Children whose parents frequently attempt to kill each other with the furniture tend to be slightly
withdrawn: The Everyday Violence of American SocietyThere is a callousness to Lindsays Miami
where people are selfish, angry, inconsiderate, and are drawn to blood and violence. This is what
Freud calls the psychopathy of everyday life. Part of the reason we sympathize with Dexter and his
compulsion are these reoccurring moments of aggression from everyone else in Miami.
Discuss how American society in the novel facilitates everyday psychopathy and why Dexter seems
more heroic than other characters because of it. Is it good that hes seen in this way or bad? Why or
why not?