The controversy surrounding Brett Easton Ellis's American Psycho and Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange primarily relates to the central themes explored in both books. However, the brutality and explicit expression that permeate these novels are key to shocking readers. While it's not just the books' violent content that shocks, it's a "matter of form and style" and the methods used by both authors in depicting monstrosity. Both Burgess and Ellis use literary techniques in their novels that are significantly directed at provoking a controversial response from readers upon publication. However, this is not to say that the primary purpose of these novels is to shock; probably, this is simply an effect generated by the form in which these books are presented. It can be said that Ellis's presentation of a consumer society is crucial in pushing Bateman, Ellis's protagonist, to act the way he does. Likewise, Burgess's depiction of an oppressive and totalitarian society is also crucial to understanding Alex's desire for sadomasochism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay American Psycho's "bizarre blend of yuppie satire and splatter horror" has caused scathing critical reactions, outrage, and yes, even murder threats. The shocking nature of the novel is designed by Ellis's use of graphic content, images, and detailed descriptions; along with the other themes invoked, it's clear why American Psycho received such a controversial reception. Ellis refers to Dante's Inferno in the novel's opening line: "ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE"; This caption, inscribed on the gate of hell, is proleptic of the book's content, serving as a warning to the reader, who will be subjected to "The Hell" of endless presentations of consumer goods combined with scenes of harrowing violence." The only American Psycho's graphic content is shocking; however, Ellis carefully contrasts the nauseating details of the brutal acts committed by the selfish narrator, Patrick Bateman, with "some of the emptiest dialogue ever published". the "Greune Natural Revitalizing Shampoo"), home electronics and designer fashion brands not only highlights the importance of consumer society in 1990s America, but appears in stark contrast to the horrific scenes of mutilation that the Bateman's sadistic behavior appears even more frightening to readers. Along with this, the scenes of brutality occupy only a small portion of the novel: Bateman's first act of violence does not take place until a third of the way through the book. Furthermore, the monotonous sameness of Bateman's incessant descriptions of brands and consumer products leaves the reader simply unprepared for the bloodshed that follows. For example, Ellis devotes entire chapters of the novel to the history of groups such as "Genesis" and "Huey Lewis and the News". These boring and monotonous descriptions of Genesis albums such as the concept-laden "And Then There Were Three" have almost no relevance to the rest of the novel; however, they are significant in causing the effect that Ellis intends to pursue. The tedious depth of detail used by Ellis generates a false sense of security in the reader, thus accentuating the most horrific content of the novel. Consequently, a similar motif is employed in A Clockwork Orange. Alex's passion for classical music - above all, Beethoven's famous Ninth Symphony - generates an impression comparable to that made by Ellis in his use of language; furthermore, it is camouflageof Burgess's approach to structuring the novel. Beethoven begins his Ninth Symphony with a soft, placid tone that slowly builds to create maximum tension before exploding into a much higher, more dominant sound that, like the juxtaposition of language in American Psycho, is responsible for creating a such a dramatic effect. Similar techniques are implemented in JG Ballard's Crash, which was criticized by various critics for the "violent behavior" and "perverse desires" of some of its characters. Ballard, like Ellis, exercises an extensive and unnecessary amount of detail; however , unlike American Psycho, there is no contrast between the violence and the rest of the book Ballard blends endless descriptions of the mechanical structure, "exhaustively listed in precise technical prose" – for example, the "protruding carapace of the dashboard." ” and the “stylized steering column cover sculpture” – featuring the perverse behavior of characters such as Ballard and Vaughn. In the case of Crash, the incessant use of mechanical jargon amplifies the erotic and violent nature of the book itself and, if used along with descriptions of "every pornographic and erotic possibility" and "every conceivable sexual death and mutilation", is very effective in generating a controversial effect Ballard portrays "his distinctive interpretation of the culture of modernity" through the means by which he unifies sex, death and metallic structure in his language. Ballard's view on society is similar to that of Ellis, who floods American Psycho with contemporary detail; the reflection of a semi-realistic society in both Crash and American Psycho causes them to appear more shocking to readers. In contrast, the dystopian world of imagination created by Burgess in A Clockwork Orange contains elements of futuristic culture, which may seem less offensive to audiences. Ballard's title, Crash, is relevant to the novel's content; it is also metaphorical of his view of society as sordid and doomed to disaster, a point supported by Virginia Brackett. The language of A Clockwork Orange, a neo-Slavic Nadsat, is extremely significant in addressing the violence of the novel, and is described by Esther Petix as "the jargon of rape, pillage and murder veiled in foreignness". The typical language spoken between the narrator, Alex, and his “droogs” is important in considering how Burgess intends to represent violence as both a theme and a way of life for the gang. It is imperative to take into account, when interpreting the Nadsat lexicon, the distinct lack of connotations of love, emotion and