Academic literature on the topic 'Ellis, Bret Easton (1964-....)'

A travers l'analyse comparée des romans de Houellebecq, Dantec, Gibson et Ellis, cette thèse cherche à définir un nouveau genre littéraire transnational que j'appelle Le roman posthumain. L'accès à l'écriture des romanciers posthumains correspond à l'âge de la toute-puissance des médias. Leur statut d'écrivain s'inscrit dans une stratégie de manipulation de la couverture médiatique. Experts en scandale, ils sont l'illustration d'une double évolution : celle du statut de la littérature face à l'information, et de la posture de l'écrivain, entre engagement et star system. Ces textes peuvent d'abord se définir comme discours de la fin. Fin des temps et esthétique apocalyptique : les romans posthumains construisent une temporalité de l'imminence. Fin de l'homme et mort du personnage : l'âge posthumain signale le déclin de l'individu. Ce discours pessimiste s'élabore à travers un style éminemment satirique, qui révèle la posture prophétique des auteurs. La satire fonctionne à la fois comme une position morale, entre prophétie et dystopie, et comme une technique narrative qui fait entendre le langage global. Ces mutations linguistiques donnent lieu à une redéfinition générique du roman. Les phénomènes de simulation et de massification mettent en question les limites génériques des textes. L'espace virtuel met en question l'espace fictif, le thème du tourisme met en question la construction de l'intrigue, et le motif gothique contribue à la déréalisation de ces fictions. Les romanciers posthumains élaborent un modèle romanesque qui, bien qu'inspiré par le réalisme, se voit marqué par la désincarnation et l'immatérialité. Ces récits obsédés par l'actuel perdent de vue le vivant<br>Through a comparative analysis of the novels of Houellebecq, Dantec, Ellis and Gibson, this dissertation attempts to define the transnational literary genre that I call The Posthuman Novel. The posthuman novelists are children of the media-age. Their abilities to use and abuse media coverage makes them experts in the orchestration of various scandals, which illustrate the evolution of the status of literature at the mass media age, and the position of the writer, between intellectual engagement and star system. These texts can be defined first ideologically as discourses of the endings: End of the world and apocalyptic aesthetics; end of man and death of the character. The posthuman age is the defeat of the individual. Generally the posthuman writers are testifying to the loss of those modern conceptions of man, space and time inspired by transcendence and ideals. We will also observe the novels endings as they illustrate a problematic relationship with utopia. This pessimistic discourse is elaborated through a highly satirical style, which reveals the provocative and prophetic stance of these writers. The stylistic analysis of the satiric techniques shows that satire functions as a moral position, linked to prophecy, but also as a narrative technique which reveals the mutations of language and makes the global language audible. These linguistic mutations give way to a generic redefinition of the novel. Phenomena such as simulation and massification question the generic limits of the texts. The integration of virtual spaces in the narrative questions the fictional space, the staging of tourism questions the construction of the plot and the gothic pattern contribute to the derealisation of these fictions. In fact, the posthuman writers build the model of a disincarnated novel – a novel which has freed itself of the limits of realism, but has also lost touch with the flesh. Those narratives obsessed by the actual, are loosing sight of the living

