"The American Psycho" & "The Bell Jar" Coursework
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“...This essential peculiarity of the psychopath is not in itself evil or vicious, but combined with perverse appetites or with an unusually hostile or aggressive temperament, the lack of these normal constraints can result in an explosive and dangerous package.”
Within “The American Psycho”, Bret Easton Ellis composes a narrative which attempts to instil in us the idea that “that society is responsible for creating the warped aspirations of people like Patrick Bateman...” the main protagonist and serial killer within the novel. Similarly, Sylvia Plath creates the character Esther Greenwood, the protagonist and narrator of “The Bell Jar”. However the novel has been described as a “thinly veiled autobiography of the life of Plath set in the 1950s Boston”.
Bret Easton Ellis’ parents separated while he was very young and his father was a heavy-drinker. Although his parent’s had divorced, his father had an immense influence over his life which would seem to be predominantly negative. During an interview, Bret Easton Ellis had referred to his father as “the sort of person who was completely obsessed with status and about wearing the right suits and owning a certain kind of car and staying at a certain kind of restaurant regardless of whether these things gave him pleasure or not”. It is clear that this actuality is what helped to shape the focal themes within The American Psycho where Patrick Bateman may be representing the sinister reality of the world and at the same time, divulging the superficial nature of society. In the late 80’s, early 90’s society wanted to take ownership of this glamorous lifestyle and retain a high status which was also often referred to as “Yuppie Culture”. “Yuppie” short for “Young Urban Professional” is a term referring to members of the upper-middle class in their 20’s or 30’s and were well known for their remarkable expenditure and obsession over social status among their peers.
“...This essential peculiarity of the psychopath is not in itself evil or vicious, but combined with perverse appetites or with an unusually hostile or aggressive temperament, the lack of these normal constraints can result in an explosive and dangerous package.”
Within “The American Psycho”, Bret Easton Ellis composes a narrative which attempts to instil in us the idea that “that society is responsible for creating the warped aspirations of people like Patrick Bateman...” the main protagonist and serial killer within the novel. Similarly, Sylvia Plath creates the character Esther Greenwood, the protagonist and narrator of “The Bell Jar”. However the novel has been described as a “thinly veiled autobiography of the life of Plath set in the 1950s Boston”.
Bret Easton Ellis’ parents separated while he was very young and his father was a heavy-drinker. Although his parent’s had divorced, his father had an immense influence over his life which would seem to be predominantly negative. During an interview, Bret Easton Ellis had referred to his father as “the sort of person who was completely obsessed with status and about wearing the right suits and owning a certain kind of car and staying at a certain kind of restaurant regardless of whether these things gave him pleasure or not”. It is clear that this actuality is what helped to shape the focal themes within The American Psycho where Patrick Bateman may be representing the sinister reality of the world and at the same time, divulging the superficial nature of society. In the late 80’s, early 90’s society wanted to take ownership of this glamorous lifestyle and retain a high status which was also often referred to as “Yuppie Culture”. “Yuppie” short for “Young Urban Professional” is a term referring to members of the upper-middle class in their 20’s or 30’s and were well known for their remarkable expenditure and obsession over social status among their peers.
Bibliography: [ 6 ]. “American Psycho”: A Social Commentary Examined – Hi Baidu (2009) [ 7 ]