Résumé:
The American society witnessed major cultural shifts after the Second World War. Starting
with the 1960s, a counterculture also referred to as the Hippie movement, was a lifestyle that
contradicted the mainstream culture in many ways. The Hippie movement was followed by
Yuppiedom in the 1980s which designated a wealthy lifestyle that promoted physical
appearance. Both cultures were characterized by their members‘ tendency toward violent
behaviors. So, this study aims at examining the relationship between those cultural changes
and violence and their contribution in reshaping a new American identity. The study analyzes
Bret Easton Ellis‘s American Psycho (1991) to exemplify the role of the Yuppie culture in
reshaping the new American identity that was characterized with violence. The novel indeed
depicts the 1980s Yuppiedom manifestations while at the same time offers constant
portrayals of violent acts that characterized the 1980s America and American people. Along
with a survey of the social and cultural changes that characterized the period, the study
attempts to understand the character‘s motivations behind violence via psychology. Sigmund
Freud‘s theory on Aggression will be used to better understand the main character‘s violent
acts. Thus, it is argued here that despite the luxurious lifestyle that the ma in character leads,
violence becomes an avoidable necessity for him.
