antisocial and narcissistic personality

ANTISOCIAL AND NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY

DISORDERS SHOWN BY JOE GOLDBERG IN KEPNES’

YOU: A PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

ELIZABETH NABITHA EZMERALDA RIHI

Student Number: 174214005

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA

YOGYAKARTA

2021

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ii




AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By



DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA

YOGYAKARTA

2021


iii

A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis




By



Approved by

Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum June 7, 2021

Advisor

Scolastica Wedhowerti, S.Pd., M.Hum. June 7, 2021

Co-Advisor


iv

A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis




By



Defended before the Board of Examiners

on June 18, 2021

and Declared Acceptable

BOARD OF EXAMINERS

NAME SIGNATURE

Chairperson : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. ____________

Secretary : Scolastica Wedhowerti, S.Pd., M.Hum. ____________

Member 1 : Dra. Theresia Enny Anggraini, Ph.D. ____________

Member 2 : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. ____________

Member 3 : Scolastica Wedhowerti, S.Pd., M.Hum. ____________

Yogyakarta, June 30, 2021

Faculty of Letters

Universitas Sanata Dharma

Dean

Dr. Tatang Iskarna


v

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously

submitted for the award of any other degree at my university, and that, to the best

of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material previously

written by any other person expect where due references in made in the text of the

undergraduate thesis.

June 6, 2021

Elizabeth Nabitha Ezmeralda Rihi


vi

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma

Nama : Elizabeth Nabitha Ezmeralda Rihi

Nomor Mahasiswa : 174214005

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan

Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul




beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan

kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,

mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan

data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau

media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepada saya

maupun royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai

penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

6 Juni 2021

Yang menyatakan,



vii

“Pain is inevitable.

Suffering is optional.”

Haruki Murakami


viii

To my parents, Reynata, and Naweni,

who keep supporting, and praying for me.

And to myself,

who never give up.

This is for you.


ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, praises and thanks to my God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

for His great love all this time. He allows hardship but never fails to show

compassion. Only by His grace could I finish this research.

Secondly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis

advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum., for being patient with me, guiding

and helping me undertake this research. To my thesis co-advisor, Scolastica

Wedhowerti, S.Pd., M.Hum., for the corrections and suggestions. I would also

give my gratitude to my academic advisor, Anna Fitriati, S.Pd, M.Hum, for

guiding me this whole four years of studying at English Letters Department of

Sanata Dharma University.

I extend my gratitude to my parents and my sisters. Thank you for the

never-ending supports and prayers, for keep being a home to rest when I am tired

or to start again when I fail, even if I am miles away from all of you.

Furthermore, my sincere appreciation goes to the ones who were, are, and

will always be right beside me; Nena and Sandra. To the one who has been

comforting, helping, entertaining, and putting up with me this whole process; the

181114039. To those without whom my college life would be miserable; Irene,

Emil, Cindy, Asti, and Kintan. To my special pandemic friends and fighters;

Krisan, Bagus, Rangga, Patrick, Jojo. Also, to my good friends; kak Zahra, Laras,

Roy, Yosep, and Panji. May the universe will always treat you all kindly.



x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE .............................................................................................. ii

APPROVAL PAGE .................................................................................... iii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE ............................................................................... iv

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ........................................................... v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH

UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS ...................................................... vi

MOTTO PAGE ........................................................................................... vii

DEDICATION PAGE ................................................................................ viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................ ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ x

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................ xi

ABSTRAK .................................................................................................... xii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 1

A. Background of the Study .................................................................... 1

B. Problem Formulation .......................................................................... 5

C. Objectives of the Study....................................................................... 5

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................................... 6

A. Review of Related Studies .................................................................. 6

B. Review of Related Theories ................................................................ 13

1. Theory of Characterization ............................................................ 13

2. The Concept of Antisocial Personality Disorder ............................ 16

3. The Concept of Narcissistic Personality Disorder .......................... 18

C. Theoretical Framework....................................................................... 20

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ........................................................... 22

A. Object of the Study ............................................................................. 22

B. Approach of the Study ........................................................................ 23

C. Method of the Study ........................................................................... 23

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ....................................................................... 26

A. The Portrayal of Joe Goldberg in Kepnes’ You ................................... 26

B. The Tendency of Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorders

Revealed by The Portrayal of Joe Goldberg ........................................ 40

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION .................................................................. 55

REFERERENCES ...................................................................................... 58


xi

ABSTRACT

RIHI, ELIZABETH NABITHA EZMERALDA. (2021). Antisocial and

Narcissistic Personality Disorders Shown by Joe Goldberg in Kepnes’ You: A

Psychological Study. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of

Letters, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

A novel as a literary work builds a story that usually portrays human

condition and experience. This portrayal helps the readers to reflect. You is one of

the examples of a novel. Written by Caroline Kepnes, it tells about a guy, Joe

Goldberg, with a regular appearance but his behaviors tend to have Antisocial and

Narcissistic Personality Disorders.

This research has two problems. The first problem is the portrayals of Joe

Goldberg in Caroline Kepnes’ You. The second problem is the tendency of

Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorders revealed by the portrayal of Joe

Goldberg.

The researcher uses the library method to solve the problems. This

research used the novel You by Caroline Kepnes as the primary source, and the

secondary sources were from books, journals, theories, and articles on psychology

and literature. This research used psychological approach to analyze the character

of Joe Goldberg. In order to know the portrayals and reveal the tendency of

antisocial and narcissistic personality disorder in Joe Goldberg’s portrayals, the

researcher used the theory of characterization by ReadWriteThink, Richard Gill,

and Abrams; and the concept of antisocial and narcissistic personality disorder

from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition) by

American Psychiatric Association.

This study concludes that Joe Goldberg is portrayed as an intelligent and

observer man, confident, hopeless romantic, caring, and authoritative and

superior. The portrayal reveals the tendency of antisocial and narcissistic

personality disorders. Out of seven criteria of antisocial personality disorder, Joe

Goldberg shows six of them. The failure to conform to social norms,

deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability and aggressiveness, reckless disregard for

the safety of self or others, and lack of remorse. Whereas, for narcissistic

personality disorder, Joe Goldberg shows seven criteria out of nine. They are a

grandiose sense of self-importance, believe they are special or unique, require

excessive admiration, preoccupied with fantasies of ideal love, sense of

entitlement, often envious of others, or believes that others are envious of them,

and shows arrogant or haughty behaviors or attitudes. Therefore, it can be

concluded that Joe Goldberg is likely to have antisocial and narcissistic

personality disorders.

Keywords: behavior, antisocial, narcissistic, disorder


xii

ABSTRAK

RIHI, ELIZABETH NABITHA EZMERALDA. (2021). Antisocial and

Narcissistic Personality Disorders Shown by Joe Goldberg in Kepnes’ You: A

Psychological Study. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra,

Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Novel sebagai karya sastra memberikan cerita yang umumnya

menggambarkan kondisi dan pengalaman manusia. Penggambaran ini membantu

para pembaca untuk berpikir dan berefleksi. Novel You adalah salah satunya.

Ditulis oleh Caroline Kepnes, novel ini menceritakan tentang seorang pria

bernama Joe Goldberg yang berpenampilan normal namun sifatnya cenderung

memiliki gangguan kepribadian antisosial dan narsisistik.

Penelitian ini mempunyai dua rumusan masalah. rumusan masalah yang

pertama adalah penggambaran Joe Goldberg dalam You dari Caroline Kepnes.

Kedua adalah kecenderungan untuk memiliki gangguan kepribadian antisosial dan

narsistik yang diungkapkan melalui penggambarannya.

Peneliti menggunakan metode kepustakaan untuk menganalisis rumusan

masalah tersebut. Penelitian ini mempergunakan novel You oleh Caroline Kepnes,

sumber dari berbagai buku, jurnal, teori, dan artikel dalam bidang psikologi dan

sastra sebagai data. Selain itu, penelitian ini juga menggunakan pendekatan

psikologi untuk menganalisis karakter Joe Goldberg. Dalam mengetahui deskripsi

dan mengungkapkan kecenderungan gangguan kepribadian antisosial dan

narsistik dalam penggambarannya, peneliti memakai teori karakterisasi dari

ReadWriteThink, Richard Gill, dan Abrams; juga, konsep gangguan kepribadian

antisosial dan narsistik yang diambil dari Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of

Mental Disorders (5th Edition) oleh American Psychiatric Association.

Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Joe Goldberg digambarkan

sebagai pribadi yang cerdas, pengamat, kukuh dan optimis, mendambakan hal-hal

romantis, pribadi yang peduli, otoritatif dan superior. Dalam penggambaran ini,

Joe Goldberg menyiratkan kriteria-kriteria gangguan kepribadian antisosial dan

narsistik. Dari tujuh kriteria gangguan kepribadian antisosial, Joe memenuhi enam

kriteria. Diantaranya gagal menyesuaikan norma sosial, ketidakjujuran, impulsif,

cepat marah dan agresif, sembrono dalam keamanan diri atau orang lain, dan

kurangnya empati. Untuk gangguan kepribadian narsistik sendiri, Joe memenuhi

tujuh kriteria dari sembilan; yaitu, mengagungkan kepentingan diri sendiri,

percaya bahwa mereka spesial atau unik, membutuhkan pujian yang berlebihan,

hidup dalam fantasi akan cinta yang ideal, rasa berhak akan apapun, merasa

cemburu pada orang lain atau percaya bahwa orang lain cemburu akan mereka,

dan menunjukan sikap angkuh. Sehingga, dapat disimpulkan bahwa Joe Goldberg

cenderung memiliki gangguan kepribadian antisosial dan narsistik.

Kata kunci: behavior, antisocial, narcissistic, disorder


1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Literature is written work that always carries meaning and knowledge

of specific issues, images of life, and values. The meanings and lessons that it

carries often given or shown in the form of a story. Novel and short story are

examples of literary works that have meaning throughout their development.

The story usually portrays the human condition and experience. Therefore, it

makes the literary works as a novel, and short story are easy to embrace since

it feels close to the readers through its familiar condition and experience. The

familiar experience often helps the readers to reflect. These kinds of

approaches to the readers that the literary works typically use are through the

characters.

A character, according to Abrams (1999) in A Glossary of Literary

Terms 7th Edition, is a person whose qualities are exhibited by their actions

and words. They are often portrayed as moral characters with special qualities.

Characters are the persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work,

who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with particular

moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what

the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying it—the dialogue—

and from what they do—the action (Abrams, 1999, p. 32).

As a matter of fact, writers can use animals or inanimate objects as characters.

However, the term usually means a human being with emotions whose mind

works something like our own (Charters, 2018). Therefore, the readers will

know what the author tries to imply and tell in the story from the characters.


2

Characters may also reflect on how the author sees society. That is why

certain characters may feel relevant enough because they are part of the

community.

In the novel You by Kepnes, Joe Goldberg portrays an unusual

personality but does exist in society. From the beginning, the readers have

been made uncomfortable enough to see how he refers to an unknown woman

as “you.” It indicates his fascination with this stranger. Indeed, finding people

who are beautiful is also beautiful too. However, he is not only drawn to the

stranger but also becomes obsessed with her right away. As time goes by, as

he later becomes closer to this woman, the novel tells the readers about

strange and terrifying events that led from his obsession and could end in

disaster.

