Analysis of Joe Goldberg's Obsession and Sense of Distortion in 'You' Jennifer Wright College

Throughout ‘You’, the main character, Joe Goldberg, is the one unable to recognise his obsession, while often mistaking his feelings for deep romantic attraction. The novel starts as he lays eyes on Guinevere Beck for the first time and follows him as he attempts to gain her attention and love, often through means such as stalking to learn her life, and murder to remove any person he believes to be a threat to their ‘everythingship’. He often excludes himself from the ‘stalker mindset’ that he believes any man who looks at the girl he claims to love has. This causes him to justify even the most intrusive acts as romantic as he sees himself as the hero rather than the mildly sympathetic villain.

Kepnes is continuously able to present Joe in a way that portrays him as someone who genuinely loves the victim of his obsession. The reader sees Joe as veritably misunderstood, mainly due to the point of view that the novel is presented in. The novel is written through Joe’s eyes but is constantly focused on Beck through the use of a blended first and second person point of view narrative. This forces the audience to see Joe’s thought processes and allows them to understand his rationalisations. They are then compelled to see Joe as he...