The American Psycho is a novel written in 1991 by an American writer, Bret Easton Ellis. It is a story about a young wall street banker in Manhattan who lives a second life as a gruesome serial killer at night. The success of the books reached the box office in the year 2000, starring Christian Bale as Bateman, Justin Theroux as Timothy Price, and Reese Witherspoon as Evelyn Williams.
One of the characters in American Psycho is Timothy Price. Timothy Price is Bateman’s fellow and best friend who exemplified greedy, immoral, racist, and homophobic character. He is often aggressive, ridicules the homeless, attention-seeker who pursues validation from others.
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Who is Timothy Price in American Psycho?
In the American Psycho novel, Timothy Price is one of the colleagues of the main protagonist, Patrick Bateman, along with his fellow Craig McDermott and David Patten. Timothy is also a Wall Street banker. He is an aggressive, homophobic, condescending, attention-seeker. He often ridicules the homeless and is always angry at people, especially with gays.
In the novel, Bateman describes Price as the only interesting person he knew. Bateman said that he was certain Timothy Price had an affair with his fiancé, Evelyn. He became Bateman’s closest friend, and in fact, became like a role model for him. His character disappeared for most of the story for unknown reasons and reappeared towards the end of the story where Bateman was supposed to meet his Lawyer due to his confessions.
What happened to Timothy Price in American Psycho?
In American Psycho, there’s not much exposure for Timothy Price, it doesn’t really specify what happened to him in the novel. However, there are some speculations that Timothy Price is another personality made by Patrick Bateman in his head to express his aggressive, hateful side. Here are some of the notable appearances of Timothy Price in the novel:
- At the beginning of the story, Timothy Price first appeared in the Espace where Bateman mentioned that he is certain that his fiancé Evelyn and Timothy are having an affair.
- The second was when they were comparing their business cards. Bateman got jealous when Tim preferred Van Patten’s cards over to his.
- Doing drugs together in a club. In the novel, Bateman and Timothy Price were really close with each other. They used to hang up a lot in a bar and do drugs together. There was an instance where they were sniffing coke in a club where another man interrupted them because Price is being too loud. Price once again has shown his aggressive behavior yelling at that person.
What is the significance of Timothy Price in American Psycho?
The American Psycho has a lot of ambiguity including the characterization of Tim Price. Although the protagonist has described him vividly, there has been a debate about whether he is real or just part of Bateman’s delusions. He could be just another persona of Bateman and serves as an inspiration to the aggressive and angry side of Patrick Bateman. There is not much specification in the novel, but it seems that Tim was Bateman’s main stimulus for his violent behavior.
Does Timothy Bryce and Evelyn have an affair in American Psycho?
It is not really proven in the story aside from Bateman claiming that he is certainly sure that Evelyn and Tim have an affair while he was so indifferent if Evelyn knows he has an affair with her best friend, Courtney. It was noticeable how Tim and Evelyn greeted each other at the Espace bar when they almost kissed each other, which is way too intense for a friend.
Is Patrick Bateman and Timothy Price the same person?
There is a lot of speculation whether Patrick Bateman and Timothy Price are the same person. At the beginning of the story, Patrick describes Tim as a separate person with his own looks and personality. Although he said that Tim had an affair with his fiancé, Evelyn, he still treats him like his best friend. In fact, he regards him as the only interesting person he knows.
However, as the story progresses, especially towards the end, there is a lot of ambiguity. How much of Patrick’s narration happened, and how much is just part of his vivid imagination? Some readers suggest that Tim is just part of the imagination of Patrick, like his other persona. It seems that Tim is the expression of Patrick’s violent, misogynistic, homophobic, and aggressive side, which he kept inside him.
Tim was indeed his inspiration in his violent activities in the story. Many suggest that the other guys in his circle of friends are just his other persona and aren’t really true. They work in the same company, dress the same way, and their job is the same. These are just speculations that are never mentioned in the story. The ambiguity of the story has played in the minds of its reader and critics alike.