You is a novel written by Caroline Kepnes in 2014 that later adapted to

the television series in Lifetime but passed on to Netflix in the same year with

the same title as the novel. The novel begins when Joe Goldberg, a bookstore

employee, sees a customer, a woman, Guinevere Beck, and is attracted to her

right away – visually and sexually. It is not wrong to find a stranger attractive

at first sight, but he is obsessed with Beck at first sight, who later stalks her on

her social media and leads him to go to her apartment to continue stalking

through her apartment windows without her concern. The story of his

obsession goes onto another level. He started to plan things out to go out with

Beck. He found out where Beck wants to go one night and followed her to it.

On Beck’s way home, she happened to be drunk and had an accident in the


3

railway station. Though he helped her, he also stole her phone. There, he went

to all her accounts and ‘watch’ her through it. he found that she has a partner,

Benji, and plans to meet Benji by pretending to be another person that Benji

thought essential to develop his soda business. Once they met, he attacked

Benji and locked him up in a glass cage for the books in the basement of the

bookstore. Since then, he has done many more terrifying things that one of

which is killing Benji. He is justifying his acts as his love for Beck.

The researcher notices that Joe Goldberg is an unusual character since

he believes that he needs to own Beck and do whatever it takes to do even

harmful things. These immoral and terrifying behaviors reveal the tendency of

him to have Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorders. Antisocial

Personality Disorder (ASPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a

pattern of socially irresponsible, exploitative, and guiltless behavior (Black,

2015, p. 309). Whereas Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is

characterized by a long-standing pattern of grandiosity (either in fantasy or

actual behavior), an overwhelming need for admiration, and usually a

complete lack of empathy toward others (Grohol, 2017). Both disorders are

grouped into Cluster B of personality disorder according to American

Psychiatrists Association in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders Fifth Edition (2013) based on descriptive similarities. Individuals

with disorders in Cluster B often appear dramatic, emotional, or erratic (2013,

p. 646). Moreover, Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorders have the


4

same traits: a lack of empathy for others and prone to violate the rights of

people around them. Both also are seen in the character of Joe Goldberg.

For the researcher, this novel is interesting and important to discuss.

One of the reasons is that people do not always appear as they seem in daily

life. They can look normal and attractive, but once there is a chance to get to

know them, it should be taken seriously to see any red flags on their

personality traits. These red flags are often being misunderstood. The act of

stalking, breaking someone’s privacy, and intruding on someone’s phone can

be misunderstood as an act of care and love when actually it is not at all.

These actions that are being done frequently and inconsiderately can be

concluded as symptoms of a personality disorder. It is the same issue as this

novel with the main character, Joe Goldberg. Hence, the researcher would like

to acknowledge the readers of Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality

Disorders symptoms that are often underestimated through this research.

The narrative used in the novel is from the point of view of Joe

Goldberg himself. Thus, it will also be interesting to analyze since he

explained why all of his behaviors are justified. Therefore, the research will

analyze his characteristics that involve Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality

Disorders’ symptoms while also refute his justified characteristics. It could

also be the first research and a character study of the character Joe Goldberg in

the novel You.


5

B. Problem Formulation

Based on the background of the study above, the thesis aims to focus

on these following problems:

1. How is Joe Goldberg portrayed in Caroline Kepnes’ You?

2. How does the characteristics of Joe Goldberg refute and reveal the

tendency of Antisocial Personality Disorder and Narcissistic

Personality Disorder in Kepnes’ You?

C. Objectives of the Study

This research has two main objectives to achieve. First, the researcher

tries to explain the character of Joe Goldberg through what has been portrayed

in the novel. Second, the researcher tries to refute the characteristics and

identify every characteristic that reveals the Antisocial Personality Disorder

and Narcissistic Personality Disorder behaviors.


6

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies

The researcher has read various related studies as references to this

research. Despite the significant number of English Letters Department students

of Universitas Sanata Dharma that have done psychological studies, Antisocial

Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder have not been

coincided studied in any theses. Nevertheless, the researcher tries to look for

another similar topic and some other journals and research that talk about

Personality Disorders, specifically Antisocial Personality Disorder or Narcissistic

Personality Disorder. Hence, the researcher chooses these three undergraduate

theses and one journal.

The first related study is an undergraduate thesis of English Letters

Department by Bernadeta Kharisma Putri Nindita (2019) entitled The

Disingenuous Histrionic Personality Disorder and The Mental Process of Amy

Elliott Dunne in Flynn’s Gone Girl. The thesis uses Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girls

(2012) as the object of the study. Amy Elliot Dunne is the main character in the

novel that shares her perspective on both her true self and her altered ego. The

true self that she let people notice is a good woman who will not commit such

crimes. It changes when Amy Elliot Dunne finds out about her husband, Nick

Dunne, cheats on her on their fifth anniversary. Her altered ego, shown through

her diary, planned to accuse Nick Dunne of her murder as an act of revenge. Her

plan was brilliant – getting herself missing, faking her own murder, leaving


7

evidence to frame her husband as her murderer – until she is robbed while hiding.

She looks for her ex’s help, but in the end, she kills her ex and goes back to her

husband.

This study has two objectives to analyze how Amy’s characteristics show

disingenuous histrionic personality disorder. The second one is to observe the

mental process of Amy. Therefore, the study aims to explore Amy’s histrionic

personality disorder and her psychopathic acts through its concept.

The fundamental aim of this thesis is to explore the relation between Amy

Elliot’s histrionic personality disorder and her psychopathic acts through

the concept of the disingenuous histrionic personality disorder (Nindita,

2019, p. 2).

Psychoanalytic approach is used in the study since the method taken by

this approach makes the client talk freely, particularly the Freudian

psychoanalytic approach. The Freudian psychoanalytic approach is used to know

an individual’s real feelings and unspoken desires. The process of this study is

reading the primary source, taking notes about the characteristics, consulting to a

psychologist about the character, reading journals to conclude what disorder fits

Amy’s characteristics.

After reading the primary source and finding the characteristic of Amy, I

began to consult the story and also the characteristics of Amy to a

psychologist to learn about the theories that I decide to use. After the

consultation, I tried to find the sources as books and journal that related to

personality disorder then read the sources in order to find out the disorder

that firs to Amy’s characteristic (Nindita, 2019, p. 26)

After that, the study analyzes the characteristics of Amy Elliot Dunne that

imply disingenuous histrionic personality disorder and the mental process of the

character through Freudian psychoanalysis. Later, the study’s findings are about

the characteristics of Amy Dunne that are intelligent, manipulative, egocentric,


8

and cruel throughout the story. It can be concluded that Amy Elliott Dunne

reveals a disingenuous histrionic personality disorder.

In conclusion, Amy Elliott Dunne’s characteristics reveal all features of

disingenuous histrionic personality disorder. The first is her intelligence

that is categorized as an act of scheming, plotting, contriving, crafty, and

calculating. The second is her manipulation that is categorized as act of

being underhanded, false-hearted, double-dealing, insincere, and deceitful.

Then the third is her egocentrism is categorized as act of being egocentric

and guileful. Furthermore, her cruelty clearly exposes how she enjoys the

conflict she has made, how she is not guilty for causing others to suffer,

and she is willing to violate the social convention. Hence, her

characteristics show her tendency in disingenuous histrionic personality

disorder (Nindita, 2019, p. 59)

The second finding is the mental process of Amy that made her tend to

have a disorder by observing the id, ego, and superego. Amy’s id has always been

wanting affection and attention. Nevertheless, when her husband did not fulfill it

by doing treason, her death instinct activated and led her to avenge her husband.

Later, when her superego was supposed to resisting the id, it had already been

manipulated by the id and finally released by the ego.

The second related study has the same object of the study as the first

related study. It is still about the novel Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. An English

Letters Undergraduate Thesis entitled Personality Disorder of Amy Dunne in

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn written by Patricia Nadia Rahma Pratiwi (2019). In

this study, the researcher’s reason for choosing the novel is that it shows how

symptoms, conditions, and the mind can impact a person’s well-being.

The reason why this novel is important to be discussed as the object of the

study because it reveals the psychological aspects that refer to how

symptoms and conditions can impact a person’s mental and emotional

state of health and how mind can influence a person and that is represented

by the main character. In this study, personality disorder appears in the

main character and the writer is interested in finding out what is the


9

prominent trigger of her personality disorder among several triggers. It is

also important that people with personality disorder can learn how to

manage behavioral symptoms as early as possible to maintain a healthy

life. That is one of the reasons why the writer chooses this novel to be

analyzed (Pratiwi, 2019, p. 3)

Therefore, different from the previous related study, the study’s focus is to

discuss the characteristics of Amy Dunne and the things that trigger Amy Dunne’s

characteristics that show the personality disorder and find the most triggering

thing to Dunne’s personality disorder. By using the psychological approach, it is

found that Amy Dunne shows some personality disorder symptoms. Some of

them are self-centered, impulsive, breaking the laws, and attempt suicide. They

are some symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality

disorder, and borderline personality disorder. The environment has much

influence on triggering these personality disorders in Amy’s life – such as Amy’s

parents, friends, and most of the triggering ones if Amy’s husband. Since her

parents made her be the Amazing Amy, a character from a storybook, she started

strives for perfection. Once she got rejected as her ex did, or knowing her friend

being more popular than her and being cheated by her husband, she would get

triggered, and her personality disorder revealed. Later it is concluded that,

Amy Dunne’s personality disorder can reveal is because of her peers or

the environment. Because of there are some conflicts that happen around

her, it leads her into a stressful situation (Pratiwi, 2019, p. 48)

The third one is another English Letters Department’s undergraduate

thesis by Rulliana Meliala entitled Psychopathic Behavior as The Result of Poor

Bonding between Mother and Son in Lionel Shriver’s We Need To Talk About

Kevin. This Lionel Shriver’s novel, written in 2013, tells about the character Eva


10

writes a letter to her husband about her son, Kevin – a smart boy but never obeyed

his mother, who does a school massacre. Not only about Kevin, but Eva also tells

about her feelings towards her husband, her thoughts of marriage, and her doubts

about having Kevin for the first time. This doubt she was having affects Kevin’s

development since she also realized that Kevin has been ‘unusual since he was a

kid. At the end of the story, Kevin killed nine teenagers, one cafeteria worker, his

father, and his sister without reason.

The researcher found two problems from this background: the

characteristics or main character that tend towards psychopathic behavior and its

cause. Using the theory of character and characterization and the theories of

psychoanalysis, the researcher analyzes the main character and finds some

characteristics of Kevin: misbehave, feeling superior, impulsive, liar, cruel,

attention seeker, and villainous. These characteristics fulfilled the traits of

psychopathy by Hare.

Kevin shows more than half of the trais that have been mentioned before.

From the explanation above Kevin shows fourteen traits of psychopathy

checklist-youth version. Those traits are early behavior, poor anger

management, impulsivity, impression management, pathological lying,

manipulative, parasitic lifestyle, irresponsibility, failure to accept

responsibility, lack of empathy, lack of remorse, serious criminal behavior,

stimulation seeking, and criminal versatility. Therefore, it is certain that

Kevin has psychopathic behavior (Meliala, 2020).

