Julian In The Overpaid's '

Julien Sorel is a man who does no fit your average character tropes. Described as arrogant, petulant, cynical, and entirely self-destructive, Julien’s actions have done nothing but harm those around him. Thus, to label Julian, a sociopath may seem fitting, but to actually do so is an injustice to his character. As such an intricately detailed and unique character, it is impossible to fit Julien under vague, umbrella terms such as anti-social and sociopathic. First, by deciding that Julien is mentally ill is to completely ignore the fact that Julien is solely the product of his own environment. Julien was slowly crafted over time into the monstrosity who he became. A slight and irregularly shaped man born to the middle classes of french society, …show more content…
309). While this does further his strong devotion to Napoleon, it proves that Julien does at least acknowledge the ramifications of his actions. Furthermore, Julien proceeds to describe his inability to sleep that night, as he realized he may have to go against his own moral code to carry out his goals. Julien comes to the conclusion that this is a necessary evil, though an evil nonetheless. Unlike most documented sociopaths such as Ted Bundy or Joseph Mengele, Julien does not view ordinary people as beneath him as he sees their humanity. Julien’s acceptance of this fact, while still incredibly cruel and Machiavellian, does not make him by definition sociopathic. Julien’s manipulative tendencies stem from his childlike nature, his treatment of certain people more as toys correlating to being both power-hungry and naive in a relatively idiotic society. While Julien fully understands how absurd the world he lives in truly is, he does not fully understand how to cope with his experiences due to his limited real world exposure. Therefore his actions are more akin to a cruel child than those of someone truly