Alex and Patrick - Separated at birth
Alex and Patrick - Separated at birth?
A comparison of characters
Hypothesis
For my project, I have chosen to compare and analyse the characterisation of two of literature's most psychotic characters, Alex from 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess, and Patrick Bateman from 'American Psycho' by Bret Easton Ellis.
Patrick and Alex are from, and live in two completely different worlds, but what I aim to prove is that if you look past the superficial differences of the stories, the base characteristics and emotions of the two characters are the same.
The Books
Both 'American Psycho' and 'A Clockwork Orange' are considered to be satires and black comedies.
Ellis' version of 80's New York and a Wall Street executive gone insane is considered a satire of the 80's obsession with greed, money, power, women, drugs and getting a reservation at Dorsia. It is about Patrick bateman, a successful stockbroker, who by day goes to work, discusses fashion tips with his friends and goes to the most expensive restaurants, and by night, is a psychopathic mass murder. It is derivative of, and has been praised as the darkest satire since...
'A Clockwork Orange', Burgess' vision of a future run by martial law with teenage criminals running amok is considered a satire on State Censorship, the government and free will. It is about Alex, a fifteen year old boy who goes out raping, stealing and murdering, until he is arrested.
When in jail, the state tries to reform him, but end up turning him into nothing more than 'A Clockwork Orange', a person with no free will, no choice, and no life. Have the government gone too far?
Both books have been viewed as misogynistic, discriminating against social classes, and in some parts racist, but regardless of this the books are still considered cult classics.
Lifestyle and Friends
Patrick and Alex are both given backgrounds, complete with friends and lifestyles. In 'American Psycho', Ellis depicts Patrick's lifestyle as restaurants, designer clothes, attractive women, cocaine and martinis. In contrast, Burgess shows Alex as being from a poor family, a convict, and a victim of the system.
Patrick's lifestyle is written about much more than Alex's, as Ellis intersperses Patrick's deeds with passages about work, the difficulty of getting a reservation at a good restaurant, and which tie he should wear to match his new Valentino suit. Burgess does write about Alex's life in some detail, such as the purchasing of a new record, what he is wearing 'The heighth (not a spelling mistake) of Nadsat fashion', and his favourite places ("The Korova milk bar for some Moloko plus").
The extract from 'American Psycho 'marked 'Friends' describes the beginning of an evening out for Patrick. Notice how Ellis starts talking about what everyone is wearing as though it is relevant to the story line, however it is relevant to the theme, showing the 80's obsession with designer labels. It seems as though Patrick feels it is neccesary to identify where everyone's clothes are from. The following page shows Patrick giving out fashion tips and everyone listening as though he is a fashion guru.
In the extract, Ellis shows the banter between Patrick and his friends, McDermott, Van Patten and Price. Patrick doesn't mention any of his deeds to his friends, or as part of the narration at this point. There doesn't seem to be any kind of a hierarchy within the group, everyone seems to be equal, although we do tend to see Patrick as the main person in the group, due to the first person narration.
In contrast, Alex is the leader of his little group, and this is apparent from the start, as Alex bosses around the other ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
In the extract, Ellis shows the banter between Patrick and his friends, McDermott, Van Patten and Price. Patrick doesn't mention any of his deeds to his friends, or as part of the narration at this point. There doesn't seem to be any kind of a hierarchy within the group, everyone seems to be equal, although we do tend to see Patrick as the main person in the group, due to the first person narration.
In contrast, Alex is the leader of his little group, and this is apparent from the start, as Alex bosses around the other three, especially Dim, whom he bullies constantly (I think he came up with the name - in reference to his intelligent).
Alex also describes what he is wearing, but only three times when it is neccesary, and not in as much detail as Patrick goes into.
Although Alex 'works' with his friends, or 'droogs', they don't seem to discuss their crimes between them. Paradoxically, Patrick, who 'works' alone, brings up his crimes in conversations with his friends and fiancée, but they are either not listening, take it as a joke, or are too drunk to understand or remember!
Alex's lifestyle is reflective of the chronological setting of the book, as it is set in one possible future, where it seems martial law rules, and everyone who is old enough to work has to work. Alex is only 15, and is not old enough to work, so he goes out stealing to earn money.