Later, the researcher observes then the relation of Kevin’s psychopathic

behaviors and the poor mother and son bonding of him and Eva. It turns out the

behaviors are caused by Eva’s failure to create a good bonding between her and

Kevin since little – even since Kevin was in the womb. Eva had been ambivalent

toward maternity at the beginning that caused anxiety. Anxiety during pregnancy


11

generates stress and restlessness that weakened the interaction between mothers

and their children.

Eva’s fear toward maternity causes her to develop poor bonding between

her and Kevin. This poor bonding affects the child’s development state.

According to Philip (2003) a nurturing and warm bond between mother

and child during the period of oral stage sets the stage of trusting and

affectionate relationship with other in later life. But Eva, rejects Kevin

even before her was born, she does not fulfill the needs of oral’s

satisfaction in Kevin’s developmental age (Meliala, 2020).

The weak relationship results in some fixation in Kevin’s psychosexual

stages of development. Since the early years of childhood have a significant

impact on a child’s behavior, Kevin does not develop a normal ego and superego

because Eva’s anxiety limits her from forming a bond with Kevin. A bond

between mother and son is crucial even since the prenatal state. If mother and son

fail to create a good bond between them, it will affect the son’s behavior (Meliala,

2020).

The last one is a journal article written by Lucille Cichminski, MSN, RN,

and Tamara L. Bellomo, MSN, RN-BC (2016) on NursingMadeIncrediblyEasy

entitled, Narcissistic personality disorder: When it’s all about “me.” The journal

begins with the case of 55-year-old Heather, who believes herself as the best

manager at the company and does not accept constructive criticism even from her

superiors, seeking attention, likes to throw tantrums, extremely moody,

controlling, and egoistical. These arrogant manners made her being excluded from

social events by her coworkers. Later, Heather attended talk therapy or

psychotherapy and got diagnosed with a narcissistic personality disorder.

Therefore, in this journal, the writers focus on giving insights on recognizing the


12

signs of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). They explained that NPD is a

personality disorder in which an individual believes that the world revolves

around them and stated that this disorder is more prevalent in men and affects

6,2% of the population (p. 38). People with NPD seem to be highly confident that

they have a strong desire to keep the focus only for themselves, but actually, they

have very low self-esteem from how they cannot handle or accept any criticism.

According to the journal, the exact cause of this disorder is unknown, but many

psychologists believe it is caused by genetic and social factors.

NPD may also be linked to genetics or psychobiology. This involves the

connection between the brain and behavior/thinking. Biologically,

individuals with NPD are believed to have a smaller right supramarginal

gyrus – the area of the brain responsible for empathy. Psychologically,

they lack the ability to exhibit a self-image other than one of exaggerated

positive qualities (idealization) and are unable to cope with negative

qualities in themselves (devaluation). Individuals with NPD are often

excessively emotionally sensitive (p. 39)

In the journal, the authors simplify the symptoms into the abbreviation of

“IT’S ALL ABOUT ME” and “RED FLAGS” to identify the warning signs of

NPD. Dealing with those who have this disorder can be exhausted since they will

not feel anything wrong. Hence, the only way to get them to seek treatment is by

their own choice. In order to treat people that have this disorder, they write,

Treatment for NPD is centred on psychotherapy, also known as talk

therapy. Psychotherapy helps the patient understand the cause of the

disorder and focuses on learning how to establish healthy, meaningful

relationships with others (p. 40)

Those researches help the researcher to gather information and inspire the

researcher to conduct this research. The researcher wants to discover new findings

by presenting a better understanding of Antisocial Personality disorder and

Narcissistic Personality Disorder in You by Caroline Kepnes through a


13

psychological approach. Moreover, this research is the first to study and discuss

the novel.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Characterization

In understanding and answering the first problem of how the character, Joe

Goldberg, described in You by Caroline Kepnes, it is essential to know what

characterization is. Characterization is the process of seeking and assembling the

indicators that the writer revealed to know the personality of a character. In other

words, quoting from Gill (1995, p. 127), characterization is the way in which a

character is created.

Characterization is an essential key to writing a novel or short story since

it allows readers to understand the characters and how the personality and

perspectives of the character can help push the plot forward. Besides that,

understanding a character helps to learn the message that the writer tries to imply.

According to ReadWriteThink (2004), characterization is revealed through two

main methods, that are:

a. Direct Characterization

The writer tells the audience directly what the personality of the character

is. Here, the writer seems to want us to know the characterization of the character.

It is done through the narrator or the characters. For example, a writer writes,

“Their face is identically the same, but they behave differently. Anne is extremely

grounded, while Eve is panicky. Though they are both kinds toward others.”


14

Hence, it can be concluded that the author is directly telling the readers

about the personality of Anne that is “grounded” and Eve that is “panicky.”

Nevertheless, both are “kind,” said the author.

In addition, according to Abrams (1999, p. 34), one of two methods of

characterizing is telling. The idea of the method is the same as the direct

characterization – “the author intervenes authoritatively in order to describe, and

often to evaluate, the motives and dispositional qualities of the characters.”

Authors usually use this method because it is an efficient way to inform the

readers what kind of story they are reading (Gill, 1995, p. 134).

b. Indirect Characterization

By using indirect characterization, the writer tries to show things that

indirectly reveal the personality of a character. Rather than mentioning the

personality directly, the writer displays and represents it differently. Indirect

characterization has five different methods:

i. Speech

The character described through what they say and how they speak. It can

be seen through what kinds of conversation are written for the character? Do they

choose harsh words or kind words? Basically, through the monologue or dialogue

that come from their mouth. As example, a passage tells about a man who says,

“Why don’t you do it yourself? I’m not no one’s messenger. I don’t care if you

can’t speak to him or he doesn’t get you. Just tell it by yourself!” There, the

readers can notice that the man throwing tantrum. Therefore, it can be concluded

that he is angry.


15

ii. Thoughts

The character described through their private thoughts and feelings.

Authors usually are able to describe the character’s thought by showing their

private conversation or responses inside their head. For example, an author writes,

“Mary walks slower than usual. Her eyes empty and her mind can not stop

imagining things that should not have happened that day. She cursed herself for

being an embarrassment.” The readers, then, can see how Mary is regret her

actions in that day through her thoughts.

iii. Effect on others toward the character

The character is described through their effect on other people and how

others behave or reacted to the character. As in, how are the other characters

reacting to the character? Are people drawn to him or her? Do others care about

the character? For instance, in this sentence, “Once Kim enters, everyone in the

room stands and claps for her. No one is not happy for her,” it can be concluded

that Kim brings joy to the crowd.

iv. Actions

The character described through things they do and how they behave. As

example, the readers can see how Wendy is happy and thankful from this passage,

“Wendy could not stop telling him how much she appreciated the food he was

spared for her. Her hugs and kisses on his cheek are unstoppable.”

v. Looks

The character is described through their appearance – how they look and

dress. Authors often portray a characterization through the appearance look of a


16

character. As example, an author writes, “She laughed heartily before she glanced

at her Rolex. She took her phone from her Hermes and phoned someone. A

minute later, she told us that her driver would be here shortly.” Because of the

passage, the readers can conclude that the woman is rich.

Those are the five methods of indirect characterization. As stated before,

the other method, according to Abrams (1999), shares the same idea as indirect

characterization. It is the method of showing. In this method, Abrams writes,

The author simply presents the characters talking and acting and leaves the

reader to infer the motives and dispositions that lie behind what they say

and do. The author may show not only external speech and actions, but

also a character’s inner thoughts, feelings, and responsiveness to events;

for a highly developed mode of such inner showing (p. 33-34)

This method treats the readers as intelligent and responsible for what they are

thinking since it gives the freedom to see and analyze what is going on in the plot.

2. The Concept of Antisocial Personality Disorders

Since the researcher has understood the definition of characterization and

learn its methods, we now need to acquire a knowledge of both personality

disorder’s concepts to reveal the tendency of Antisocial and Narcissistic

Personality Disorder in each action the character made. The idea of antisocial and

narcissistic might had crossed our minds. It is indeed not an unfamiliar word to

us.

In everyday life, society may find that any person who looks charming

outside but often does not follow society’s norms is deceitful and intimidating in

relationships. Those are some of Antisocial Personality Disorder signs – not only


17

being a loner but not making it with asocial (a personality trait resulting in lack of

motivation to do social activities).

According to American Psychiatric Association (2013), Antisocial

Personality Disorder is defined as a pervasive lack of consideration and abuse of

human rights. The ASPD symptoms include violation of others’ rights, irritability

and aggression, lack of remorse, consistent irresponsibility, recklessness,

impulsivity, and deceitfulness. To be more exact, American Psychiatric

Association writes there are seven criteria as follows:

a. Failure to conform to social norms regarding lawful behavior.

Whether the individual is arrested or not, they repeatedly performing acts

that are considered grounds for arrest can lead to criminal charges such as

destroying property, harassing others, stealing, or engaging illegal activities.

b. Deceitfulness.

It is a type of deception as evidenced by the individual is repeatedly lying,

use of aliases, or duping others for their personal gain or pleasure (such as to

obtain money, sex, or power).

c. Impulsivity or failure to plan.

The individual tends to make decisions on the spur of the moment without

understanding the implications for oneself or others.

d. Excessive irritability and aggression.

It is evidenced by repeated physical fights or assaults.


18

e. Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others.

The individual is being totally careless disregard for one’s own or others’

safety.

f. Consistent irresponsibility.

Repeated failure to maintain consistent work behavior or honor financial

obligations, indicating consistent irresponsibility.

g. Lack of remorse.

The lack of remorse exhibited by individuals is often linked to their

indifference to or rationalization for hurting, mistreating, or stealing from another.

The individual may blame the victims for being stupid, helpless, or deserving of

their fate.

These are the criteria to help the researcher analyze the ASPD disorder in

the character of Joe Goldberg. American Psychiatric Association also writes that

individual suffering from this disorder is indicated by three or more of the criteria.

3. The Concept of Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is hallmarked by grandiosity, a

lack of empathy for other people, and tend to seek admiration or attention yet

have difficulty tolerating criticism or getting defeated. People with NPD usually

show snobbish, disdainful, or patronizing attitudes (Grohol, 2017). The criteria of

NPD, according to the American Psychiatric Association (2013), are as follows:

a. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance.

Individuals suffering this disorder frequently appear arrogant and

pretentious. They may mistakenly believe that others place the same value on


19

their efforts as they do and they may be surprised when the appreciation they

aspire and believe they deserve does not come their way.

b. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance,

beauty, or ideal love.

Individuals with this disorder may fantasize about “way needed”

admiration and advantage, and they may compare themselves favorably to famous

or privileged people.

c. Believes that he or she is superior, “special,” and unique.

The individuals consider that they are special and that he or she can only

be comprehended by, or should relate with, other special people or institutions.

d. Requires excessive admiration.

Individuals suffering from this disorder may constantly seek compliments,

mostly with great allure.

e. Has a sense of entitlement.

