American Psycho(-analysis)

As I've mentioned before, although I knew almost nothing about psychopaths, before reading the novel, I was very curious about psychopaths. I had many assumptions that were based on stereotypes of psychopaths. When a friend is called a "psycho" for acting crazily in public or when someone ponders out loud about violent "what if's", then dismisses the thought as being "psycho," the idea of an apathetic psychopath who does not care about societal conventions is ingrained in my mind. Near the beginning of this novel, during a dinner with his friends, Patrick pulls out a brand new business card that he feels proud to show off. His pride is quickly shut down when his friends pull out their business cards which are much better, and Bateman starts to feel threatened by his friends' superiority. This business card is symbolic of Bateman's first display of true vulnerability. I found this interesting, because it destroyed my initial idea of psyc

American Psycho, written by Bret Easton Ellis has always been simply one of "those"  classic novels. Before reading this book, I only had a vague idea of what the American Psycho experience would be like. It's one of those books that are referenced so often in popular culture and thus seems to be one of those books that everyone has to read, just to gain that cultural knowledge. I was excited to read about a psychopath because they've always been both the most interesting and frightening people to learn about. The questions I often ask myself about empathy and genuineness often relate to my endless curiosity for psychopaths. Therefore, I was really looking forward to finally learning about what all those references are about and about psychopaths in general. I hope that this book will give me insight on the unique perspective of a psychopath and how they integrate themselves in society, especially since I assume that their apathy disconnects them from the fundamenta