Psychopaths will never be a person's friend, but they will always remember who that person is and how they can benefit from knowing them. The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe is a novel about a delinquent boy growing up in a small Irish town in the 1960s. Francie Brady, the twelve-year-old boy, has a father who abuses alcohol and his wife and a suicidal mother . Francie has a best friend, Joe, who comes from a similar background, allowing them to have a lot in common, including their interest in terrorizing their peers and the town. The Butcher Boy is the story of a psychopath seen through Francie's vengeful actions. Throughout the novel, Francie is subjected to sexual abuse and delusions, convincing him that revenge is the appropriate solution to his bottled anger. Francie seeks revenge by choking Joe, stabbing the priest, and killing and massacring Mrs. Nugent. Although psychopaths cannot feel remorse, Francie is in the early stages of his murders and will be seen moving forward with each incident. Francie runs away one day and when he returns he finds that his mother has committed suicide and Joe, his best friend, tells Francie that it is because he ran away. Mrs. Nugent, a neighbor of the Bradys, thinks she is superior to them. His common comment towards them is to call them "pigs". Mrs. Nugent has a son, Phillip, whom Francie and Joe taunt into stealing her comics, but Joe becomes angry when Francie resorts to a physical solution to obtain Phillip's comics: "You must swear by the blood of the Apache that you will never approach him again! (PAGE). The bond between Joe and Francie is quite close and Joe generally puts up with Francie's shenanigans. Mrs. Nugent has a rich and sophisticated family and because Francie does not, Mrs. Nugent tra...... middle of paper ...... uses and shoots Mrs. Nugent with the butcher gun in the head . He cuts it into pieces and writes "PIG" in the rooms upstairs with its interior. He puts her body in his cart and returns to the butchery. The police catch up with him and he gives in to the spot where he left Mrs. Nugent's body. “When I was young, 20, 30, 40 years ago, I lived in a small town, where they were all coming after me because of what I did to Mrs. Nugent. If she hadn't put her nose between me and Joe, everything would have been fine." (PAGE). Francie, as the eldest, has no shame in what he did and he rejoices as he recounts his story to those who have the courage. Francie Brady has no remorse and goes beyond the mind of a sane human Francie has become a psychopath, unleashing his inner madness The Butcher Boy is a novel about the making of a. psychopath through Francie's vengeful actions..