They expect to be accommodated to and are perplexed or enraged when

this does not occur.

f. Is interpersonally exploitative.

They expect to be given whatever they want or believe they need,

regardless of what it means to others.

g. Lacks of empathy.

The individual is generally lacks of empathy and has difficulty

recognizing the desires, subjective experiences, and feelings of others.


20

h. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or

her.

The individual suffers from this disorder is frequently jealous of others or

thinks that others are envious of him or her.

i. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.

These people frequently exhibit snobbish, dismissive, or patronizing

behaviors.

The nine criteria above are there to help the researcher to analyze the NPD

symptoms presented in Joe Goldberg’s portrayals.

The concept of both personality disorders is used in this study because Joe

Goldberg shows the tendency of both personality disorders. The combination of

ASPD and NPD is dangerous and would make the person more manipulative and

reckless than those who have only one of them. The person can also violate the

rights of others because of a lack of empathy.

4. Theoretical Framework

This study examines the portrayals of Joe Goldberg in Kepnes’ You that

show Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorders. There are two main

theories and some other theories to help the main theories.

The first theory is the theory of characterization by Gill (1995). It is used

to define the characterization itself. In understanding the method of

characterization, the researcher uses the method from ReadWriteThink (2004).

The theory concludes all the methods nicely that are direct and indirect

characterization. In addition, to explain more the idea of both direct and indirect


21

characterization, the researcher uses Abrams (1999) as another reference. The

theories use to see the portrayals of Joe Goldberg in the novel.

The second theory is the concept of Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality

Disorders from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th

edition) by American Psychiatric Association (2013). It used to see the criteria in

diagnosing a person for a mental disorder. Those theories are the key on

answering the problem. The researcher evaluates every portrayal of him answered

by the theory of characterization with the criteria in order to refute and to see any

tendency of him having Antisocial or Narcissistic Personality Disorders.

The theory of characterization is used to answer the first question in the

problem formulation. The concept of antisocial and narcissistic personality

disorders is used to answer the second question of the problem formulation.


22

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of the study is the novel You written by Caroline Kepnes in

2014 and published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books (www.goodreads.com, 14

November 2020). This thriller genre novel received many good reviews for its

twisted and original plot. Amazon.com, one of the most significant worldwide

shipping bookstores, writes that this book is the editor’s pick for “Best Mystery,

Thriller & Suspense.” It even writes about people’s reviews of this book. One of

them is from the well-known mystery author, Stephen King, who admitted that

You is hypnotic and scary. In 2018, You premiered as a television series developed

by Lifetime. Later, it was passed on to Netflix and getting more recognizable for

its story. After this television recognition, the novel was being republished in

2018 by the same publisher with a new cover.

The novel tells about Joe Goldberg, who works in a bookstore, meets a

woman he calls “you” right after she comes into the bookstore. The woman, Beck,

becomes his obsession, and practically, Joe will do anything for and to be with

Beck. He started to stalk her on social media, tail her into her home, even steal her

phone, and violates her privacy, all without her concern. One day his obsession

went too far. He finds out about Beck’s lover, Benji, and feels that Benji does not

deserve Beck. Later he murders Benji and justifies other terrifying behaviors. This

original plot makes the researcher wants to study it and acknowledge people about

the tendency of mental disorders, precisely, Antisocial Personality and


23

Narcissistic Personality Disorder, in other seem-to-be-like-normal people’s

behaviors.

B. Approach of the Study

In this study, the researcher uses a psychological approach. A

psychological approach is an approach that, fundamentally, studies the mind and

behavior. Hossain (2017) explained that the psychological criticism is associated

with literary works mainly as a fictional affirmation of the author’s mental state

and personality structure (p. 41). This approach psychologically analyzes the

author of the work or the character of the work. It helps readers understand both

the motives of the writer and the characters (p. 43). Moreover, Abrams and

Harpham (2012) write about psychological criticism as follow:

Psychological criticism deals with a work of literature primarily as an

expression, in an indirect and fictional form, of the state of mind and the

structure of personality of the individual author (pp. 319-320)

Thus, a psychological approach is understood to aim at observing characters from

works of literature whose characteristics are not directly written.

This approach is the most suitable approach to conduct this study and

helps the researcher answer the research questions. It will be used to improve the

understanding of why the character behaves as it is and identify personality

disorders through characterization.

C. Method of the Study

This study uses the method of library research to help analyze the novel.

Library research is an integral part of the inquiry in any field, allowing

researchers to determine what related work has already been done and how


24

experts have assessed it (George, 2008, p. 22). In answering the questions, the

researcher used two sources of data that are the primary source and secondary

source. The novel You by Caroline Kepnes is the primary source as it is the object

of the study. The secondary source is taken from other researchers, the theory of

characterization, the concept of Antisocial Personality Disorder and Narcissistic

Personality Disorder and other important books, journals, and articles on

psychology and literature.

In analyzing the novel, the researcher had through the following steps.

First, the researcher read the novel to have a better understanding of the story and

the characters. The researcher even read the novel several times to observe the

main character, Joe Goldberg, and to acknowledge every content of his narrative.

Thus, the researcher discovered how Joe Goldberg is portrayed in the narrative.

After discovering how Joe Goldberg is portrayed in the narrative, the next

step was answering the first question of problem formulation. The researcher used

the theory of characterization and tried to apply the theory’s methods in the

character. Then, the question was answered by analyzing the speeches, thoughts,

effect on others, actions, and the appearance of Joe Goldberg in the novel.

The third step was analyzing and answering the second problem using the

concept of Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorders. In order to make the

analysis clearer, the researcher divided it into two parts: the first one for revealing

the tendency of Antisocial Personality Disorder and the second one for revealing

the tendency of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The researcher used DSM-5 to

guide the process on both parts. Then, in each part, the researcher gave quotations


25

on narratives and dialogues in the novel, revealing the Antisocial Personality

Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder as the data. Thus, the second

question was answered. After the questions were answered, the researcher wrote

the conclusions of the analysis.


26

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

You by Caroline Kepnes is written from the point of view of the first

character. The story is narrated by the character Joe Goldberg. All actions,

speech, dialogues, and thoughts are one-sided. This one-sidedness often provides

an opportunity to justify everything on her behalf. However, this one-sidedness is

the only resource of the story; hence it can be treated as the truth.

To discuss, analyze, and answer the problem formulations, the researcher

divides this chapter into two sub-chapters. The first one is explaining Joe

Goldberg’s characterization that is seen through the five methods of the

Characterization theory according to ReadWriteThink (2004). The second one is

refuting the justified his characterization and revealing the tendency of Antisocial

and Narcissistic Personality Disorder on them.

A. The Portrayal of Joe Goldberg in Kepnes’ You

In this first part of the analysis, the researcher describes the characteristics

of Joe Goldberg to answer the first problem formulation. Characterization is used

to break down the characteristics of the character since it is the way to reveal the

personality of the character.

There are two main methods, direct and indirect – in which there are five

methods of indirect characterization: speech, thoughts, the effect of the character

on other characters, actions, and looks. The researcher sees direct characterization

as a general characterization that the author provides for the reader. At the same

time, indirect characterizations are the researcher’s thoughts and analysis of the


27

character. However, it should be noted that the narrator of the novel is Joe

Goldberg himself. Thus, all the speech, thought, actions are from his point of view

and are justified by him. Therefore, the researcher writes them as they are – as

what Joe Goldberg feels he is.

1. Intelligent.

Joe Goldberg is a bookstore keeper who does not do it only for money and

for his love for books. He has an incredible insight into books and writers.

Repeatedly, he talks about books and writers, for example, E.E. Cummings.

I came to know e. e. cummings the way most sensitive, intelligent men my

age came to e. e. cummings, via one of the most romantic scenes in one of

the most romantic love stories of all time, Hannah and Her Sisters,

wherein an intelligent, sophisticated, married New Yorker named Elliot

(Michael Caine) falls in love with his sister-in-law (Barbara Hershey)

(Kepnes, 2014, p. 10).

Joe’s intelligence is also being pointed out and agreed upon in one of the

dialogues between him and Beck on their first date.

… You exclaim, “Joe, you’re so smart, you’d almost think you work in a

bookstore!” You reference college often, “Ivy League bullshit” and “Yale

guys.” Finally, you’re lit enough to ask me what you really want to know.

“When did you graduate?”

“I didn’t,” I say. “I didn’t even start.”

You nod. You are never around guys like me. I start to laugh. You start to

laugh. I am never around girls like you and I start another round of who’s-

read-more-books.

I win again and you flabbergasted. “S-sorry,” you stutter. “I feel almost

rude saying this, but, you didn’t go to college and you’re probably more

well read than half the people in my workshop. It’s insane.”

I darken. “Don’t tell the kids at school” (Kepnes, 2014, p. 58).

Though he does not enter university, his knowledge from the books makes him an

intelligent man. He sees the world as a book. He loves to observe and claims to

able to read people because of his job – quoting from the novel “Work in a


28

bookstore and learn that most people in this world feel guilty about being who

they are (Kepnes, 2014, p. 5),” as he sees the guy who covers Dan Brown’s book

with Franny and Zooey.

2. Observant.

His intelligence leads the researcher to notices his observant side. The

observant side of him is the main characteristic that the author tries to tell us

(direct characterization) for he observes a lot, including Beck and her privacy.

Expect for you, Beck. These past few days, I’ve learned so much. You put

your tiny hands to work on yourself when the mood strikes, which it does,

often, which reminds me of another joke in Hannah, where Mia Farrow

teases Woody Allen that he ruined himself with excessive masturbation.

You’re okay, I hope (Kepnes, 2014, p. 10).

Through his thoughts on Beck, after he got in her apartment for the first

time, it strengthened that he is genuinely an observer. He sees how Beck feels

from her written stories. His intelligence from understanding what things mean

also shown in here.

I’m no genius MFA candidate in your workshops–seriously, Beck, they

don’t understand you or your stories–but you yearn for what was. You’re a

dead guy’s daughter, thoroughly. You understand Paula Fox and you

aspire to make sense of all things Old West, which makes your settling,

even temporarily, in New York a self-destructive move. You’re

compassionate; you wrote about old actors because of the photography

books in your apartment, so many pictures of places you can’t go because

they aren’t there anymore. You’re a romantic, searching for a Coney

Island minus the drug dealers and the gum wrappers and an innocent

California where real cowboys and fake cowboys traded stories over tin

cups of coffee they called Joe. You want to go places you can’t go

(Kepnes, 2014, p. 18).

Same case as he did to Benji. He knows Benji’s characteristics just from the

books he likes, and again, it shows how he really into books.


29

I hit SEND and I can’t wait to see you and I pick up the list of Benji’s five

favorite books because we’ve got work to do:

Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. He’s a pretentious fuck and a

liar.

Underworld by Don DeLillo. He’s a snob.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac. He’s a spoiled passport-carrying fuck

stunted in eight grade.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace. Enough

already.

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. He’s got Mayflowers in his

blood (Kepnes, 2014, p. 46).

