This thesis explores the psychological dimensions of Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho through the lens of Slavoj Žižek’s ideological barred O. Examining protagonists Jack Gladney and Patrick Bateman, the analysis focuses on Žižek’s concept of the ideological fantasy as a framework. Both novels depict characters immersed in a consumer society, grappling with the emptiness of their societal constructs, leading them to navigate their desires through fantasies. The thesis investigates how barred Other calls Jack and Patrick to fill the void in their societal constructs, inadvertently become entangled in the surplus enjoyment of consumption of their respective worlds. Through a meticulous examination of these narratives, the research aims to shed light on the intricate interplay between individual desires, societal constructs, and the surreal realm of ideological fantasy within the broader context of contemporary literature. Moreover, the thesis underscores the subtle shifts in the characters’ perceptions, questioning whether these fantastical realms serve as mere distractions or if they possess the potential to subvert and redefine the very social paradigms that initially engendered them. The thesis shows the changes that the Subject undergoes according to the ideological fantasy. Furthermore, it portrays the importance of the process in which the Subject’s barred big other is trying to reach.
