Beyond Good and Evil: A Study of Criminal Subjectivity in Steve Hamilton’s The Lock Artist

Abstract

Michel Foucault, in his book ‘discipline and punish’, identifies how the modern state has blurred the distinction between deviance and illegality. He argues that the aim of power is not to rehabilitate the criminal but to reform him into a being who conforms to the standards of a good citizen. Moreover, he illustrates that the modern system of discipline aims to make its subject its object and, for this purpose, uses the criminal’s confession as a tool of manipulation and reformation. This research article applies Michel Foucault’s perspective to “The lock artist” to explore the criminal subjectivity of a fictional character beyond good and evil. In his novel ‘The Lock Artist’, Steve Hamilton presents his explicit view of deviance and criminality. Through the story of a mute boy, he highlights the factors that contribute to making someone a criminal in modern American society. For a useful explanation and analysis of criminal subjectivity, Michel Foucault’s book ‘discipline and punishment’ has been referred to. This article discusses the norms, upbringing, and circumstances of the protagonist and attempts to explore his subjectivity as a criminal beyond the paradigm of good and evil. It elaborates on the factors that constitute his identity first as deviant and then as a criminal. The article also discusses the role of confession as a tool of the modern state to alter the subjectivity of its subject. The methodology applied in this article is textual analysis. The findings of the research are that deviance and illegality are nothing in themselves but are constructed by structures of power. It explores how deviance is defined by society and illegality by the state. The research article highlights the factors that transform the protagonist from a deviant into a criminal.