Another thought of him also shows his observant side. When he already has

Beck’s phone with him, he sees right through Beck. He is ready enough to meet

Beck then stays in the L-R Fiction stacks. He knows that Beck will come after he

reads the e-mails between her and her friends. Also, he believes that Beck is not

the kind of girl who frequently changes her passwords but only sticks with several

patterns.

I am in the L-R Fiction stacks when the doorbell chimes and I am ready.

You told your girlfriends you would come by around this time. I know this

because I have your phone and you are not the kind of girl who locks her

phone with the four-digit-password. I have been reading your e-mails. I

have taken pictures of the passwords you keep in your password folder.

This way, when you change your password, if you change your password,

I’ll know the possibilities. You are not the kind of girl who comes up with

new passwords. You have three in rotation: (Kepnes, 2014, p. 34).

As well as, he quickly observes the cab’s name Beck had used when she

was drunk and lost her phone –got taken by Joe. People who are not like to

observe do not realize this small thing. Even Beck does not remember.

“So, you never found your phone?”

“No, I mean, yeah, I mean, I think I left it in the subway station.”

“You had it in the cab.”

“Oh right, I did, but I mean who remembers the name of the cab company,

right?”

Premiere Taxi of Lower Manhattan.


30

“Nobody ever remembers the name of the cab company,” I agree (Kepnes,

2014, p. 37).

These characteristics – intelligent and observant, did not just show up. Joe

Goldberg owes Mr. Mooney, the bookstore owner, for building him that way. Mr.

Mooney was hiring Joe to take good care of the books, seeing them as friends, and

have a good read of them. He taught Joe to be a disciplined man; therefore, there

would be no mistake in taking care of things in the bookstore.

3. Confident

Not only a job, but Mr. Mooney also gives him a place to run to – a

sanctuary for him also a presence of an adult since his mother left him in his

second grade, whereas his father does not care less about his presence at home.

…Mr. Mooney cared enough about me to teach me a lesson. I learned.

He let me out of the cage on September 14, 2001, three days after

September 11. The whole world was different then and Mr. Mooney said

my father had never called; he probably thought I was dead. “You are free,

Joseph,” he said. “Be wise” (Kepnes, 2014, p. 33).

Joe Goldberg then decided to disappear from his father slowly. He left his father

because he learned from his mom that “it was possible to leave people, especially

my dad” (Kepnes, 2014, p. 33).

After that, he spent the rest of his teenage years with and learned from Mr.

Mooney. However, Mr. Mooney is not a good example of a teenager’s

development. Mr. Mooney introduces him to a cage that supposedly there to keep

old books but mistakenly used to ground Joe whenever he made a mistake.

Mr. Mooney ordered me to go into the cage and close my eyes. I was

scared. When I heard him lock the door I knew I was locked inside.

…


31

The days and nights got lost. Mr. Mooney cared enough about me to teach

me a lesson. I learned (Kepnes, 2014, p. 33).

It gives Joe Goldberg a twisted point of view of love. He believes the way

Mr. Mooney was treated him is called love considering Mr. Mooney is the one

who cares about him. It shows another characteristic. He is confident. He has his

way of thinking and sticks to it since he never asks others’ opinions about what he

learned from Mr. Mooney or even a clarification from Mr. Mooney himself – was

it how he saw love or treated a human.

The next day, he brought me a set of Russian nesting dolls. “Open,” he

said. “Gently, Joseph.”

I popped one doll in half and got another doll and popped that doll in half

and got another doll and so on until the final doll that could not be popped

in half, the only whole doll in the bunch. “Everything valuable must be

hidden,” he said. “Or else.”

And now you pop into my head and you’re more beautiful than a doll and

you’ll love it here, Beck (Kepnes, 2014, p. 32).

His thoughts keep showing how he firmly believes his way of thinking.

One of them is when he believes he has the right to watch Beck across from her

apartment because she does not close her windows. It is also shown from direct

characterization since he claimed that “With your open-door policy, I am allowed

into your world” (Kepnes, 2014, p. 13). Moreover, he confident enough to say

that society should not have to see him – who “watches” her as the “fuckup” one,

instead they should see Beck as one since she is orgasming three times a night.

The trouble with society is that if the average person knew about us—you,

alone, orgasming three times a night, and me, across the street, watching

you orgasm, alone—most people would say I’m the fuckup. Well, it’s no

secret that most people are fucking idiots. Most people like cheap

mysteries and most people have never heard of Paula Fox or Hannah so

honestly, Beck, fuck most people, right? (Kepnes, 2014, p. 10).


32

Joe Goldberg also once had drafted several e-mails to send to Beck just

because he knows that they will contact each other sooner or later. When it is

actually because he had followed Beck to a bar and accidentally saved drunk Beck

from a train when she dropped her phone and got picked up by him. He never told

her that instead of promised if he found her phone, he would contact her.

You smile, relieved, and you almost curtsy as you back away. “Thanks

again.”

“Every time,” I say. And I planned that and you smile, no teeth, and you

don’t say good-bye and I don’t say “Have a nice day” because we are

beyond pleasantries and you gave me your e-mail address and now I have

to choose which draft to send to you. I knew you’d come in and I knew

you’d give me your e-mail so last night I wrote different versions of my

first e-mail to you. I was up all night writing, Beck. Just like you. I was in

my cage, Beck. Just like you (Kepnes, 2014, p. 37).

At the beginning of their meeting that day, he pretended not put that much

attention to Beck. If truth be told, he lost on his mind. He could not stop but

thinking how Beck e-mailed her friends about Joe rescued her. He indeed believes

that Beck is obsessed with him.

I pretend I have to check something on the computer and I think of the

way you e-mailed your friend about me, the way you talked more about

the fact that I rescued you than the fact that you’re obsessed with me, so

obsessed that you had to pretend you didn’t remember me (Kepnes, 2014,

p. 36).

Not forgetting when he planned to get Beck off from Benji (Kepnes, 2014,

p. 39), Joe had to pretend to be someone else. He claimed this kind of plan is

already preparing for an emergency. It shows his confidence in planning things.

I am the kind of guy who prepares for emergencies like this, so I already

have an e-mail account called [email protected]. You don’t do

your research so you don’t know that Nathan Herzog id the food critic at

Vulture’s new Eats section who sucks the tit of pretentious beats like Benji

and his Home Soda (Kepnes, 2014, p. 41).


mailto:[email protected]

33

After he locked Benji up in the cage, he used Benji’s ATM and social media

accounts to fool Beck into thinking that Benji is over her just like that and gets

confident from how perfect his plan is.

I had to take a train all the way to New Haven to use his ATM without

raising any flags. I’m not saying it’s not worth is and I did come up with a

good plan. I decided to use Benji’s phone to construct a narrative. I know

it’s a fucking brilliant plan (Kepnes, 2014, p. 46).

4. Hopeless romantic

Despite his idea of love, Joe Goldberg is a romantic person – a hopeless

romantic, to be exact. According to Dr. Lehmiller (2021), a social psychologist, in

his interview for The Oprah Magazine, a hopeless romantic is “someone who

loves the idea of being in love and tends to think of love as having fairy-tale

qualities. They might strongly believe in the idea of love at first sight and that

there is one perfect partner out there for them who will appear one day and sweep

them off of their feet.” This definition of hopeless romantic suits Joe perfectly. It

can be seen from the way he sees Beck for the first time.

You’ve come home to me, deliver at last, on a Tuesday, 10:06 AM. Every

day I commute to this shop on the Lower East Side from my place in Bed-

Stuy. Every day I close up without finding anyone like you. Look at you,

born into my world today. I’m shaking and I’d pop an Ativan but they’re

downstairs and I don’t want to pop and Ativan. I don’t want to come

down. I want to be here, fully, watching you bite your unpainted nails and

turn your head to the left, no, bite that pinky, widen those eyes, to the

right, no, reject biographies, self-help (thank God), and slow down when

you make it to fiction (Kepnes, 2014, p. 5).

He has waited for this moment to come, for someone he has dreamt of to come.

Once he knows that “the one” for him has arrived, he does not want to let go.

Instead, he truly believes she–Guinevere Beck is genuinely meant for him.


34

Besides, I like that you take care of yourself instead of filling your home

and your pussy with a string of inadequate men. You’re the answer to

every banal and reductive article about “hook-up culture.” You have

standards and you are Guinevere, a love story waiting for the one, and I

bet you capitalize The One when you dream of him. Of me. Everyone

wants everything right now but you are able to wait with (Kepnes, 2014, p.

10).

Since he is happy with the idea of love and Beck, he indeed waits for

validation. He expects a response, a recognition from Beck of himself to her

friends for helping her from the accident.

You haven’t written back to me yet. You have forwarded my e-mail to

Chana and Lynn. You have giggled over photo-booth pictures of the three

of you–Chana-Lynn . . . us!–and exchanged dozens of idiotic e-mails

about nothing. You have found the time to read and respond to your

classmates’ short stories and beg the bosses at WORD in Brooklyn to let

you read but you haven’t written back to the guy who saved your life. You

are still in pursuit of Benji and it has not been seven hours and fifteen days

but we are getting there, Beck. It’s not funny anymore (Kepnes, 2014, p.

38).

His actions justify this characteristic of him. He said that there is a reason for

picking up a walking spot while with Beck. It is because he was jealous of

couples walking in the same spot since it made him lonely, and now he can make

the loners that are passing jealous by seeing both of them walking – not to

mention his thoughts when they are both walking; he is distracted by the smell of

Beck.

“I tipped him,” I say and you start telling a story about accidentally

stealing shoes from an outlet and we’ve been on the steps for almost

twenty minutes and you’re so nervous and excited that you keep talking

about shoes as if you have to keep talking about shoes or you might jump

me right here, on the steps. I chose this spot because my whole fucking

life I’ve walked by these steps and seen couples that make me feel alone,

rejected. And now there are loners passing by you and me, jealous, and

you’re still talking and fuck, it’s hard to listen when I can smell your body

was (Kepnes, 2014, p. 55).


35

5. Caring

One of the characteristics that make the readers fall in love with Joe

Goldberg is that he cares about people and tends to be nurturing. He protects the

one he loved thoroughly and even cared for the one he despises – Benji, which

later will be shown in the discussion of this characteristic.

To Beck, his feelings make him go caring for her. It was first shown from

his response to Beck sneezing. He shouts, “God bless you!” right away despite

keeping his quiet and an observer librarian side (Kepnes, 2014, p. 5).

He even gets mad when he knows Beck is with a guy who is not his

boyfriend, Benji, and has intercourse with him. He does not claim he is jealous of

that guy, but he is mad because he thinks Benji does not deserve Beck.

… You hop off and you lean against him and he pushes you away when

you lean into him. You look sad and

Nobody in the world has such small hands

Except for you and me. Why am I so sure? Three months ago, before you

knew me you wrote this tweet:

Can we all be honest and admit we know #eecummings because of

#Hannahandhersisters? Okay phew. #nomoreBS #endofpretension

See how you were talking to me before you even knew me? When he

leaves, he isn’t holding Desperate Characters by Paula Fox. He is a blond

misogynist popping his collar and blowing hair out of his eyes. He just

used you and he is not your friend and I have to leave. You need a shower

(Kepnes, 2014, p. 15).