Although, when you strip away the superficial characteristics, you can see that Patrick is just an upscale, 80's yuppie version of Alex, as both of them are brash, arrogant, brutal, self-involved and obsessed with music, appearances, and violence.
Music
Both Patrick and Alex have an obsession with music. Patrick listens to more contemporary styles of music, such as Huey Lewis and the News, Whitney Houston and Genesis, whereas Alex favours the more classical music of Beethoven and Handel. Music seems to affect both Patrick and Alex in different ways.
In 'American Psycho', Ellis has written entire chapters devoted to the above bands, so the inclusion of music in the novel may be something personal to Ellis, because he's done his research, although it does also add to the 1980's feel of the book. Apart from this, the chapters do seem somewhat irrelevant to the story, as the preceding and following chapters have nothing to do with the music.
Both Patrick and Alex feel it necessary to list and describe their sound systems. Ellis uses two whole pages describing a consignment of top of the range technology that arrives at Patrick's house. This is showing the reader Patrick's wealth, rather than his love for music, whereas in 'A Clockwork Orange', Alex describes his stereo as "The pride of my jeezny". Later on in the book, he criticises two girls stereos, then says "Come with me and hear all proper", meaning that his stereo is far superior to theirs.
Patrick merely reviews and talks about the music, whereas Alex becomes engulfed in it, which is why he describes listening to classical music is "gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh". He also uses other words such as bliss, heaven, "Wonder of Wonders", proving that music to him is not just music, but an emotional thing, and as though he physically feels something. Alex compares listening to music like being on drugs.
Later in the book, after being treated with the Ludivico Technique, Alex is inadvertently conditioned against all emotional music, and after being forced to listen to Otto Skadelig's third symphony, he tries to kill himself. It is the ultimate irony that the one thing he loved so passionately is the thing that causes him to attempt suicide.
Violence
Both books are rife with violence. There is no real reason why either Alex or Patrick have tendencies towards violence, but in both cases they do seem as though they cannot be corrected normally. Both books are also written in the first person, and both Patrick and Alex involve the reader in their horseplay with unforgiving narration.
In the extract marked 'violence' Patrick, completely unprovoked, attacks and murders a homeless man and his dog. Notice how Ellis uses 'and' several times in one sentence. I believe this is to make Patrick's actions seem as though as they happened in quick succession. Ellis is also very descriptive. He writes about the homeless man in great detail, describing how he looks, how he smells and how he reacts to Patrick and his actions. Ellis also describes Patrick's actions in great detail. He uses a lot of similes and adjectives, making the description more graphic - "The wound pours out like red, veiny egg yolk", "I slit his nose in two, lightly spraying me and the dog with blood".
Alex and Patrick both taunt the homeless men before attacking them. Patrick shows disdain towards the homeless because he doesn't like the thought that people like the bum are taking other peoples money, however, Alex does not do it for any particular reason. Although Burgess does not develop it further, I believe the irony of this piece is that Alex is in reality closer class-wise to the homeless man than he is to the upper-class 'Sophistos' he believe he belongs to, so is picking on his own kind, so to speak.
In both Alex and Patrick's cases, there is no obvious motivation for their violence. We are given a little bit of Patrick's past in the book, where he tells the reader of his first violent act, in which he raped and killed the family maid. We are given no indication of why Alex acts the way he does, but we can only guess that it is because of his poor background, or the decaying society in which he is living in.
'Video Nasties' play a part in the violence in both of the books. In 'American Psycho', they are not exactly an influence on Patrick, but they do seem to inspire him. He always seems to have videotapes to return, and they are usually of a distasteful manner. He comments that he has rented 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' over 30 times. In 'A Clockwork Orange' however, these films affect Alex in a completely different way. They are used to wean Alex off violence and crime. This is one of the few differences between the characters.
Alex and Patrick are both quite obviously psychopaths, but during the day both of them carry themselves as normal individuals. The only difference is that Alex is known as a troublemaker, and has been in trouble with the law before.
In 'American Psycho' however, there is a lingering doubt present as to whether or not ant of the crimes actually took place, whereas in 'A Clockwork Orange', there is none at all. We know that Patrick is unstable, so the question is 'did he imagine all, or most of the crimes?'
