Anyone read the book, and thinks there's something autistic about Renton's way of thinking? Some examples from the best episode in the book:
Quote:
Me junk behaviour is anal in concept, attention-seeking, yes, but instead of withholding the faeces tae rebel against parental authority, ah'm pittin smack intae ma body tae claim power over it vis-a-vis society in general.
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Ah despised masel and the world because ah failed tae face up tae ma ain, and life's, limitations.
Quote:
Success and failure simply mean the satisfaction and frustration ay desire. Desire can either be predominantly intrinsic, based oan oor individual drives, or extrinsic, primarily stimulated by advertising, or societal role models as presented through the media and popular culture. Tom feels that ma concept ay success and failure only operates on an individual rather than an individual and societal level. Due tae this failure tae recognize societal reward, success (and failure) can only ever be fleeting experiences for me, as tha experience cannae be sustained by the socially-supported condoning of wealth, power, status, etc., nor in the case ay failure, by stigma or reproach. So, according tae Tom, it's nae good tellin us that ah've done well in ma exams, or got a good job, or got off wi a nice burd; that kind ay acclaim means nowt tae us. Of course, ah enjoy these things at the time, or for themselves, but their value cannae be sustained because there's nae recognition ay the society which values them.
What Tom's trying tae say, ah suppose, is that ah dinnae gie a f**k. Why? So it goes back tae ma alienation from society. The problem is that Tom refuses tae accept ma view that society cannae be changed tae make it significantly better, or that ah cannae change tae ccommodate it. Such a state ay affairs induced depression on ma part, aw the anger gets turned in. That's what depression is, they say.
Quote:
Basically, aw ah ask is that c***s mind their ain business and ah'll dae the same. Why is it that because ye use hard drugs every c**t feels that they have a right tae dissect and analyse ye?
Once ye accept that they huv that right, ye'll join them in the search fir this holy grail, this thing that makes ye tick. Ye'll then defer tae them, allowin yerself tae be conned intae believin any biscuit-ersed theory ay behaviour they choose tae attach tae ye. Then yir theirs, no yir ain; the dependency shifts from the drug to them.
Society invents a spurious convoluted logic tae absorb and change people whae's behaviour is outside its mainstream. Suppose that ah ken aw the pros and cons, know that ah'm gaunnae huv a short life, am ay sound mind etcetera, etcetera, but still want tae use smack? They won't let ye dae it.
They won't let ye dae it, because it's seen as a sign ay thir ain failure. The fact that ye jist simply choose tae reject whit they huv tae offer. Choose us. Choose life. Choose mortgage payments; choose washing machines; choose cars; choose sitting oan a couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing f*****g junk food intae yir mooth. Choose rotting away, pishing and shiteing yersel in a home, a total f****n embarrassment tae the selfish, f**ked-up brats ye've produced. Choose life.
Well, ah choose no tae choose life. If the c***s cannae handle that, it's thair f*****g problem. As Harry Lauder sais, ah jist intend tae keep right on to the end of the road ...
28 Jan 2010, 8:21 pm