Joe Goldberg avers his inconveniences of the way Benji treats Beck. Though he is

supposed to feel hurt by seeing the one he loves has that relationship with another

person, he still cares and even accepts Beck because he has always been thinking

that Beck and him are made for each other.

Hey, I’m still here; I accept you. And, okay. So you do let this blond creep

do things to you that you read about in these Craigslist ads. But at least

you have boundaries. That perv is not your boyfriend; you sent him into


36

the street, where he belongs, as if you are disgusted with him, which you

should be. And I have read all your recent e-mails and it’s official: You

did not tell anyone that he was in your apartment, inside of you. He is not

your boyfriend (Kepnes, 2014, p. 16).

Another speech and action that will show his caring and protective side are

when he followed Beck home because she is drunk, which he knew because he

also followed her to the bar, and she happened to have an incident – Beck tripped

on her shoelace and fell on the train tracks. He runs to help her. However, Beck is

not easy to be rescued, yet, he cares about her and patient to wait for her to be

ready to take his arms.

I nod. “Okay.” I reach down with my arms, palms up. “Come on. I got

you.”

You want to fight. You are not easily rescued but I am patient and when

you are ready, you wrap your hands around my shoulders and allow me to

save you. I hoist you, loose sneakers and all, onto the yellow danger zone

and then roll you onto the dirty gray danger-free concrete and you’re

shaking and you hold your knees to your chest as you scoot backward into

the part of the green pole that faces inward, the safe place to sit, to wait

(Kepnes, 2014, p. 26).

This side of him is not only shown to Beck. Instead, he also shows it to

Benji, someone he does not like. Before he drugged Benji out, he listens to all

Benji’s prattle. It takes effort to listen to someone we hate, but Joe does it with no

problem, even let him continues his talks after Joe gives him a drink full of Xanax

(Kepnes, 2014, p. 43).

Since Joe Goldberg has to restrain Benji, it does not mean he stops

showing his caring side. In that time, he even buys Benji a treat, and through

direct characterization, he agrees to himself that he is excellent.

I stop at the deli and pick up Cheerios and milk because Benji deserves a

treat too. I’d whistle if I knew how and I enter the shop and trot down the

stairs and find Princess Benji pouting and picking at his fingernails. I can


37

tell by one glance at Doctor Sleep that he hasn’t even opened it. I am a

professional. I slide the Cheerios to him through the drawer along with a

pillow. How nice am I, right? (Kepnes, 2014, p. 60).

One time, he wants to know if Benji’s allergy to peanuts is true since he already

knew that Benji often lies about everything. Then, he pours a peanut oil into

Benji’s soy latte to find out the truth. It turns out the allergy is true. It is making

Benji dying and, in the end, passed away. Joe Goldberg accepts this as fate and

thanks himself for making Benji died.

THIS much is true: Benji wasn’t lying; he is, was, allergic to peanuts. He

died educated. He died with new confidence and new pride and who says a

life has to take eight years to be lived? He learned, you know? How many

people get to go out feeling like they’re just hitting their stride? Most

people die old, full of pain and regret. Or young and full of drugs and self-

indulgence – or sheer bad luck. But Benji had the ultimate privilege; he

died with an opening heart, and improving mind. Benji wasn’t any good at

being Benji, Beck. You know that, above all people. Look at the way he

treated you and look at the way he treated his body. The trap I set for him

was a relief from the trap he was born into (Kepnes, 2014, p. 93).

6. Authoritative and Superior

From the direct characterization, it is hard to see this characteristic in Joe

Goldberg since he does not recognize this authoritative and superior side but

shows his actions, thoughts, and speech. According to Cambridge Dictionary,

authoritative means “showing that you are confident, in control, and expect to be

respected and obeyed” (Cambridge University Press, n.d.). Whereas superior

means “better than average or better than other people or things of the same type”

(Cambridge University Press, n.d.).

He frequently being authoritative when it comes to Benji because he

always thinks that he is in charge of him and should be obeyed. One time, he pulls


38

a soda test to Benji to prove he knows about soda and his product – Home Soda.

Though Benji often pleases to do not do this test and offers him money instead –

or beg to have saltwater to normalize his taste buds, he does not want to listen and

be more authoritative. He even sees Benji as a “good dog” when Benji obeyed

him (Kepnes, 2014, p. 61).

“Joe, please. Think about what you want here.”

“Take the cup.”

“The test still isn’t valid because the yeast from the bagel compromises

my taste buds and I should gargle with salt water.”

I never raise my voice so it scares him pretty good when I do. “Take the

fucking cup” (Kepnes, 2014, p. 62).

This characteristic is shown more through his thoughts in the paragraph

below. He sees Benji’s provocations as him trying to take authority from him. By

thinking of that, it unintentionally shows that he is aware of being authoritative or

having the authority.

“You’d never actually kill me,” he says, trying again to have the authority.

He thinks I’m the kind of sap who wants to be seen by the all-knowing

wealthy pussy.

I’m not having it. I make that clear and I continue, “Which cup was Home

Soda?” (Kepnes, 2014, p. 63).

Moreover, his being superior – thinking that he is better than others, is also

shown in his thoughts about Benji. He convinces that Benji only bought Stephen

King’s book to satisfy his needs to do sick things that he could never able to do

since he was not brave enough as a kid. Joe thinks that he is superior or better

than this kind of man.

The next asshole is rummaging through his wallet for his credit card to

buy his Stephen King so he can (finger crossed) read about a sicko doing

sick things because he’s too much of a pussy to do all the sick things he

wants to do, things he’s probably wanted to do since he was a kid.


39

That’s the problem with this never-ending centipede of lemmings, Beck.

You know they’re all pussies, each and every one of ‘em. They but these

books to get scared because their lives are too easy. How pathetic is that

(Kepnes, 2014, p. 49).

Joe Goldberg has a pattern in showing the authoritative side of him. The

pattern when he thinks he has the power or being in charge to rule. Another

example is when he, like the one in charge of the bookstore, is tired of the

behavior of one of his former employees, Sare, and fired her.

She never flushed the toilet when she peed, claiming that her parents

taught her to conserve. Nevertheless, her pee reeked because she was a vegetarian

who mainly lived on asparagus. She wore bullshit eyeglasses and had a boyfriend

in med school, and when she was at the counter, she always curled up and

wrapped her body in a shapeless wool cardigan, which made customers feel that

they were imposing on her.

When I fired her, I left her a note that her last check was in the bathroom.

And I left her check in the toilet full of her asparagus-scented piss. She

never came around again. She works for a nonprofit and married the

doctor who must be the second-most-annoying person on planet Earth

simply because her married her. In terms of sheer annoyance, nobody I

have ever known has compared to Sare Worthington, saver o the

environment, native of Portland, Maine, forever whishing that she were

from Portland, Oregon. Bitch should have just moved there (Kepnes,

2014, p. 66).

Those are the portrayal of Joe Goldberg in Kepnes’ You that are seen

through characterization methods. As described, Joe is portrayed as intelligent,

observant, confident, caring, hopeless romantic, and authoritative, and superior.

Furthermore, these make the readers fall in love with the character of Joe

Goldberg. Little did people realized, Joe shows his tendency to have Antisocial

and Narcissistic Personality Disorders in these portrayals. Therefore, the


40

researcher explains the tendency of those disorders shown in his portrayal in the

next sub-chapter.

B. The Tendency of Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorders

Revealed by the Portrayal of Joe Goldberg

The sub-chapter before shows how Joe Goldberg feels about himself. He

may justify it, but it is messed up and diffusely reveal his tendency of having

Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorders. Hence, in this part, the

researcher refutes the justified characteristics of him and analyzes the tendency of

Joe Goldberg to have both personality disorders .

1. Antisocial Personality Disorder

As written by the American Psychiatric Association (2013) in the

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses, 5th edition (DSM-5), the

diagnostic criteria of a person are having ASPD indicated by a pervasive pattern

of disregard for and violation of others rights. A person with ASPD often fails to

conform to social norms concerning lawful behaviors, reckless disregard for self

or others’ safety, and lack of remorse, as indicated by rationalizing having hurt,

mistreated, or stolen from another. In chapter two of this research, the criteria of

this personality disorder have been explained. Following is the list of the criteria

portrayed by Joe Goldberg in Kepnes’ You.

a. Failure to conform to social norms.

People with Antisocial Personality Disorder tend to fail to conform to

social norms. As written in Criterion a, it can be “destroying property, harassing

others, stealing, or pursuing illegal occupations.” These are the things that Joe has


41

done through his actions and thoughts. It begins when he stalked Beck to her

home and stalk her. When it shows his intelligent and observant side, at the same

time, he is breaking the law.

Except for you, Beck. These past few days, I’ve learned so much. You put

your tiny hands to work on yourself when the mood strikes, which it does,

often, which reminds me of another joke in Hannah, whew Mia Farrow

teases Woody Allen that he ruined himself with excessive masturbations.

You’re okay, I hope.

The trouble with society is that if the average person knew about us—you,

alone, orgasming three times a night, and me, across the street, watching

you orgasm, alone—most people would say I’m the fuckup. Well, it’s not

secret that most people are fucking idiots. Most people like cheap

mysteries and most people have never heard of Paula Fox or Hannah so

honestly, Beck, fuck most people, right? (Kepnes, 2014, p. 10).

It is to be said that he knows how the social norms work, but he violates it since

he could not care less about anybody but himself. He justified his illegal actions

because he thinks it is the right thing to do. It does not stop there. The novel

writes more specifically about how he justifies this legal action of stalking. He is

sure that it is okay to do what he is doing since Beck always lets her windows

open.

With your open-door policy, I am allowed into your world. I smell your

Lean Cuisines if the wind is right and I hear your Vampire Weekend and if

I pretend to yawn and look up, I can see you loaf, yawn, breathe, were you

always like this? I wonder if you were this way in Providence, parading

around as if you want your rarified neighbors to know you naked, half-

naked, addicted to microwave foods, and masturbating at the top of your

lungs. Hopefully not, hopefully there is logic to this and that you’ll explain

to me when it’s time (Kepnes, 2014, p. 13).

Stalking is considered harassment in the second degree in New York Penal

Law Section 240.26. It writes that a person is guilty of harassment in the second

degree if they follow a person in or about a public place or places. Stalking is


42

considered a violation. Therefore, Joe Goldberg is failed to conform to the law by

pursuing the illegal activity.

Another illegal action he has done is when he intentionally pours peanut

oil into Benji’s drink. It kills Benji at the end. However, he still normalizes this

action and claims that he freed Benji from the trap he was born into (Kepnes,

2014, p. 93).

b. Deceitfulness

Criterion b of an individual who has Antisocial Personality Disorder is

deceitfulness. The DSM-5 writes that this criterion is often indicated by

repeatedly lying for personal profit or pleasure. These are the shreds of evidence

of Joe Goldberg being deceitful. One of them is when he thinks he was observer

and intelligent when he was deceitful.

“So, you never found your phone?”

“No, I mean, yeah, I mean, I think I left it in the subway station.”

“You had it in the cab.”

“Oh right, I did, but I mean who remembers the name of the cab company,

right?”

