Patrick Bateman In American Psycho
Univeristy of Zadar
English Department
Contemporary English VI
Maximiljana Barančić, prof.
Ljiljana Prša
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Bookreview
Zadar, May 2013
Patrick Bateman is the protagonist of the novel American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. He is the narrator, the antihero and one of the most controversial characters. However, Ellis assures that he himself did not wrote American Psycho and that every time he sat down to write "the spirit of Patrick Bateman" was in a trance, and even argued that he was afraid to think what he had created. In any case, the novel created a huge buzz even before it was published. Despite all the controversy of what was talked about for months, even years when it hit record sales, …show more content…
He is a hypocritical character, false, macho, posh and unpleasant. All these features are used by Ellis to give the reader a negative impression even before Bateman kills anyone. It is possible that Ellis wants readers to feel no sympathy for him at any point in the book. Moreover, you want to hate him. This irremediable hatred felt towards this psycho killer reflects on the hatred of the book itself. The novel has been crossed with many labels, and the main reason for this is its main character. Another possible reason why Ellis built a character so hated is to impact the reader. Through Bateman, Ellis describes a society that he criticizes in a more or less subtle way. We see the world through his eyes and whether we like it or not, this is the contemporary upper class.
American Psycho is one of the fiercest criticisms that an American writer has made of his own country: a complacent and self-indulgent society. For his argument, the author has chosen a risky path: Patrick Bateman, not a rebel or an outcast, Patrick is a young man of success, however, also capable of rape, torture and murder.
Abandon all hope ye who enter here...
English Department
Contemporary English VI
Maximiljana Barančić, prof.
Ljiljana Prša
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Bookreview
Zadar, May 2013
Patrick Bateman is the protagonist of the novel American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. He is the narrator, the antihero and one of the most controversial characters. However, Ellis assures that he himself did not wrote American Psycho and that every time he sat down to write "the spirit of Patrick Bateman" was in a trance, and even argued that he was afraid to think what he had created. In any case, the novel created a huge buzz even before it was published. Despite all the controversy of what was talked about for months, even years when it hit record sales, …show more content…
He is a hypocritical character, false, macho, posh and unpleasant. All these features are used by Ellis to give the reader a negative impression even before Bateman kills anyone. It is possible that Ellis wants readers to feel no sympathy for him at any point in the book. Moreover, you want to hate him. This irremediable hatred felt towards this psycho killer reflects on the hatred of the book itself. The novel has been crossed with many labels, and the main reason for this is its main character. Another possible reason why Ellis built a character so hated is to impact the reader. Through Bateman, Ellis describes a society that he criticizes in a more or less subtle way. We see the world through his eyes and whether we like it or not, this is the contemporary upper class.
American Psycho is one of the fiercest criticisms that an American writer has made of his own country: a complacent and self-indulgent society. For his argument, the author has chosen a risky path: Patrick Bateman, not a rebel or an outcast, Patrick is a young man of success, however, also capable of rape, torture and murder.
Abandon all hope ye who enter here...