Apart from his sexual success he's on a single social level as his friends, his qualifications is working course, his education is rudimental and his cleverness, compared to Tag Renton, on the lower level. Yet, he shows or rather showcases, flashes of knowledge and culture ("Well, non, non, non, Monsieur Renton. . . "253). Especially to win over women, he leaves his public Scottish history and performs the role of the helpful pseudo-educated Scot and invents his own ethnic background (being essentially a 'jazz purist'254). His role model is the Scot Sean Connery, the 'true James Relationship'. Ian Fleming's "gentleman spy"255 is himself a sexually successful womaniser, brilliant, hard and strong, providing traits Sick Boy very much approves of. His pseudo, imaginary connection is continuing in the thought dialogues Sick Guy has with his idol. He impersonates the voice of Connery and justifies his actions in so doing. The section Deid Dugs256 offers us some more interesting insights of Sick Boys concept of himself and his masculinity: "Ah. . . the foe ish in shite, as the old Bond would have said. . . ", "Call me the unsheen ashashin Mish Moneypenny. ", or "Good firing Shimon. Why shank you Sean. "257
These prices, comically built around Sick and tired Son by WELSH, underline Sick Boy's connection with the actor Connery and his portrayal of masculinity that itself is made on the fictional one of the films. But for Ill Boy Wayne Bond's features fit exactly into his chosen life-style. Not only does Sick Boy relate to the imaginary world of the James Bond cult videos, he compares Sean Connery's record (delivered in Edinburgh, from a working-class backdrop, delivering dairy to the region) with his own. Sick Youngster picks out the characteristics that suit him best and involves the final outcome that: "Auld Sean and I have so many parallels. "258 In Sick and tired Boy WELSH constructs an extremely self-confident character. That is underlined in the fact that Sick Son recognizes his friends as being below him, all of them are "l-i-m-i-t-e-d"259 and his ego is unreachable.
His frame of mind towards homosexuals is very much heterosexual stereotype, homophobic (a homosexual confying his Products illness is merely a "sleazy fucking queen. "260). Ill Boy's morals are very much self-orientated. He is egoistic and attracted by crime. Aside from petty theft he is even involved in criminal action on a much wider range as Sick Son is accountable for organising the big 'skag package' in Place to Stop. 261 So with Sick and tired Boy WELSH presents a identity whose masculinity is very much predicated on his heterosexual performance, rooted quite definitely in the subcultural environment of the medication world. With another character I have chosen to check out in more detail WELSH runs a step further. Begbie's masculinity is based on domination and suppression.
III. 3. 2. 4 Franco - Beggar - Frank Begbie
With Frank Begbie WELSH creates an extremely special form of male representation. Frank Begbie's activities get into that of a hyper-masculine persona: Ingesting, preventing, aggressiveness (even against his so-called mates) and resisting modern culture by choosing a criminal career. WELSH presents a form of masculinity that being marginalised comes after the routine of modern european patriarchal culture, as the dominant masculine form is "aggressive and misogynist"262, and in so doing tries to enhance its masculine status. Frank Begbie's definition of a masculine ideal strains the domination of women, strong competition between men, an extremely strong display of aggressiveness and predatory sexuality. 'The Beggar's motto to life is: "no-one gets fuckin lippy with me at night"263 and it underlines his characteristics of identity psychologist Michael HERZFELD would explain as 'machismo'264. A closer look at what grades Begbie as machismo shall underline these results.
Begbie is the next figure in Trainspotting that is incredibly self-confident. But his masculinity is dependant on aggression, against his friends, against his girlfriend June and especially against strangers. Also, WELSH represents his figure as displaying strong traces of psychopathic behavior. Begbie cannot control his facets of aggression; they control him and will be the basis for his assault. The section The Glass265 shows this quite impressively. Although he's the person accountable for glassing a pub visitor, he initially performs the role of the helpful but "psychopathic detective"266 until he finally looses all self-restraint and allows his violence run outdoors. He uses drive, brut power if essential to bulldoze his thoughts and opinions onto others and dominates them. Begbie's backdrop is working category, he also originates from Leith, Edinburgh which is unemployed and a unlawful. WELSH emphasises the stereotypical picture of competitive macho by allowing Begbie show absolutely no interest in high culture ("products preferred by and created for the well-educated top notch"267), neither books, nor standard British. Instead WELSH accentuates Begbie's lack of education by underlining the fact that his protagonist relies on the mass media by claiming the particular one learns all you need "ootay the newspaper n fae the telly. "268 Also, Begbie's language can be described as being the crudest in the book. 'Fucking' and 'cunt' come in his dialogues most regularly (cf. chapter III. 3. 9) and stress his special form of hypermachismo.