Premiere Taxi of Lower Manhattan.

“Nobody ever remembers the name of the cab company,” I agree (Kepnes,

2014, p. 37).

There, he lied again by agreeing with Beck’s statement that nobody is paying

attention to a cab’s name. Before, he lied for not knowing where her phone was,

when in fact, he was the one who kept it.

His lying does not stop there. He even starts to become somebody else. He

pretends to be this guy named Nathan Herzog, a well-known food critic from

Vulture magazine, to trick Benji just so the both of them can meet. Joe is


43

confident enough that Benji would buy it since he has been trying so hard to get

his Home Soda featured on the magazine Vulture.

I am the kind of guy who prepares for emergencies like this, so I already

have an e-mail account called [email protected]. You don’t do

your research so you don’t know that Nathan Herzog id the food critic at

Vulture’s new Eats section who sucks the tit of pretentious beats like Benji

and his Home Soda (Kepnes, 2014, p. 41).

It is evident from how he said he had prepared something to handle a situation

like this. He thinks Benji is in the way between him and Beck and thinks that

Benji only uses Beck and not showing any effort for Beck (Kepnes, 2014, p. 41).

Joe Goldberg keeps lying since it gives him personal profit. Such as when

he lies about the cab. He did it so Beck would not search for and ask the cab about

her phone since the driver might see him taking the phone. Alternatively, when he

pretends to be Nathan. He did it so both Benji, and he could meet. Once they met,

he can carry on his plan to get rid of Benji from their relationship.

c. Impulsivity

After Joe Goldberg pretends to be someone else, he acts impulsively by

drugging Benji out. It shows criterion number three on DSM-5 that is “making

decisions on the spur of the moment without consideration for the consequences

to self or others” (p. 659). He once shows his caring side by listening to Benji,

though, in fact, he does not care about Benji’s well-being but his ego as he pours

Xanax into Benji’s drink.

So, while Benji prattles nervously about how much he loves books and

bookstores and people who read I am pouring a baggies of crushed Xanax

into a glass of water. He’ll gulp. He’s nervous. He takes the water. He

thanks me. He can’t even say thank you without sounding like a phony. I

let him go on and say I’ve just got to tend to something behind the counter

and he is all apologies and that’s perfect, Nathan and I cleared my


mailto:[email protected]

44

calendar for this and I’m moving papers around and listening to the Xanax

overtake him. Did I put enough in? He’s woozy and he wants to sit down

(Kepnes, 2014, p. 43).

After he did it, he put Benji into the cage. Benji panicked and pleased to

let Benji out. Nevertheless, he did not do it. Instead, Joe calmed Benji down

counted his action of calming Benji as a kind action (Kepnes, 2014, p. 45). He is

careless of Benji’s condition and still thinking of himself.

Once Benji is locked up, it means Joe Goldberg has to deal with the

impulsivity he made. He claims that he was confident and did come up with a

brilliant plan in the end. However, he never saw how hard it is, quoting him,

“babysitting” a person and the risk to hide someone silently without anyone is

knowing. Eventually, he has to plan everything to keep Benji out of being

searched.

IT’S Thursday morning and our date tonight is my reward for the past

three days. Babysitting Benji is no joke, Beck. I don’t even know how

many times I’ve locked and unlocked and locked the basement doors as

I’ve come up and down. Curtis knows he isn’t allowed in the basement

and he doesn’t have a key. My hand is cramped from gripping the key like

it’s my lifeline. And it is.

And I’m tired, Beck. It took me a solid hour to pry up the false-bottom

floorboard where I keep my machete. I had to take a train all the way to

New Haven to use his ATM without raising any flags. I’m not saying it’s

now worth it and I did come up with a good plan. I decided to use Benji’s

phone to construct a narrative. I know, it’s a fucking brilliant plan.

Because you follow him on Twitter, you will now bear witness to his

descent into drugs and idiocy (Kepnes, 2014, p. 46).

d. Irritability and aggressiveness

The following criterion of an individual with an antisocial personality

disorder is the irritability and aggressiveness they have. According to April Kahn

(2019), “irritability is a feeling of agitation.” When a person is irritable, they tend


45

to get upset quickly. Joe often shows his irritability to Benji at the same time

when he is superior.

The next asshole is rummaging through his wallet for his credit card to

buy his Stephen King so he can be (finger crossed) read about a sicko

doing sick things because he’s too much of a pussy to do all the sick things

he wants to do, things he’s probably wanted to do since he was a kid.

That’s the problem with this never-ending centipede of lemmings, Beck.

You know they’re all pussies, each and every one of ‘em. They buy these

books to get scared because their lives are too easy. How pathetic is that?

(Kepnes, 2014, p. 49)

His thought shows how irritated he is since he called Benji an “asshole” for the

first time. Later, just because Benji wants to buy Stephen King’s book, he judged

Benji right away like a coward that only buys Stephen King to satisfy the pride of

wanting to do anything “sick” but does not. Not only that, but Joe also equalizes

rich people who buy Stephen King as one –a coward.

Besides, Joe Goldberg had shown his irritability to Benji before when he

finds out Benji’s most favorite books. It does show his insights about books, but

his description of Benji shows how irritates he is to Benji. He called Benji

“pretentious fuck and a liar,” “snob,” and “spoiled passport-carrying fuck stunted

in eighth grade” (p. 46, para. 9-11 and p. 47, para. 1). His choice of words is harsh

and shows enough irritability and aggressiveness inside him. Berkowitz

(1989) explains in Psychological Bulletin that aggression comes as conditioned or

unconditioned responses.

The experience of fear presumably accompanies the escape/avoidance

tendencies and theoretically develops out of the ideas, memories,

expressive-motor reactions, and psychological sensations associated with

escape/avoidance, whereas the experience of anger theoretically goes

along with the aggressive tendencies and is built from aggression-related

ideas, memories, expressive-motor responses, and bodily sensations

(Berkowitz, 1989, p. 59)


46

Therefore, his thoughts are considered aggressive tendencies even though he does

not do anything harmful.

However, later, Joe actually does something violent. By claiming it as a

test to Benji’s honesty of his allergy, Joe intentionally pours a peanut oil into

Benji’s soy latter. Right after taking a sip of the drink, Benji died. Joy, then,

realized the allergy is true. Rather than panicking, he, instead, thanking himself

for making Benji passed away (p. 93, para. 4). This violent behavior shows how

aggressiveness he is.

e. Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others and lack of remorse.

These are the criteria of ASPD that the researcher chose to merge, seeing

that when Joe Goldberg shows his recklessness of safety for self or other, he also

shows his lack of remorse; vice versa. As written in DSM-5, lack of remorse is

indicated by having no sympathy for or justifying the act of having hurt,

mistreated, or stolen from another (p. 659).

It all began when Joe was okay with being locked in a cage by Mr.

Mooney (Kepnes, 2014, p. 33). He felt like it was okay to being treated like that

because he thought it was an act of teaching him a lesson when it was

mistreatment. Worse is that Mr. Mooney did not have the right to do things like

that to his employee.

Mr. Mooney also taught him that “everything valuable must be hidden” in

their new cage (Kepnes, 2014, p. 32). Again, he was sure that by everything, Mr.

Mooney meant that people are included too –while in fact, Mr. Mooney was

talked about the Russian nesting dolls that require more attention in its care.


47

Hence, he thought Beck would love it here since she is more beautiful than a doll

(Kepnes, 2014).

It shows Joe’s recklessness of himself/people’s safety a lot since he only

thinks about Beck’s or how to get her into his arm. One of the portrayals is when

he is confident and intrudes to Beck’s apartment by pretending to be her boyfriend

when their interaction was only a buyer-seller interaction.

I called the gas company and reported a leak at your apartment when I

knew you would be at your dance class and you always have coffee after

class with a friend in the class and this is the only guaranteed time that

you’re always from your computer. I waited on my stoop across the way

for the gas man to arrive. When he did, I told him I was your boyfriend

and that you sent me to help out.

The law requires that all gas leaks be investigated and the law of guys

indicates that a guy like me, having dropped out of high school, has a

certain way of dealing with guys who work for the gas company. What

can I say? I knew he’d buy that I was your boyfriend and let me in. And I

knew that even if he thought I was a lying nut job, he’d let me in. You

can’t just call in the gas man and not show up, Beck. Seriously ( Kepnes,

2014, p. 17).

It proves that Joe is reckless of his safety and the guy from the gas company. He

seems down to do the criminal act just to get into Beck’s apartment. Worse is Joe

also does not care about the gas guy’s safety for making him come to find out

there is no leak in the apartment. Lucky, the gas guy lets him, not reported him or

straight throw hands at Joe just because of the suspiciousness.

When Joe Goldberg thinks Benji deserves a snack and buys him Cheerios,

it shows his lack of remorse. Benji does not only deserve a snack but also

deserves to not being captive. He surely rationalizes mistreatment like this.

I stop at the deli and pick up Cheerios and milk because Benji deserves a

treat too. I’d whistle if I knew how and I enter the shop and trot down the

stairs and find Princess Benji pouting and picking at his fingernails. I can

tell by one glance at Doctor Sleep that he hasn’t even opened it. I am a


48

professional. I slide the Cheerios to him through the drawer along with a

pillow. How nice am I, right? (Kepnes, 2014, p. 60).

2. Narcissistic Personality Disorder

According to American Psychiatric Association (2013), in DSM-5, the

diagnostic criteria of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) are having a

grandiose sense of self-importance, preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited

success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love, lacks empathy, and requires

excessive admiration. The criteria have also been written in chapter II of this

research and are used in this sub-chapter to prove any behaviors that show NPD’s

tendency but are justified by Joe Goldberg. Here are the portrayals of Joe

Goldberg that can be diagnosed as NPD.

a. The individual has a grandiose sense of self-importance, believes they are

special or unique, and requires excessive admiration.

The criteria are what is meant to be narcissistic. An individual with NPD

has always been a person who thinks they are the best and is in thirst for attention

or admiration. Joe Goldberg, in his portrayals, shows these criteria a lot. While he

is seen as a hopeless romantic, he believes that he is special. He is the one whom

Beck has dreaming of when Beck has just met him in a bookstore.

You have standards and you are Guinevere, a love story waiting for the

one, and I bet you capitalize The One when you dream of him. Of me.

Everyone wants everything right now but you are able to wait with

(Kepnes, 2014, p. 10)

When he stalks Beck and finds out about Benji, He already cared about

Beck. Therefore, he can see how Benji only used him and felt sad to see her that


49

way. He believes Beck is meant for him and had talked about him through her

tweet. He thinks that Beck needs him, not Benji.

Except for you and me. Why am I so sure? Three months ago, before you

knew me you wrote this tweet:

Can we all be honest and admit we know #eecummings because of

#Hannahandhersisters? Okay phew. #nomoreBS #endofpretension

See how you were talking to me before you even knew me? When he

leaves, he isn’t holding Desperate Characters by Paula Fox. He is blond

misogynist popping his collar and blowing hair out of his ese. He just used

you and he is not your friend and I have to leave. You need a shower

(Kepnes, 2014, p. 15).

