of George Stephen Morrison and Clara Clark Morrison. He had two younger siblings, Anne and Andrew (.James. 1). His father was an officer in the United States Navy and his mother remained a housewife to act as the .dominant parent. over the three kids (Hopkins 22). After graduating from Florida State University, he attended film school at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1964, where he met Ray Manzarek. A year later, the two form a band called The Doors with Robbie Krieger and John Densmore after Jim reveals to Ray some songs that he had written (Rocco 172). Jim Morrison was on vocals, Ray Manzarek on organ, Robbie Krieger on guitar, and John Densmore on the drums. The Doors became a very successful band, recording fourteen albums altogether, not including bootleg recordings (Rocco 184). In 1971, the four Doors break up after Jim decides to move to Paris to pursue a writing career.

Jim Morrison was intelligent, intimidating, sensitive, wild, just about everything a person could be rolled into one. In a publicity bio recorded by Elektra, Jim says,

I.ve always been attracted to ideas that were about revolt against authority– when you make your peace with authority, you become an authority. I like ideas about the breaking away or overthrowing of established order—I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos, especially activity that seems to have no meaning (Hopkins 107).

Jim had a .fascination with authority [and a] devotion to its overthrow. (Rocco 7). It was almost like he knew his destiny: when his life was going to make a turn and how it was going to happen. He once told a reporter, .You could say I was ideally suited for the work I.m doing. It.s the feeling of a bow string being pulled back for twenty-two years and suddenly let go. (Rocco 6). He was the perfect example of a one-of-a-kind character with a unique soul.

Unfortunately, that soul had a time to pass and that time was July 3, 1971, when Jim was at the age of twenty-seven. Jim had moved to Paris in that previous March to reside with his on-and-off girlfriend, Pamela Courson (Langton 3). He wished to be recognized for his words as a poet, not as a rock singer (.The Doors.).

The .proper. story of his death starts out at Pam and Jim.s Paris apartment. It is Saturday, July 3, in the hours of the early morning. Jim vomited a small amount of blood. Because this had happened before, Pam was not really worried. After Jim said he felt okay, he went to take a bath while Pam went to bed. At around five o.clock in the morning, she woke up to find that Jim was not lying beside her. She went into the bathroom to find Jim, still in the tub with his head laid back and his arms resting along the sides. He seemed to have had a .boyish smile. upon his face. This caused Pam to think that it was just another one of Jim.s crazy stunts, but realizing that he was not kidding around, she phoned the police and fire department. According to Pam, they all had come too late to save Jim.s life (Hopkins 368).

There are a many people who do not believe this story. The first published cause of his death is said to be heart failure or death of natural causes. Police had first listed a heart attack as the cause of Jim.s death (.Newsweek.), and The L.A. Times wrote an article saying that Jim had died of a .heart ailment. (.The L.A. Times.). The medical examiner, Dr. Max Vasille, is the doctor that released the cause of Jim.s death. His report says,

I note that the body does not show, apart from the lividness of death, any suspicious signs of trauma or lesions of any kind. A little blood around the nostrils. The history of Mr. Morrison.s condition, such as it was described to us by a friend on the premises, can be summed up thus: Mr. Morrison had been complaining for a few weeks of pericardial [over the heart] pains with dyspnoea [difficulty breathing]. It was evidently coronary problems, possibly aggravated by abusive drinking. One can imagine that on the occasion of a change of outside temperature followed by a bath, these troubles were suddenly aggravated, leading to classical myocardial infarction [blockage of a coronary artery], causing sudden death. I conclude from my examination that death was caused by heart failure (natural death) (Rocco 153).

Most Morrison fans do not believe this alleg