His distorted idea of the masculine idol is that of aggressiveness and ruthlessness. Not merely does he define his self by doing so, he also defines others after his own hyper-ego. Other men are either mates (long-standing acquaintances Begbie can dominate), hard cunts (men who use push and can stand a combat and show the same high level of aggression as Begbie will) or "fucking shitein cunts269" (men who do not reach Begbie's level of aggression and show no capacity to deal with). This idea of the masculine is organized throughout the novel. Frank Begbie's relationship to women is another indication of his chauvinist attitude. He's violent towards them and sees women as strictly sex things. WELSH's portrayal of Begbie is rather stereotypical in this aspect. Women are described in the passages the type Begbie narrates in slang conditions as being only "wild birds", "fanny" or "trips"270. These are degraded to meat as simply being "pieces to be shagged"271 thus one encounters an extremely strong prominent, patriarchal frame of mind, which coincides with the theoretical part of this thesis. The characterisation WELSH has created for Begbie is even considered a step further when one looks at how Begbie's 'the father' is explained272. He does not show any caring feelings, neither for his son, nor for the mother.
Begbie has no relationship to his own daddy who is offered twice in the novel. His competitive outburst after the second face in the section Trainspotting at Leith Central Stop273 aimed towards an innocent bystander is not simply added proof Begbie's aggressive personality. It can be seen as an indication of how Begbie 's youth and his family track record will need to have been an miserable one as the face with his father, who is only a vintage drunkard, triggers a big, suppressed pool of anger. WELSH constructs a violent guy exhibiting strong traces of Alfred ADLER'S idea of "masculine protest"274, a thought that was predicated on the actual fact that anticipated to weakened vis- -vis parents (a weak father in Begbie's case)the child struggles to set up an "internal contradiction between masculinity and femininity"275. This flaw in childhood development causes "over-compensation in the direction of aggression and restless striving for triumphs. "276 Begbie's response prompted by the encounter with his dad, will fit well with ADLER's idea. Begbie will not want to speak about his emotions towards his dad and Make Renton, would you not tolerate Begbie's actions, still recognizes them. An absurd form of male bonding if you want.
III. 3. 3 Male Relationships
WELSH's Trainspotting centres around a close, heterosexual group of men. The male character types result from the same marginalised backdrop: they are all working course and put in their life time in Leith - so friendships have a long history. University, adolescence and the first step towards the intake of drugs, first common drugs like liquor or very soft drugs, later heroin, were considered together. Tag Renton, Sick Youngster, Spud and Begbie - although he will not consume heroin but rather regularly alcohol - supported their child years and in the novel's present go through thick and typically thin alongside one another. When individuals of the group go through crisis situations (the arrest and trail of Tag Renton and Spud277, the loss of life of Matty278, Tommy getting infected with HIV279) the knowledge is distributed, but will not lead to closer bonding in the protagonist's future. Apart from the consummation of hard drugs (heroin) and the intake of alcohol280 common hobbies are women and different aspects of popular culture (e. g. basketball, music, motion pictures [Jean-Claude truck Damme videos]). WELSH clearly shows the stereotypical aspect of chauvinistic male bonding. His character types individually may show strains associated with an anti-chauvinistic attitude to women (as described Symbol Renton and Spud can be seen as representatives of your anti-sexist attitude) but within the group a chauvinistic demeanour is prominent. Its function even strengthens the 'fraternal relationship' (c. f. the sexist joke in The Elusive Mr Hunt281). Companionship or the situation to be 'mates' prevails only as long as the drug behavior is not influenced. When a 'rubbish problem', the bodily craving for another shot of heroin, collections in, male bonding loses its charm and organising drugs and injecting are more important. WELSH's protagonist, the medication dealer and beggar, Johnny Swan finds words for this development: "Nae friends in this game. Jist associates. "282
Still, when the personas are not in need of drugs, their description of friendship is still a distorted one. A fine example is the partnership the skag boys have to Frank Begbie. He is portrayed to be a basic psychopath (c. f. section The A glass283) and in this section one finds out a lot about the peculiar male bonding that continues on between 'the Beggar' and 'his mates'. Frank Begbie terrorises his friends and since the narrator Make Renton makes clear in the 'Common myths List'284 fear is the reason for keeping the position quo. Still, the same working-class qualifications (being part of) is a solid bond. The males are part of an marginalised subculture, they expand up jointly in Leith - starting in major school - therefore the time factor is important with their romance. For the working-class characters in the book the factors discussed play a great role in determining what a good friend, a 'partner', is. Friendship goes a long way for the skag young boys. So despite having all the negative aspects of Begbie's personality male bonding exists. "The big problem is, he's a mate n aw. Whit kin ye dae?"285 WELSH's men, when heroin is not part of the bargain, stick mutually. Nevertheless, the skag guys are afraid showing their emotional thoughts to each other. They dread that the image of the hard, heterosexual man could fall apart if platonic male love were portrayed. The section Strolling FROM THE Meadows286 enforces this finding. Daniel Murphy and Make Renton show a close emotional relationship by talking about their feelings for each other and embracing. Yet they are simply insecure, if they should go up to now. One can observe how both characters appear to adopt two steps on the line, the other step again. Nevertheless, they cross the type of mental suppression and let it all out, only to be ridiculed by womaniser Sick and tired Youngster for expressing homosexuality:
You two fuckin buftie-boys. Either go intae they trees n fuck each other, or come n help us find
Beggars and Matty. 287
This homophobic utterance and the immediate release of the embrace show the actual fact that WELSH's concept of men in Trainspotting is strongly underlined by worries of homosexuality.