In the portrayals of him being a caring person, Joe shows another tendency

of having this criterion of requires excessive admiration and having a grandiose of

self-importance. When their interaction was only a buyer-customer, Joe already

wishes that Beck remembers him. He hopes that Beck writes about him in the

notepad on her phone (Kepnes, 2014, p. 16). It appears that Joe indeed thinks he is

an important figure and deserves to be recognized or talked about by Beck. In

paragraph 3, while knowing that Beck has a relationship with Benji, he thinks that

he should stays and even claiming that he still accepts Beck as if she needs one –

as if Beck is his girlfriend who got caught sleeping with another man.

b. Preoccupied with fantasies of ideal love

An individual with NPD is often being preoccupied with fantasies of

unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love (APA, 2013, p. 669). In

Joe’s case, he often dreams of true love. There is, definitely, no problem to dream

of someone special. On the other hand, when Joe met Beck for the first time, he

falls in love with her and believes that she was meant for him. This is his portrayal

of being a hopeless romantic that also met this criterion of having NPD.


50

You’ve come home to me, delivered at last, on Tuesday, 10:06 A.M.

Every day I commute to this shop on the Lower East Side from my place

in Bed-Stuy. Every day I close up without finding anyone like you. Look

at you, born into my world today (Kepnes, 2014, p. 5).

It seems that Joe has waited the whole time to a moment like this, to a woman like

Beck. After that, he starts to stalk Beck and becomes more preoccupied with

having her. He even begins to get rid of Benji by claiming it is a way to save Beck

by pretending to be a famous food figure to meet Benji (Kepnes, 2014, p. 41) and

drug him out with Xanax (Kepnes, 2014, p. 43). As the researcher has stated

before, these actions also show him being deceitful. It proves that one of Joe’s

portrayals fulfilled the criteria of both disorders simultaneously.

c. The individual has a sense of entitlement.

Robert Porter (2021), writes that “people with a sense of entitlement

believe that the world owes them something in exchange for nothing. It is the

“you owe me” attitude. Joe Goldberg severally shows this attitude. One of it is in

his portrayal of being a hopeless romantic.

You have found the time to read and respond to your classmates’ short

stories and beg the bosses at WORD in Brooklyn to let you read but you

haven’t written back to the guy who saved your life (Kepnes, 2014, p. 38).

It is obvious how Joe displays the “you owe me” attitude. He is furious that Beck

has not replied to his messages. He feels like since he already saved Beck from

the train accident, Beck should have treated him better.

The sense of entitlement is more shown when he is authoritative and

superior. In the paragraph shown below, he kept repeating to order Benji to do

things as he wants. Joe Goldberg believes he has the power, so he expects Benji to

do what he told him to.


51

“Joe, wait. Don’t do this.” He falls to his knees. “I mean it. I have money.”

He really is an idiot and can’t read a situation and I almost feel sorry for

him and I motion for him to stand and he stands. Good dog (Kepnes, 2014,

p. 61).

Another case is about Sarah, the ex-employee. Sarah indeed does many

irritating things as she worked at the bookstore. As her manager, Joe never talked

to Sarah about it. Instead, he directly fired Sarah and done some actions that he is

not supposed to do as a manager.

When I fired her, I left her a note that her last check was in the bathroom.

And I left her check in the toilet full of her asparagus-scented piss (p. 66,

para. 2)

Susan M. Heathfield (2021) shares about 10 Things You Should Never Do When

Firing an Employee. Two of which are not firing an employee without a face-to-

face meeting (even writing a letter counts as an inappropriate act) and not ending

the meeting on a low note. Joe has done it to Sarah. He unwittingly has exploited

Sarah since she has a right to not being mistreated. Joe assuredly believes that he

has the privilege to do such actions since he is the boss and Sarah is not meeting

his criteria. Though it can be validated, again, Joe never mentioned her wrongful

act to her before. Instead, he just fired her in a not-so-kind way.

d. The individual is often envious of others or believes that others are

envious of them.

The individual with NPD is usually having a problem with envy. He or she

often feels an envy towards other people or believes that others envy them. DSM-

5 stated that people with NPD “may begrudge others their successes or

possessions, feeling that they better deserve those achievements, admiration, or

privileges” (APA, 2013, p. 671).


52

In the previous criterion of having a sense of entitlement in his hopeless

romantic portrayal, Joe Goldberg has also shown of having this criterion. When

Beck has not replied to his e-mail, he envies Beck’s friends and classmates whom

she had replied to. He even envies Benji since Beck is still in pursuit of Benji and

claims “it is not funny anymore.”

You haven’t written back to me yet. You have forwarded my e-mail to

Chana and Lynn. You have giggled over photo-booth pictures of the three

of you—Chana-Lynn … us!—and exchange dozens of idiotic e-mails

about nothing. You have found the time to read and respond to your

classmates’ short stories and beg the bosses at WORD in Brooklyn to let

you read but you haven’t written back to the guy who saved your life. You

are still in pursuit of Benji and it has not been seven hours and fifteen days

but we are getting there, Beck. It’s not funny anymore (Kepnes, 2014, p.

38).

Joe Goldberg seems like he expected special treatment for his help from

the train accident. He devalues others’ needs of Beck and thinks that replying to

his e-mail is as essential as replying to others’.

Besides being envious of others, he firmly believes that other people envy

him. It happened when Beck and him are on their first date that also portrays his

hopeless romantic side.

“I tipped him,” I say and you start yelling a story about accidentally

stealing shoes from an outlet and we’ve been on the steps for almost

twenty minutes and you’re so nervous and excited that you keep talking

about shoes as if you have to keep talking about shoes or you might jump

me right here, on the steps. I chose this spot because my whole fucking

life I’ve walked by these steps and seen couples that make me feel alone,

rejected. And now there are loners passing by you and me, jealous, and

you’re still talking and fuck, it’s hard to listen when I can smell your body

wash (Kepnes, 2014, p. 55).

Joe Goldberg intentionally does this action since he was jealous his whole

time with couples who walked in the area. Therefore, he is having his come back


53

through their date. It may not be a big deal to anyone in there since people are in

their own business. Though, still, Joe believes people are jealous of seeing Beck

and him.

e. The individual shows arrogant or haughty behaviors or attitudes.

People with NPD have a solid relation to arrogant and haughty attitudes. It

differs between narcissism and self-love. People who love and accept themselves

will not be humiliating others’ abilities. Whereas people with NPD often show

arrogant and haughty attitudes, therefore, tend to do so.

In the first part of the novel, Joe Goldberg already shows this criterion.

Though it is his portrayal of being intelligent, it also shows him being arrogant.

This guy is, what, thirty-six and he’s only now reading Franny and Zooey?

And let’s get real. He’s not reading it. It’s just a front for the Dan Browns

in the bottom of his basket. Work in a bookstore and learn that most

people in this world feel guilty about being who they are (Kepnes, 2014, p.

5).

There, Joe Goldberg humiliates the customer’s choice of books. He also thinks

that working in a bookstore makes him a person who can sees which a person

truly is. At the same time, it is just his assumptions. There are many possibilities

why the customer buys the books or places the books, but he only believes that

the right reason is what he assumes (since he is working in a bookstore and others

are not). It shows an arrogant attitude.

When Beck and him are on a date, they are having a conversation where

Beck compliments him for being so knowledgeable. It makes he thinks that Beck

has never met a guy like him and even start another conversation of who’s-read-

more-books (Kepnes, 2014, p. 58). This thought is also another portrayal of him


54

being intelligent yet shows arrogance. From the way he stated “a guy like me” in

the same paragraph, he quietly implies that he is a rare intelligent man. Also,

when he starts another round of who’s-read-more-books right after Beck

compliments him, it just shows that he wants more acknowledgment.

A haughty attitude is also shown in Joe Goldberg’s portrayal of being

authoritative and superior. When Benji is being captive by him and ignoring to

bite the bagel that he gives, he is intentionally raising his voice since he believes it

will scare Benji (Kepnes, 2014, p. 62). The way he humiliates Benji only to take

the bagel is a haughty attitude. He harshly devalues Benji’s rights and acts

disdainfully superior to be obeyed by Benji.


55

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, the researcher concludes the findings of the study on

revealing the tendency of Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorders in

Joe Goldberg’s portrayals. Joe Goldberg has done immoral actions and

justifies them as the right actions. These behaviors and justifications lead the

researchers to form two problems: the portrayals of him according to the novel

and his tendency to have Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). These are the several findings of the

problems.

The finding to the first problem is about the portrayals of Joe Goldberg

in the novel You by Kepnes. As explained in the previous part, Joe is

portrayed as an intelligent man. Though he is not entering college, he is very

knowledgeable. He has been working in a bookstore since he was a teenager

and loving books ever since. Since he is a quiet person, dealing with

customers in a bookstore makes him tends to observe people rather than to

start conversation. Also, he is confident. He believes that he is correct, well-

prepared, and brilliant. However, he is a hopeless romantic. He loves the idea

of love and has been waiting for love for his whole time. It makes him a

caring person. He cares a lot for the ones he loves (even he despises) and will

do anything for them. Lastly, he is authoritative and superior. Being in charge

of the bookstore and Benji’s life, he wants to be heard and obeyed. Those are

the portrayals of him in the novel that are seen through characterization.


56

The second problem is about refuting the characteristics and revealing

the tendency of ASPD and NPD in the portrayals. With the help of the

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5)

in analyzing the second problem, the researcher finds that Joe Goldberg is

showing the symptoms of ASPD and NPD. ASPD has seven

criteria/symptoms, as explained in Chapter II. Out of the seven criteria, Joe

Goldberg has shown six of them. They are failure to conform to social norms,

deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability and aggressiveness, reckless disregard

for the safety of self or others, and lack of remorse. Whereas NPD has nine

criteria, he shows seven criteria out of them. They are a grandiose sense of

self-importance, believe they are special or unique, require excessive

admiration, preoccupied with fantasies of ideal love, sense of entitlement,

often envious of others, or believes that others are envious of them, and shows

arrogant or haughty behaviors or attitudes. The data for this chapter is taken

from the portrayals in the previous problem.

Therefore, it can be concluded that Joe Goldberg is likely to have

Antisocial Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. It is

dangerous since having both means the person could have lacked empathy,

manipulation, and self-centeredness. Worse is individuals with either ASPD or

NPD often offer a distinct look as in a quiet and kind being in the society.

Hence, it is hard to acknowledge them in just sight. People should observe

more to figuring out anyone who has likely to have the symptoms.


57

Nevertheless, this research has helped the researcher to believe that

there is likely a deep connection between literature and psychology. Literature

is an outcome of human thought and experience. It also deals with human

consciousness, and actions. So does psychology. Hence, using a psychological

approach in literature has a deep benefit. The researcher can conduct a more

thorough examination of the character Joe Goldberg and not worshipping his

actions as an extra caring lover, instead seeing it as a character who is likely to

have an antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders.

Moreover, a psychological approach can be implied in many fields.

Not only literature. It can be applied to our daily life as well – since

psychology is always connected with the human life. People can use

psychology to see, explain, and describe the fundamental factor that propels

human forward in life, which is motivation. People can understand each other

better with this approach.


58

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