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I'm going to toss in Jason Compson from The Sound and the Fury for evaluation.
Jason is depicted as a Satan-figure, a character few people with a high degree of sensitivity would admire. But he is the pragmatist who keeps things working and preserves the legacy, if not necessarily the values, of Faulkner's lost South for as long as possible. A counterpart, and complement, to the simple, but iron-willed Dilsey, in his own way --- he also endured.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 11-10-2012 at 03:08 PM..
I'm going to toss in Jason Compson from The Sound and the Fury for evaluation.
Jason is depicted as a Satan-figure, a character few people with a high degree of sensitivity would admire. But he is the pragmatist who keeps things working and preserves the legacy, if not necessarily the values, of Faulkner's lost South for as long as possible. A counterpart, and complement, to the simple, but iron-willed Dilsey, in his own way --- he also endured.
Ooh, that's a good one. I've been wracking my brain trying to think of characters to add to this thread, and yet for some reason I didn't think of Jason.
Red Dragon -(the novel that introduced Hannibal Lechter)
In Cold Blood- Truman Capote's greatest work and the first true crime novel
Lonesome Dove- several sociopaths in it; Blue Duck is the scariest
True Grit- same as Lonesome Dove, but funnier and shorter. Great book for girls especially.
Red Dragon -(the novel that introduced Hannibal Lechter)
In Cold Blood- Truman Capote's greatest work and the first true crime novel
Lonesome Dove- several sociopaths in it; Blue Duck is the scariest
True Grit- same as Lonesome Dove, but funnier and shorter. Great book for girls especially.
LOL on Lonesome Dove--July Johnson's wife would surely qualify and I have a funny story about that book. I had taken my girls on a round the world trip and it wasn't always easy to find suitable books to read as most book exchanges were full of Harlequins and other stuff I didn't want the girls to read. We finally found a great English language bookstore and my 12 yo wanted to read Lonesome Dove and I had read it years ago and couldn't think of anything bad in it so I let her read it and she loved it. Then I read it and purely squirmed thru a very pornographic scene in there and then I asked her if she had any questions about the birds and the bees but she just shook her head. Her education was complete and I guess that was a homeschool way to teach sex ed, lol.
To a limited extent, Jack Reacher of Lee Child's books. He does have his own morality and does whatever he feels is right whenever it's needed, but in one of the books he also explains that he doesn't have a conscience when it comes to killing people. Only once, in one book, does he express any regret because he reacted too soon and hurt someone innocent. He doesn't torture them, he just kills them - this is as a civilian, not during his Army service. For him, it's a matter of getting even, or getting justice at any cost for someone he cares about.
A much more extreme sociopath is Ruth Yancey in Fox's Earth by Ann Rivers Siddons. She has one focus, and caring about anyone else is not on her list.
As to whether sociopaths are born that way or become that way, Henry Lee Lucas would be a good one to study. I heard a live interview with him once from prison. He had the sweetest and gentlest voice imaginable, and said the most horrific things - that was in the late '80s and I still get chills thinking back on it now.
Not a classic, but From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz (Enoch Cain Jr.) narrates a good part of the book from the point of view of the sociopath. Very interesting to "be in his shoes".
Not a classic, but From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz (Enoch Cain Jr.) narrates a good part of the book from the point of view of the sociopath. Very interesting to "be in his shoes".
Yes and I was thinking the other day that all of the Harold Robbins novels were like that. I liked them (way back when) but then I'd get so depressed after reading one.
Yes and I was thinking the other day that all of the Harold Robbins novels were like that. I liked them (way back when) but then I'd get so depressed after reading one.
I agree. I stopped watching all the cop/detective shows when my son was young b/c it was too scary for him to see or hit too close to home for me to see. I've started pushing those books off my reading list too.
Any of the Burke novels by Andrew Vachss. The protagonist describes himself as a sociopath, although his empathy for abused children and his unquestioning loyalty to his "family of choice" negates this a little.
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