Psycho norman bates biography examples

Norman Bates is still running his little motel, and he has kept the dressed skeleton he calls mother. One of his guests is a young girl who has left the convent where she lived. To get some help he employs a young man. One day a nosey journalist comes to see him to ask questions about his past. Search Charactour. Sign Up Log In. Interests… his mother, his motel, fine dining, and entertaining guests.

While the novel depicted a short, overweight, and unattractive man in his forties, the cinematic Norman, played by Anthony Perkins, was tall, slender, and handsome, in his mid-twenties. Hitchcock believed this portrayal would evoke sympathy from the audience. Furthermore, the film omitted Norman's academic pursuits and knowledge of the occult, portraying him instead as the proprietor of the Bates Motel.

In the film, Norman's attraction to guest Marion Crane triggers a psychotic break. Crane's suggestion that he commit his mother to a mental institution drives him to murder her. Norman initially believes his mother committed the murder, but Norma persuades him to conceal her body. However, the investigation into Crane's disappearance eventually exposes Norman's guilt, leading to his capture and incarceration.

Alfred Hitchcock was at the centre of the film movement from the s and well into the s, breaking through time-and-again the barriers of traditional ways of writing and tragedy. For, Hitchcock displayed that what makes the most memorable and drastic thrillers are those which leave an element open for the imagination, open for interpretation and speculation, leaving a long-lasting effect.

Psycho norman bates biography examples: Bates first appeared in Robert

At a glance, Norman Bates is a figure whom society has allowed to become feral. He is a broken figure, consumed by the second face of evil — a concept explored by the first Greek philosophers, whom toyed with the idea that the two-faced Janus represented not only the transition of time, but the transition of good to evil, and order to chaos.

To the common civilian, however, mental institutions allow society to become safer, as they do not have to interact with abnormal characters, and can ultimately live life without acknowledgement of their existence. If this was the case, the sentence of Norman Bates would be seen as a positive development, as a cathartic relief. Yet, it is not, for the audience comes to sympathise with Norman Bates as the film progresses.

His capture by police, is seen as a tragedy within itself, for the audience feel they can relate to Norman as a pressured character, but also that they know his enrolment into a mental institution is the correct course of action.

Psycho norman bates biography examples: Psycho is a horror

No matter how the means of storytelling may change over the centuries, pity will always be one of the most powerful feelings a storyteller, like Aristotle or Hitchcock may use. This is because empathy holds the most power, more-so than sympathy, for it allows emotional connections to be made and manipulated, drawing the viewer into the story and their characters.

Norman Bates, portrayed by Anthony Perkins is a young and handsome man, whom is not only very emotionally fragile, but also physically fragile; he is tall and thin, with softer facial features. Finally, pathos is created by how Norman expresses his struggle for happiness, love and care, and stability through his emotions. His punishment for choosing to live has become an inhibition, and not an obligation.

It is for this reason that the audience comes to understand Norman Bates, making a common connection with the troubled character. Norman is the physical embodiment of this, exaggerated by his abnormal and troubled character. The pathos created for Norman Bates, who is effectively the antagonist in this pseudo-tragedy, once again shows Alfred Hitchcock rejecting and toying with the classic rules of tragic storytelling.

This is because, in psycho norman bates biography examples tragedy, one must only feel pathos for the protagonist following his demise. In this case, it is within the antagonist, leaving no catharsis following the capture of Norman Bates, but only pity and sadness. As explained: Norman Bates is a character that the audience comes to understand on an internal level.

Although slightly different now because mental health is more recognised and in open debate, in the s and s, everyone understood these kind of people existed, such as the psychotic Norman Bates, but had no reason to see them as human for they were always kept in the periphery of society. This is because we learn of his troubled back story — something the audience comes to empathise for.

It is by this belief that Norman is only made an outsider by the constructs of society in which he lives in. Now, with a common bond with the tragic character, they refuse to allow him to be dehumanized by this label. Interactionists such as Edwin Lemert and Howard Becker regard any mental illness as a social construct. As seen in Norman Bates, the labelled victim will show a negative response to this, giving others more of a reason to exclude him.

Henceforth, everything he does thereafter is interpreted with this label in mind. As explained earlier, if this condition is not treated which it is notthe mistreated victim of society Norman can in fact become a danger to society. A symptom of psychotic disorders not to be confused with psychosis is in many cases severe, split-personality disorder.

Norman is so damaged that he now has internalised the abusive traits of his mother, serving as his other personality. His social skills and demeanour serve as evidence of this. In this scene, it is apparent that some things are off in the conversation. This is not to a degree that the audience becomes uncomfortable with Norman, but so that the disjointed conversation builds tension and also curiosity within the viewer.

This also shows his fascination and fear of love and female interaction, which his mother has strictly prohibited, causing Norman to become very fearful and also immature, another basis of his psychotic disorder. This is also apparent when Mary innocently invites Norman into her bedroom so they can eat; this extremely small sexual hint is sufficient to scare Norman from entering, hence his insistence of eating elsewhere.