The novel American Psycho was first published in 1991. It recieved harsh criticism and was viewed as a work of heterosexism, misogyny and pointless violence. Despite the criticism, the protagonist, a wealthy serial killer yuppie namned Patrick Bateman, fascinated the readers. He hides his monstrosity behind a façade of heteronormativity, but this essay shows that the norms in American Psycho are fragile. Batemans relationships are shallow, his identity is constructed out of traditional masculinitynorms and even though he’s homophobic there’s a homoerotic undertone in the text, as well as gothic patterns that give the novel a fair amount of queerness too. This analysis shows that the fear of AIDS, imprinted in the text, works as a representation for Bateman’s discrepancy concerning his sexuality. It brings to light that Bateman’s feelings towards two of his collegues are charachterized by homoerotic yearnings, and that shallow readings, where the text is not interpreted, allows the brutal violence to divert attention from the novel’s queer meaning.<br>Romanen American Psycho publicerades 1991. Den fick hård kritik och sågs som ett heterosexistiskt, misogynt verk fullt av meningslöst våld. Trots kritiken fascinerade protagonisten, den förmögna seriemördaryuppien Patrick Bateman, läsarna. Bateman döljer sin monstrositet bakom en heteronormativ fasad men den här uppsatsen visar att textens heteronorm är bräcklig. Batemans relationer är ytliga, identiteten är konstruerad från traditionella maskulinitetsnormer, han är homofobisk, även då gotiska, homoerotiska undertoner präglar texten. Analysen visar att AIDS-skräcken som präglar boken är synonym med Batemans sexualitetsdiskrepans, att hans känslor för två av hans kollegor är av homoerotisk karaktär, samt att i ytliga läsningar av romanen, där texten inte tolkas, gör det explicita våldet att läsarens uppmärksamhet avleds från romanens queera innebörd.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico<br>Patrick Bateman, o protagonista narrador do romance American Psycho (1991), de Bret Easton Ellis, confunde por ser rico, bonito e educado e, ao mesmo tempo, torturador, assassino e canibal. Mas esta personalidade antagônica não o torna singular. O que o particulariza são as quatro faces que ele apresenta ao longo de sua narrativa: (1) ele consome mercadorias e humanos, (2) compete para ter reconhecimento, (3) provoca horror por suas ações, e (4) não é um narrador confiável. Sendo um yuppie (termo popular usado nos Estados Unidos na década de 1980 para denominar jovens e bem sucedidos profissionais urbanos), Bateman é materialista e hedonista. Ele está imerso em uma sociedade de consumo, fato que o impossibilita de perceber diferenças entre produtos e pessoas. Sendo um narcisista, ele se torna um competidor em busca de admiração. No entanto, Bateman também é um serial killer e suas descrições detalhadas de torturas e assassinatos horrorizam. Por fim, nós leitores duvidamos de sua narrativa ao notarmos inconsistências e ambiguidades. Zygmunt Bauman (2009) afirma que uma sociedade extremamente capitalista transforma tudo que nela existe em algo consumível. Christopher Lasch (1991) afirma que o lendário Narciso deu lugar a um novo, controverso, dependente e menos confiante. A maioria das vítimas de Bateman são membros de grupos socialmente marginalizados, como mendigos, homossexuais, imigrantes e prostitutas, o que o torna uma identidade predatória, segundo Arjun Appadurai (2006). A voz autodiegética e a narrativa incongruente do protagonista, contudo, impedem que confiemos em suas palavras. Estas são as quatro faces que pretendo apresentar deste serial killer<br>The autodiegetic protagonist Patrick Bateman, in Bret Easton Elliss American Psycho (1991), is a troubling character, for he is highly-educated, wealthy and handsome as well as a torturer, a killer and a cannibal. This antagonistic behavior, nonetheless, does not make him a singular character. The four sides he presents throughout the novel are singular, though: (1) he consumes humans and commodities equally; (2) he competes for recognition and admiration; (3) his acts are horrific; and (4) his narration is unreliable. As a yuppie (a popular term from the 1980s used to define young urban U.S. professionals), Bateman is materialistic and hedonistic. As he lives off the excesses of a consumer society, he is incapable of distinguishing people from products. As a self-absorbed, narcissistic protagonist, he becomes a competitor struggling to get approval from his peers. Nevertheless, Bateman is a serial killer, and his detailed descriptions of tortures and murders are horrifying. Finally, we readers cannot rely on his narrative once we notice ambiguities and divergences. Zygmunt Bauman (2009) posits that an extremely capitalist society forces people to be commodified. Christopher Lasch (1991) asseverates that the old legendary Narcissus gave birth to a new one, paradoxical, dependent and less confident. Most of Batemans victims are socially-marginalized characters, members of minority groups, such as homeless people, homosexuals, immigrants, and prostitutes. As a matter of fact, Bateman may be regarded as having a predatory identity, as defined by Arjun Appadurai (2006). However, this autodiegetic narrator, together with his inconsistent narrative, cannot be entirely trusted. These are the points I want to debate regarding this fourfold serial killer

A presente dissertação tem como objectivo contribuir para o estudo do fenómeno do Duplo, inserido no género Gótico Americano, na obra do escritor norte-americano contemporâneo Bret Easton Ellis, na tradição de Stevenson, Poe e Hawthorne, os primeiros a lançar os fundamentos desta temática nas suas obras. Assim, foram estudados os motivos que conduzem ao desenvolvimento do tema do Duplo nas produções ficcionais do autor seleccionado, tendo sido fundamental o seu estudo à luz das teorias psicanalíticas de Sigmund Freud e Otto Rank. Analisámos alguns dos autores anglo- americanos, que mais colaboraram para a definição deste cânone literário, e cujas obras, temáticas e técnicas narrativas influenciaram o processo criativo de Bret Easton Ellis. Por fim, utilizámos toda a nossa pesquisa para encontrar no autor em estudo a necessidade da criação da figura do Duplo nas suas produções literárias como expressão de auto-reflexão e auto-referencialidade literária, com relevo para os seus romances American Psycho (1991) e Lunar Park (2004). ABSTRACT; The present dissertation aims to contribute to the study of the motif of the Double, in American Gothic genre, in the literary work by the contemporary North-American writer Bret Easton Ellis, who has been following the tradition of Stevenson, Poe and Hawthorne, the first writers to lay the foundations of this issue in their works. Thus, we studied the reasons that lead to the development of the theme of the Double in his fictional productions in the light of psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud and Otto Rank. We examined some of the authors, classic and contemporary, who contributed to the definition of the literary canon, and whose works, themes and narrative techniques influenced the creative process of Bret Easton Ellis. Finally, we used our entire research to find in the author the need to create the figure of the Double in his literary productions as an expression of self-reflexivity, self-referentiality, namely in his novels American Psycho (1991) and Lunar Park (2004).