Sex
Ellis and Burgess both describe sexual acts, in their own different way. At first glance of the extract of 'American Psycho' marked 'sex', you would be forgiven for thinking that it was actually taken from a semi-pornographic novel rather than the actual source, because Ellis describes every detail of Patrick's sordid liaisons with prostitutes and ex-girlfriends in explicit detail. Notice how Ellis uses slang such as 'cock' and 'pussy'. Patrick believes himself to be a porn star, and the way he acts with the girls shows this. Once again uses 'and' a lot in one sentence, with one sentence lasting for sixteen lines!
Because Patrick always has consensual sex with girls, the sex is just a prelude to violence, rather than Alex, who rapes women, therefore, is already acting violently. However, for both Patrick and Alex, it is the violence that arouses them both, hence they enjoy it more.
Burgess describes the rape very casually, with Alex describing it as the girls' 'education'. The use of Alex's slang also adds to the horror of the passage, with guttural words describing the deed. Also adding to the horror of the passage is Alex's indifference to what the girls' reactions are, as he rapes them they are screaming, but he seems to be more interested with Beethoven's 9th symphony playing on his stereo. I find the girls post-coital reactions to be rather tame for two girls who have just been raped - "Beast ad hateful animal. Filthy horror". At least Alex lets them go. Patrick would have had sex with them, tortured them for a while, killed them, and then maybe had sex with them again!
Burgess wrote the book after a nasty incident involving the rape of his ex-wife, and I am surprised he didn't describe Alex's deed with more venom and hatred.
The language of a 'A Clockwork Orange'
In 'A Clockwork Orange', Burgess has invented his own type of slang, 'Nadsat talk', that Alex and his 'droogs' use. The slang is a mixture of
"Odd bits of rhyming slang... Bits of gypsy talk, too. But most of the roots are Slav. Propaganda. Subliminal penetration..."
The fact that Alex's talked is based on Eastern European languages is one way Burgess is comparing the society in the book to communism, because, the book was written at the height of the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. I think Burgess wrote this as a prediction of what might happen if the Communists won.
It is quite difficult to understand when you first start to read the book. One reason I believe Burgess invented this slang to give Alex and his droogs the appearance of a gang, because the majority of organized gangs of the world have certain words that are unique to them. The slang also adds extra menace, as in the extract marked 'violence', Alex describes beating up the tramp. Notice how the word 'tolchock' sounds more venomous than 'hit' or 'beat'. Alex uses the word 'horrorshow', which does sound bad, but it is Nadsat for 'good'. This adds to readers understanding of how violent and nasty Alex is. At the beginning of the book, Burgess does give the reader translations for a while - "Pete had a rooker (hand, that is)... A clown's litso (face, that is)".
Burgess also uses repetition in the book. The book is split into three parts, each consisting of seven chapters, and in the first chapter of each part, and the final chapter of the third part as well, Burgess begins them with the sentence "What's it going to be then, eh?" He then repeats the line three times in the above chapters. Each of these chapters represent a key point in the novel, and Alex's life. The first time is the readers' introduction to Alex, the second is the beginning of Alex's time in prison, the third time is his release from prison, and the final time when he is fully rehabilitated. Every time, this question is being posed to Alex, but in different contexts, but I feel that the question is one directed at Alex about what he will do with his life. Will it be life or death, freedom or incarceration, an honest life or a criminal one?
Unusual Grammar
Along with unusually long sentences, in one part of the book, Ellis also changes from first person narrative to third person narrative mid sentence. When writing in the first person, it can be difficult not to slip up with tenses, and it seems strange the first time. Then you realise that Patrick is not completely sane, and it's as though Patrick has an out of body experience as he steals a taxi and drives around Manhattan.
Another way Ellis extends sentences is by using dashes to break up the words, making the writing more conversational between Patrick and the reader.
Burgess uses the same strategy as Ellis to keep the informal approach of the narration, using dashes and the Lancashire 'like' at the end of most sentences.
Ellis has also used Italics in his writing, to emphasise certain points only, the emphasis seems to be in the wrong place. I cannot see why he has done this, and this, along with the switching of narration, only add to the madness of they story.
