Monsters And Heroes Critical Analysis

Howard 1 Heather Howard Professor A. Veselis English 1302 05 February 2013 A Critical Analysis of the Theme, Monsters and Heroes The most basic instinct of the human being is animal in nature; the inherent want and need to survive. Humans have gone to great lengths to ensure their survival some of which traverse a dark, devious and most ofttimes, criminal path to achieve their goal(s). In the short stories The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe and A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor, both authors manage to convey the duality of the lead characters, albeit a minute sense portraying them as hero and monster, predator and prey. Liken to the character Patrick Bateman in the book, American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis, we identify with the protagonist as we see his psyche unravel. Even though Bateman is a ravenous serial killer with an insatiable appetite for carnage, we are able to understand his confusion and even identify with him understanding his motive for destruction. This leaves us with the question, is the protagonist a sociopath, a delusional psychotic or just a prisoner of his or her own poisonous mind? In such a way as