Tyler, the Working Man’s Champion, or Tyler, the Fraud?

Deconstructing Fight Club

 

 

  1. Introduction

       
The overt project of Palahniuk’s novel is to attack two main ideologies: consumerism (the belief that shopping till we drop is the basis for meaning and happiness), and the American Dream (the belief that, in America, the individual is free, financial success is always the result of hard work and initiative, and upward mobility is available to all). However, scrutiny of the book’s gaps and contradictions reveals that, in fact, it supports the very ideologies it purports to despise.

 

  1. Background

Consumerism: definition: _______________________.

The American Dream definition: _______________________.

 

  1. Proof

    1. The novel on the surface seems to question two important ideologies.

      1. Consumerism:

        1. Jack’s unhappiness at beginning, despite all of his consumer purchases
        2. Tyler’s destruction of Jack’s apartment
        3. The low-maintenance and stolen house Tyler sets up
        4. Tyler’s speeches throughout

      2.  The American Dream:

        1. Tyler mocks and sabatoges the upper class
        2. Tyler’s speeches throughout

    2. The novel in fact undermines its own project and winds up supporting the very beliefs it wants to challenge.

      1. Consumerism

        1. Tyler’s organization is capitalist

      2. The American Dream

        1. Tyler’s organization is a class hierarchy
        2. Tyler’s organization is a form of entrapment
        3. Tyler’s organization allows for no protest or disagreement

 

  1. Acknowledgement and Refutation of Counter Views

 

    1. Even though the soap business is capitalist, isn't it a way of mocking capitalism?
      1. Yes, but _______________________. (It uses the thing it hates to make its point.)

    2. Isn't fight club completely voluntary?
      1. Sure, and yet __________________________. (Jack is nearly killed trying to challenge the order and escape!)

    3. Isn't everyone (or at least, everyone below Tyler) equal?
      1. Maybe, but _______________________________. (Tyler is still master of all rules, has celebrity status, is unquestioned)

  1. Conclusion: Implications and Amplification

 

    1. We need to be cautious and critical of any supposedly radical or alternative ideologies.

    2. Leaders of all persuasions must be questioned.

    3. All texts are unstable, and we need to be cautious about assigning fixed or absolute meaning to any work of literature.