t should look, act, and interact.5 This is particularly evident in both Less Than Zero and Bright Lights, Big City in that the characters seems almost caught up in their perceived notions of society.
Further, each region equally seems to shape and mold the characters. In Anywhere But Here Ann and her mother are pressured into forming opinions of the world, and themselves, because of geographic regions.6 The hero in Bright Lights, Big City arrives in New York full of wonder and expectations, but is quickly shown that in the city, one must either adapt or die. In his words, "Once upon a time, you assumed you were very likable . . . You were a good guy. You deserved some of the world's booty . . . After . . . you came to New York, you began to feel that you were no longer on the outside looking in."7 And, at the very beginning of Less Than Zero
5 See, for example, Wilson Bryan Key, Subliminal Seduction, (New York: New American Library, 1974).
7 McInerney, 62. Clay returns to Los Angeles for Christmas vacation and immediately feels the change in attitude, expectations, and the increasing superficiality brought on by the area.8
Even these few examples point to a greater shift in perceptions, called by one author "The Culture of Narcissism."9 This culture is characterized by a gradual, yet significant, pulling away of individuals from a sense of community and belonging. For example, Americans "feel" that they are American and share American values because they shop for the same brands or types of food and clothing nationwide, watch the same television programs and motion pictures, and listen to the same types of music. Of course, there are minor variations within all of these activities, but the point of removing the psychological attitude from a sense of society to a sense of the individual has characterized the late twentieth century.10 With societal changes, then, so too does the psychological make up of the indivi...