Postmodern Condition in J. G. Ballard’s Crash and Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho: A Study in Psychological Effects

Abstract

This the sis aims at exposing the harsh and harrowing effects of postmodern condition. The harsh psychological effect of postmodern condition is examined inrelation to Ballard's Crash and Ellis's American Psycho.In Crash the protagonist V aughan has fallen into the habit of going to the extreme.This habit ruins him irreparably.He does what he does in excess.This is the root cause of his downfall.Any idea of clinging to the normal, the normative and the moderate is nauseous to him. Vaughan does not see the boundary between the normal and the non-normal. To live a life driven by discipline, virtue and ethical concern is to ruin life. This is the conviction of Vaughan. He is on the lookout for the exploration of new sexuality.This search makes him a unique victim.Vaughan hardly conceives sexuality devoid of violence. Due to his extreme immersion in the doctrine of postmodernism, he is prone to seeking sexuality in relation to violence. Sodomy, homosexuality,masturbatory practice and various other peripheral sexualities can be found in Vaughan’s search for new sexuality which ultimately puts his life to a disastrous end.In Ellis's American Psycho, the major character Bateman is so handicapped by the tough competition on Wall Street that he begins to simulate that sort of personality which he is incapable of cultivating. Extreme dissatisfaction and inherent in ability compel him to dissimulate his inner most foibles and shortcomings. Inwardly he is trapped in the rigid confines of life on Wall Street. To come out of his arid mercantile life, he concocts violent fantasies. Pushed by violent urge to come out of a ridmaterialistic life of Wall Street,he engages in serial killings. Involvement in the serial acts of murder helps him to establish contact with the real world. Ballard meets his disastrous end due to his movement towards extremity and excess. Bateman collapses gradually into schizophrenic disorder and monstrosity.In this way, it can besaid that both American Psycho and Crash fore ground the psychological effects of postmodern condition.