Persuasive speech

Intro

Hello. I am going to attempt to convince you to read American Psycho.

This book is definitely one of my favourite books out of the few that I've read. You’ve probably heard about it somewhere, like from an edit of the main character where it's like a sigma dude walking through a hallway with headphones in.

Well that was my first introduction to him, and it got me curious.  I was like well damn what is this american psycho thing

story

So when I was on holiday in the countryside, I found a shop selling the book and i was like ohh my god its the thing from tik tok. So naturally i ignored the fat 18+ warning label on it and got my kind mum to buy it for me. And now I can answer the question of “What is American Psycho.”

Book introduction

AP (American Psycho), written by Bret Easton Ellis, follows Patrick Bateman, a wealthy Wall Street man who seemingly has everything: the job, the money, the looks and the lifestyle. Yet despite having everything that we're told makes a man happy, his life is incredibly sad and empty. 

First point P1 - talking about the character and narration and stuff

The book is written in first person, but Bateman’s narration is devoid of personality. He values looks and luxury, giving these blunt descriptions of people's outfits, faces, and body especially if its a women. But he also constantly tries to fit in and look likeable. Like, when he literally spent two entire pages lecturing his bigoted friends on world problems, from his very own probably more bigoted mouth.

First reason for why you should read - funny moment / humour

His shallow obsessions create funny moments where characters treat trivial things with utmost importance. For example, the business card scene. When Price shows his card, Bateman says and I quote: "Even I have to admit it's magnificent... Suddenly the restaurant seems far away, hushed, the noise distant... compared to this card." This part was funny yes, but it illustrates the absurdity of consumerist culture, giving u a peek into how the book skilfully uses humour (usually dark humour) to not only entertain but also educate.

Language makes it easy

His more straightforward way of speaking also makes the book pretty easy to understand compared to other literary classics. Ellis doesn't use many complex sentences or unknown and outdated language, which makes AP pretty digestible in a grammatical sense. I'm not saying that old hard to read classics are bad, but trying to jump from like Diary of a Wimpy Kid into Pride and Prejudice is a massive step, which makes this book a good place to start if you’re trying to get into some harder classic books. 

Last point/early conclusion P1

Ultimately, I think AP is a book that really explores the relationship between identity and materialism. The world Bateman lives in has taught him to measure his worth and existence through wealth, appearance and status. I find it really important to understand this because it makes Bateman much more than just an odd little guy, you sort of feel pity for him.

Last point/early conclusion P2

In mirroring our world in these aspects, you begin to question your life, and what we as humans live for in the 21st century. I’m sure you remember the American Dream stuff from The Truman Show and I’m also sure that you probably don’t ever wanna hear of that again. But if you did enjoy the criticism of The American Dream and consumerism culture, this book provides a different perspective on it and you know minus Seahaven. 

Conclusion

So, if you want to read something that isn’t super difficult to understand, is deep, and has TikTok edits and a movie that can motivate you to keep reading, you should totally try American Psycho. 

Thank you.