compassion that are typically applied in a natural home environment. In contrast, Alex's dialogue contains a huge variation of words implying brutality, violence, and misogyny: for example, "Krovvy" for blood and "Groody" for breast. This in itself represents the extent to which bloodshed and brutality are normal for Alex; "A little dirty twenty-one to one" or "Ultraviolence" are routine for Alex and his Droogs. Similar to American Psycho, A Clockwork Orange also uses linguistic contrast to amplify the violence recorded in the book, thus causing a more deplorable effect. The Nadsat lexicon, in offering a variety of misogynistic and violent terms, also includes a number of contrasting phrases. Burgess "stains his dialogues of evil with endearing traces of childhood" in words like "appy polly loggies" and "skolliwoll"; this juxtaposition of childishness and violent terms helps to repeatedly shock the reader. Along with this, the Nadsat dialogue is also significant in personalizing the reader with the narrator, involving us in the sadistic violence he commits. The stream of consciousness narrative we see from Alex constantly embeds us in his violent behavior. On the other hand, customization andthe interaction between the reader and Alex leads us to empathize with him, raising the thesis that the principle of A Clockwork Orange is not purely to shock, but also to pursue other themes. All three books – A Clockwork Orange, American Psycho, and Crash – were produced into relatively recent films, all of which resulted in controversial receptions; the most shocking, A Clockwork Orange, was banned upon release. This illustrates the contextual meaning of the novels and represents how the shock of language has dissipated in modern society after exposure to media and film culture. Furthermore, this explains why the explicit nature of American Psycho generated less of a response than the more subtle motifs of A Clockwork Orange which shocked many when it was released. Ellis's use of language in American Psycho is clearly of great importance in causing shock; however, it is the illustration of violence that is the substance of the novel. The excruciating depth of detail and graphic imagery thrown at the reader is almost difficult to comprehend. Bateman's first act of violence is a depiction of class hatred perpetrated against a homeless black man named Al, suggesting that the encounter is simply an embellishment of the racial prejudice that underlies the novel. However, Ellis "imagines the victim's body with extraordinary specificity," and the gruesome images of Al's mutilation traumatize the reader. The illustration of Al's eye as a "red, veined egg yolk...dripping down his screaming lips in thick, spidery threads" paints a picture so repulsive that it becomes almost nauseating to the reader. Ellis continues to express such graphic detail regarding nearly every act of brutality performed by Bateman. In the second half of American Psycho, the disturbing nature of the novel increases, as readers are introduced to the first of Bateman's sexual attacks. Unlike Burgess, Ellis produces a narrator that readers are unable to empathize with due to the barbaric and sadistic acts he commits. The perverse scenes of erotic vulgarity involving various prostitutes and "hard bodies" that Bateman lures to his apartment are instrumental in generating the level of controversy that arose following publication. In particular, Ellis describes a scene in which Bateman forces a Habitrail tube "into this bitch's pussy" before inserting and trapping a hungry rat inside her for personal satisfaction. Ellis continues to describe Bateman's animalistic brutality, using sickeningly graphic images of "skin, muscle, tendon and bone" before "knocking the bone out of her chin." Although it is clear from the ferocious descriptions of various mutilations and murders that Ellis wanted to disturb his readers, there is a precise correspondence between Bateman's victims that represents a portrait of American society in the 1990s. This is reflected in Bateman's choice of targets, which progresses from "Al" ("The bum, a black man") to an "old queer" and his Shar-Pei and then to various "stock bimbo[s] ". Julian Murphet argues that what Ellis presents as acts of brutality should in fact be regarded as “the cinematically projected fantasy of general class violence towards all that is not white, male, and upper-middle class.” To some extent, Murphet's statement is accurate: both misogyny and racial prejudice are explicitly expressed in the life of Bateman and nearly everyone immersed in "yuppie" culture. The uniformity of such a banal routine pursued by Bateman pushes him towards exorbitant methods of gratification. Carl Tighe supports Murphet's thesis, stating that Ellis's portrayal of women in American Psycho is that "they're not intellectuals, they're barelypeople". Furthermore, the dialogue exchanged between Bateman and his associates – Van Patten, McDermott and Price – in pretentious restaurants and bars such as “Nells” and “Yale Club” clearly illustrates their materialistic and misogynistic view of women in society. All females are simply called "hardbodies" or "bimbos"; Bateman fails to appreciate anything behind a woman's facade or initial impression. Ellis exaggerates the importance of appearance in American Psycho to such an extent that a waitress becomes intolerable to our eyes.protagonist when he perceives that his left kneecap is "almost imperceptibly thicker" than his right one. At "Harry's", Bateman and two "friends" agree that a good personality in a woman consists of someone who "satisfies everyone". sexual demands" and "basically keeps his stupid mouth shut"; the consistent and deliberate level of yuppie satire and offensive dialogue reflects Ellis's take on the consumer society of 1990s America. Therefore, in Bateman's egoistic routine of habitual violence, monotone monologues and cocaine, Ellis can be seen to be raising fundamental social and racial problems, which were widespread in America during the era of Reagan's presidency. However, the extent to which