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Bret Easton Ellis Essay

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Bret Easton Ellis is one of the great American writers of our time. Some of his famous works include his debut novel, Less Than Zero (1985), and his opus, American Psycho (1991), which are household names for any literary or cinematic buff. Although the man behind the mask may not be identifiable by all, almost everybody knows the name Patrick Bateman, and recognizes the famous role played by actor Christian Bale. Although Ellis’ literary prose might lead you to believe he was a dedicated scholar, his extracurricular activities would definitely prove you wrong. He was actually known for partying, sex, and drugs, the hamartia of almost every human. That exact humanness shows itself in his style, which is harsh, honest, and borderline sordid. …show more content…

He was born to his father, Robert Ellis, a property developer who was not wanting for wealth, and his mother, Dale Ellis, a homemaker. He grew up in sunny Los Angeles, California, in an idyllic neighborhood called Sherman Oaks. So what would inspire such a child to write the book American Psycho, which centers around themes of human brutality and misogynistic behavior? There are mixed answers to these questions, which are often posed in interviews with Ellis himself. On many different occasions, he has provided several answers. The first time he was asked, he told listeners that his famous character Patrick Bateman was actually based off of his father, who he said was abusive during his childhood. When further asked about this skeleton in his closet, he retracted his original answer and instead stated that the character was actually based off of himself. That in and of itself is a little startling, that such a merciless and violent character was confessed to be a reflection of a darker part of himself. Today, we can’t be sure who really inspired his most famous character, but, if he is to be believed, we might have a real American Psycho on our …show more content…

It was at the young age of twenty-one that he wrote his first book, called Less Than Zero, which centers around a main character who returns home one day to discover his girlfriend addicted to cocaine. The novel explains in detail the effect of drugs on individuals, and the darker parts of life. Less Than Zero was Ellis’ debut novel, and it quickly rocketed him to fame. The success of his first book provided him with enough momentum to release his second novel, American Psycho. Although this would become known as his most famous work, at the time it made him a leper to the literary population. The level of violence and brutality caused people to condemn his work, and it wasn’t really until the movie adaptation that it gained acclaim. After that his career skyrocketed. In addition to drafting more novels, he wrote screenplays for movies such as The Informers and The Canyons, directed films like The Deleted, All That Glitters, and Orpheus, and was an actor and producer. There was nothing regarding the literary arts that he could not

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