Bret Easton Ellis’American psychohas been a highly controversial book. Many critics condemned this novel before it had been published so Ellis even had to search for a new publishing company. The indignation atAmerican psychohad been so fierce, it verged on hysteria and some interest groups (feminist and religious groups for instance)
agitated against the author and his work1. The main reason why critics reacted that outraged was the explicit and detailed description of violence in this book2. In this paper I will discuss the appearence of violence inAmerican psycho.But first I want to create a picture of social phenomena in the USA of the 80’s as they are described in the novel, in order to provide the setting, the atmosphere in which the violence takes place. This will help to give an opinion of this violence and to interpret it. Then I will discuss how violence is presented in the text. In the fourth
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Patrick Bateman’s world – New York’s society of the 80s
3. Why is violence so hard to bear in American psycho?
4. The appearance of violence
5. The yuppie as a product of a degenerated capitalism
6. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Key Themes
This paper examines the depiction of violence in Bret Easton Ellis's novel American Psycho, contextualizing it within the social and economic atmosphere of 1980s New York. By analyzing the protagonist Patrick Bateman as a product of yuppie culture, the work explores how mass media, consumerism, and a lack of empathy contribute to the protagonist’s descent into brutal violence and moral decay.
- The role of the 1980s yuppie culture in shaping social values.
- The influence of mass media and consumerist excess on individual identity.
- The psychological and narrative function of explicit violence.
- Capitalism and the lack of social opportunities as structural drivers of violence.
- The absence of empathy and the commodification of human life in the novel.
Excerpt from the Book
3. Why is violence so hard to bear in American psycho?
Tiffany hungrily tongues her [Torri’s] pussy, wet and glistening, and Torri reaches down and squeezes Tiffany’s big firm tits. I’m biting hard, gnawing at Tiffany’s cunt, and she starts tensing up. “Relax,” I say soothingly. She starts squealing, trying to pull away, and finally she screams as my teeth rip into her flesh. Torri thinks Tiffany is coming and grinds her own cunt harder onto Tiffany’s mouth, smothering her screams, but when I look up at Torri, blood covering my face, meat and pubic hair hanging from my mouth, blood pumping from Tiffany’s torn cunt onto the comforter, I can feel her sudden rush of horror. (303)
The reader gets aroused by the explicit, pornographic description of sex in the diverse passages and so he gets even more shocked when the violence starts, just like Torri in the excerpt above. The mixture of violence and sex is also obvious in Bateman because he becomes sexually excited by violence. He likes watching a movie in which a girl is drilled to death by a power drill and he masturbates over it (69). After he has committed his first act of violence in the book (he blinds a beggar), he describes his feelings:
Afterwards, two blocks west, I feel heady, ravenous, pumped up, as if I just worked out and the endorphins are flooding my nervous system, or just embraced that first line of cocaine, inhaled the first puff of a fine cigar, sipped that first Glass of Cristal. (132)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The author introduces the controversy surrounding the novel and outlines the objective to analyze the social setting and the presentation of violence in the text.
2. Patrick Bateman’s world – New York’s society of the 80s: This chapter details the yuppie subculture, characterizing Bateman’s world through superficial consumerism, mass media consumption, and a detachment from genuine human connection.
3. Why is violence so hard to bear in American psycho?: The author explores how the graphic nature of the violence and the lack of a clear motive for Bateman's crimes challenge the reader and provoke a sense of unease.
4. The appearance of violence: This section classifies the diverse types of violence committed by the protagonist and notes the specific patterns of behavior Bateman displays toward his male and female victims.
5. The yuppie as a product of a degenerated capitalism: The author frames Bateman’s behavior as a manifestation of a "social-darwinist" capitalist system that lacks equality and hollows out human values.
6. Conclusion: The summary posits that the novel serves as a critique of a society that has lost its moral compass, concluding that the book offers no exits or solutions to the violence it depicts.
Keywords
American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis, Patrick Bateman, Violence, Yuppie culture, 1980s, Consumerism, Mass media, Capitalism, Social-Darwinism, De-individualization, Postmodernism, Perversion, Alienation, Pop-culture
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on the nature and function of violence in Bret Easton Ellis's novel American Psycho, analyzing how the social environment of the 1980s facilitates the protagonist's horrific actions.
What are the primary themes discussed?
Central themes include the emptiness of yuppie culture, the dehumanizing effects of excessive consumerism, the influence of mass media, and the critique of a capitalist society lacking moral substance.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to provide an interpretation of why the violence in the novel is presented as it is and what it reveals about the society described by the author.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The author uses literary analysis and cultural criticism to contextualize the text within the 1980s socio-economic climate, supported by references to sociological and critical theory.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main sections cover the social environment of New York, the explicit nature of the violence, the specific patterns in Bateman's criminal behavior, and the connection between his psyche and his socio-economic background.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Keywords include American Psycho, violence, consumerism, yuppie culture, 1980s, capitalism, and social alienation.
Why does the author argue that the violence in the book is "hard to bear"?
The author argues that the violence is particularly disturbing because it is random, lacks a logical motive, and is narrated in a detached, monotone, and explicitly detailed manner.
How does the author interpret Bateman’s relationship with his victims?
The author suggests that Bateman views his victims, especially women, as objects or commodities to be consumed, mirroring his general addiction to material objects and media entertainment.
What role does the "Patty Winter Show" play in the analysis?
The show serves as an example of how mass media levels all topics—from politics to murder—into mere entertainment, contributing to the depersonalization of the characters.
- Quote paper
- Florian Burkhardt (Author), 2005, Consuming and Consumed People. Violence in American Psycho, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/46344