racial prejudice and misogyny are espoused by Bateman and his acquaintances heightens the shocking nature of the book, leading numerous feminist groups to rebuke Ellis with scathing criticism. Likewise, A Clockwork Orange contains indications of misogyny that are evident throughout the novel, with our narrator regularly participating in “a bit of ultra-violence,” raping and beating young women for his own amusement. The numerous derogatory terms in the Nadsat dialect regarding women also reinforce these indications, suggesting that A Clockwork Orange was not published solely to shock. The violence in A Clockwork Orange is presented in a very different way. Despite the lack of specificity regarding any details of the victim's injuries, the violence committed by Alex and his gang of "droogs" is "both frightening and attractive." We are able to empathize with the fifteen-year-old narrator through Nadsat and through his presentation as a typically mischievous teenager in a way that we couldn't connect with Bateman. Thus, when Alex and his gang attack, strip, and rob an "old geezer" and "victim" him by swimming in his own blood in the opening chapter, we are shocked to discover that Alex finds him "really beautiful." Our fifteen-year-old protagonist takes aesthetic pleasure in the merciless beating of an old man and finds it “a source of comedy”; this is consistent in Burgess's attempts to create distress in readers. A Clockwork Orange doesn't contain the same level of specificity as American Psycho. Yet Alex is presented as an artist in his violence, and Burgess describes his behavior with a surreal, almost playful detachment. In the midst of a brutal gang brawl, Alex begins "waltzing: left two three, right two three" before slashing the face of his nemesis, "Billyboy", whose "blood spilled like a red curtain ". This illustrates the pleasure Alex takes in violence and brutality. Similarly, in American Psycho, while torturing a young woman, Bateman “gloomily lip-syncs” to “The Worst That Could Happen” as it plays on the jukebox. Both Alex and Patrick Bateman are immersed in their routines of perfunctory periodic violence, which they carry out for no other reason than their own individual amusement. Probably, there is a precise political motive behind A Clockwork Orange: Burgess' observations during his visit to Leningrad in 1961. inspired the dystopian elements drawn from the novel. The nationoppressive and state-regulated that Burgess witnessed is undoubtedly what gave rise to the Ludovico Technique, a government program composed of a variety of "ultraviolent" films designed to reverse the malicious desires of a young criminal like Alex. The technique is a clear reflection of the totalitarian society of A Clockwork Orange and that observed in Leningrad. Burgess opposed the infamy and repressive nature of the ruling communist governments, and it is evident that his political ideology had an influence in the writing of his novel. Critic Esther Petix offers a supporting argument involving the contrast of government supporters representing the communist regimes witnessed by Burgess in Eastern Europe after the Second World War. Ludovico's technique itself is a paradox, presumably a method of rehabilitation; instead he manipulates our protagonist into “a pulpless, juiceless piece of meat who acts on command and not by will.” Ludovico's technique is a clear example of the political message underlying A Clockwork Orange and is crucial in presenting the idea of ​​the inherent evil of government and the purity of free will, both key themes throughout the novel. However, the inhuman procedure to which Alex is subjected is also fundamental in generating shock, together with the representation of a totalitarian society. Ellis, in his depiction of 1990s America, "transports us into a decadent world of cocaine addicts that basically revolves around the hunger for partying and sex." This is illustrated in the temporal depiction of a consumer society where clothing holds more meaning than who wears it. The extent to which Bateman is preoccupied with commodities leads him to become submissive, to become a commodity himself. It is crucial to consider the importance of physical behavior and possession in American Psycho, as it is crucial to unmasking the "Psycho" of the title. Bateman identifies that physical brutality, torture, and rape became "his only way to escape his empty life in consumer society"; Without a doubt, the materialistic, drug-fueled world that surrounds our protagonist is the basis of the shock implicit in Ellis's writing. Similarly, A Clockwork Orange has Alex and his "droogs" habitually drinking from the "Korova Milkbar", which serves "milk plus something else". The drugged milk cocktails that are consumed by our “humble narrator” before an evening of physical brutality and sexual animosity “toughen” you and remove any resemblance to human compassion. Once Alex and his "droogs" "feel the old moloko's knives starting to sting," they are "ready for some twenty-one to one" and are able to commit senseless violence without feelings of remorse. Thus, the drugs consumed by Alex and his gang, as in American Psycho, form the foundation of gang culture and “ultraviolence,” two key implications of shock embedded in the novel. By comparison, a further depiction of drug use in literature as a basis for shock is Hunter S. Thompson's postmodern novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which generated a dismissive response when it was published in 1971. The use of Surrealist imagery on Thompson's part is significant in emphasizing the wild nature of drug use and the pursuit of the "American Dream" reflected in "high-potency absorbing acid" and in "a whole galaxy of uppers, calming, screaming, multicolored laughter". The absurd excursions of Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo, the language combined with a blend of political satire, and the abundant trove of drugs all reflect Thompson's perspective on American society and the American dream. Thompson's use of language and imagery, 2001. 0-8264-9098-0.