Identity And Individualism In Bret Ellis

A dark forest, full of supernatural events, mystical powers that one cannot even imagine! These are just a few elements in “The Devil and Tom Walker” written by Washington Irving during the Romantic Period. During this period, authors wrote stories with similar characteristics. Irving includes the characteristics of individuality, the supernatural and love of nature in his fascinating story.

Patrick Bateman is a wealthy investment banker living in Manhattan in the late 1980s. His life revolves around dining at trendy restaurants while keeping up appearances for his fiancée, Evelyn, and for his circle of wealthy and shallow associates, most of whom he dislikes. Bateman describes the materialistic nature of his lifestyle: his daily morning exercise and beautification routine, his music collection including performers such

The relationship between the individual and society is not just something found throughout human history, but also within the pages of a literature classic. From the first days of settlement in America, to racial tensions and slavery, to the development of capitalism, there has always been a relationship between the individual and society that is reflected in the written pieces of each time, revealing the connection between oneself and the collective spanning across the centuries. ‘The Scarlet Letter’, written in a Puritan world, and ‘Bartleby, The Scrivener’, written in capitalist America, are two key examples of literature that expose, detail and discuss the relationship between society and the individual in American history.

The character Scott an upper-class individual son of a mayor, in the (sexuality) hustling business created a false identity to bother his father. A two-face who first hanged out with Bob’s group first and then went back to his real life. Then through the character Mike a young man who suffers from narcoleptic seizure; condition in where he falls asleep deep anywhere and at any time. A character who keeps looking for his personal identity. He misses and starts to look for his mother. On the road, he always says like he has been there before. Through the words, he understands his own value and repeats

Within the case study “Carl’s Struggle for Identity” the focal client system is Carl for purpose of this paper. Cultural, social, gender, self, and sexual identity are reoccurring themes throughout the period of adolescence. This client system internalizes and attempts to modify those themes, adapting positively or negatively to social transactions. Carl’s incorporates labels like “fatso, underachiever, and head” into his social identity, because his doctor and the generalized other or “everyone” else deemed them to be true. The search for individualization throughout the social and family environments is greatly emphasized, with focus on peer, romantic, and sexual interactions (Hutchinson 2008). Defining “who I am” an aspect of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, Carl searches for individualization within his family environment, but cannot connect similarities or differences he has with his absent father (Hutchinson 2008, pg.). Carl’s desire to have meaningful peer relationships shape his behaviors around drug use and delinquent activity. The lack of structure and emphasis on academics in Carl’s home life and relationships, the client has little or no expectations on school success. Improper food choices, work, heredity, and lack of exercise are contributing factors to Carl’s obesity. Following proper intervention, it would optimal to see Carl interacting positively with peers, allotting more time to his studies and extracurricular, making more cognizant health

As one is experiencing a life of alienation and loneliness, they may being to act uncontrollable while rebelling against their surroundings, one loses themselves as they feel different than everyone present. Alienation can force an individual to spiral into an abyss of nothingness, nonetheless if one allows others to reach out and inspire than it is possible to break away from the alienation and loneliness. Chief Bromden from the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, written by Ken Kesey, is an Indian who was institutionalized for insanity and is considered a chronic in the ward as he is “too far gone” to be healed. Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger is a lying, rebellious teenager sent away by his parents to a private school as they are unable to handle Holden’s behaviour. It is evident both experience alienation as their stories progress and actions taken, however the individuals present in their lives motivate changes in the outcomes of these dynamic characters.

An underpinning theme to the novel is identity, at such a formative stage in life we all look for a sense of self. And at the foundation of Holden’s individuality is his constant sense of loneliness and anti-authoritarian temperament. Like every adolescent, he is on the cusp of adulthood, and therefore confronted with the pursuit of identity. The motif of loneliness is due to Holden’s inability to find balance in belonging and being unique. He is

“On weekends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains” (39). Certainly, few knew the authentic Jay Gatsby from the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. People thought they could fathom him, but countless were fabricated lies. Copious amounts of people in our society progress through life like this also. Never showing who they genuinely are because of shame or even fear of not being accepted by others. Gatsby represents in our society, how people put on a persona to be likeable to the masses.

‘’I felt so lonesome, all of the sudden. I almost wished I was dead,’’ a quote from the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger which relates to how some teens felt at one point in their life.The novel was published to attract adult readers and has become popular for its themes, motifs, and connections an individual has with the main character, Holden Caulfield.We tend to feel a connection to the struggles of Holden Caulfield as we put ourselves in his shoes and see life through his perspective. The book is still pertinent due to Holden facing challenges such as loneliness and the inability to make a connection to make with a purpose thus the readers see themselves in Holden. Furthermore, the book also relates to teens with the

Written during a turbulent time of change, Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is a critique of American society during the sixties, particularly the inhumane and degrading way the mentally ill were treated. Kesey’s utilization of setting, characterisation and symbolism depict how the characters give into conformity, which ultimately robs them of their identities and tortures their souls. The text is a representation of American Society during the sixties, as the characters are confronted with a crisis of conscience to either stand painfully still with their eyes closed, or to spread their wings and fly out of the cuckoo’s next.

The psychoanalytical lens helps us as the readers to better understand the characters and their actions throughout the book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but first we have to understand what exactly the psychoanalytical lens is. The psychoanalytical lens has to do with the ID, Ego, and Super Ego. The ID has to do with people’s natural instincts. Most of the time people don’t even realize they’re using their natural instincts and there’s nothing they can do to change them. In a way, it’s like a new born baby. Next there is Ego. The Ego has to do with figuring out what’s best for each person and not worrying about anyone else besides one’s self. People ask their self, what’s going to make them feel the happiest? It’s almost like they’re being

“You’re a blank, a cipher… a zero.” (Albee, 1962, p.18). With these words, Martha the main character in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” showed her husband, George, that he was nothing. Edward Albee, the writer of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” talked mainly about Martha and George who pretend to have different identities just in order not to face reality. Moreover, Arthur Miller, the author of “A View from the Bridge” presented the idea of identity in a different way. Miller used the character Eddie to show how people’s identities are constantly changing due to some changes in their lives. Modern playwrights question the idea of a definite identity.

Character development within novels with complex plot structures proves to be a difficult task necessitating the author to add their own inner thoughts and experiences to weave a more realistic story. The historical background of a writer helps glean on information about that person’s unconscious and subconscious processes that become apparent within an author’s literature. As the author develops their thoughts throughout a novel attempting to paint a clearer picture of their purpose, their own persona becomes a part of the literature. Psychoanalytic theory attempts to further this claim by taking information from one’s childhood, inner taboo thoughts and hidden motivations, and synthesizing them for a better picture of the author’s

Bateman is in a way sickened by the everyday all-American life he leads, while the reader is sickened by the flip side of Patrick Bateman.

During a lecture in 1907, William James said "the philosophy which is so important in each of us is not a technical matter; it is our more or less dumb sense of what life honestly means. It is only partly got from books; it is our individual way of just seeing and feeling the total push and pressure of the cosmos" (Bartlett 546) Individuality has been a prevalent theme in every type of literature for quite some time. Whether it is a character discovering his/her individuality or the author expressing his, literature is full of distinctness. The term individuality changes meaning with each person it meets. That is what makes the dynamic word so great. Throughout particular works read this