During the attempt, he is tormented by hallucinations of "Mother" and several of his victims, becoming injured in a fall. He almost dies in the flames before willing himself to get out, apparently defeating his illness at long last; he is finally free of his mother's voice, which demands to be let out. In the television spin-off movie and series pilot Bates MotelNorman is never released from the institution after his first incarceration.

He befriends Alex West Bud Corta fellow inmate who had murdered his stepfather, and wills ownership of the titular motel to him before dying of old age. The television series Bates Motela reboot to the film Psychoset in the present day, depicts the young Norman Bates' life with his mother, Norma Vera Farmiga. In this continuity, Norman suffers from hallucinations and blackouts, and begins manifesting his "Mother" personality while Norma is alive.

He kills his abusive father, Sam David Cubittwhile in a dissociative stateand Norma moves them from Arizona, where he was born and raised, to White Pine Bay, Oregon, to protect him. When Norman's sanity begins to deteriorate, Norma marries the town sheriff, Alex Romero Nestor Carbonellso she can use his insurance coverage to pay for Norman's treatment.

While the marriage is at first merely a financial arrangement, they eventually fall in love. After Norman is released from the institution and finds out that Norma is married, he grows insanely jealous and tries to kill both Norma and himself by flooding the house with carbon monoxide while his mother sleeps. Romero arrives at the house in time to revive Norman, but finds that Norma is already dead.

Meanwhile, Norman cannot bear losing his mother, so he digs up her corpse and assumes her personality to preserve the illusion of her being alive. Two years later, Norman is running the motel and living alone in the house with Norma's corpse, which he keeps frozen and preserved in the cellar. He and his "Mother" personality live together as if there is no one else in the world, and she takes care of his problems - such as killing and disposing of a hitman sent by Romero [ 22 ] and helping him get rid of his uncle, Norma's brother Caleb Kenny Johnsonafter he discovers the truth.

When Sam's mistress Marion Crane Rihanna checks into the motel, Norman has dinner with her and tells her that Sam is married. Marion comes back to the motel after confirming Sam's infidelity, and seeks comfort from Norman. He fears that "Mother" will kill her, however, and tells her to leave and never come back. When Sam comes to the motel to look for Marion, Norman stabs him to death in the shower.

Psycho norman bates biography examples: As a child, Bates

Dylan comes to see Norman after learning of Norma's death, and they get into a fight that ends with Norman assaulting his half-brother at "Mother"'s instigation. Terrified of what he might do, Norman calls and confesses to murdering Sam. There, Norman gets the better of Romero and shoots him dead, but not before his former stepfather tells him he will never escape from murdering his own mother.

When Norman finally admits to himself that he killed Norma, "Mother" appears to him and tells him she is leaving, as there is no longer anything she can protect him from. Now completely alone, Norman loses all contact with reality. He calls Dylan and invites him over for a "family dinner", complete with Norma's corpse seated at the head of the table.

When Dylan tells him that Norma is dead, Norman flies into a rage and attacks him with a knife, forcing Dylan to shoot him in self-defense. As he dies, Norman sees a vision of his mother embracing him. The character Norman Bates in Psycho was loosely based on two people. First was the real-life murderer Ed Geinabout whom Bloch later wrote a fictionalized account, [ 30 ] "The Shambles of Ed Gein", in Second, it has been indicated by several people, including Noel Carter wife of Lin Carter and Chris Steinbrunneras well as allegedly by Bloch himself, that Norman Bates was partly based on Calvin Beck, publisher of Castle of Frankenstein.

The characterization of Norman Bates in the novel and the movie differ in some key areas.

Psycho norman bates biography examples: Was 's Psycho based on

In the novel, Norman is in his mid-to-late 40s, short, overweight and homely. In the movie, he is in his mids, tall, slender, and handsome. Reportedly, when working on the film, Hitchcock decided that he wanted audiences to be able to sympathize with Norman and genuinely like the character, so he made him more of a "boy next door".

In the novel, Norman is well-read in occult and esoteric authors such as P. Ouspensky and Aleister Crowley. He is aware that "Mother" disapproves of these authors as being against religion. Norman Bates was portrayed by Anthony Perkins in Hitchcock's seminal film adaptation of Bloch's novel and its three sequels. He also portrayed Norman, albeit more lightheartedly, in a commercial for Oatmeal Crisp cereal.

Norman appears in the three-issue comic book adaptation of the film Psycho released by Innovation Publishing. Despite being a colorized adaptation of the Hitchcock film, the version of Norman present in the comics resembles the one from Bloch's original novel: a middle-aged, overweight, balding man. Comic artist Felipe Echevarria has explained that this was due to Perkins' refusal to allow his likeness to be replicated for the books, wanting to disassociate himself with Norman Bates.

Norman Bates is ranked as the second-greatest villain on the American Film Institute 's list of the top film heroes and villains[ 38 ] behind Hannibal Lecter and ahead of Darth Vader. His line "A boy's best friend is his mother" also ranks as number 56 on the institute's list of the greatest movie quotes. Contents move to sidebar hide.

Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. Fictional character from Psycho and Bates Motel. Not to be confused with Norma Bates Psycho. For the Medal of Honor recipient, see Norman F. For the American jazz bassist, see Norman Bates musician. Fictional character. Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in a publicity photo for Psycho Character overview [ edit ].