Doubles in Fight Club and Cofer's The Other
In the current age of technology and capitalism, many people get caught up in trying to define their individuality with mass produced goods. In David Fincher's movie Fight Club, the narrator, who is commonly referred to as Jack, invents an alter ego to serve as a source of substance in the hallow world of corporate America. This alter ego, named Tyler Durden, is portrayed as a completely psychologically and physically separate being throughout the movie. The inherent polarity in personality between these two personas proves to be a crucial point of interaction between the two characters, and is the basis for most of the action in the movie. Thus, Fight Club depicts the necessity for a balance between the passive and aggressive aspects of the human psyche, which parallels the main theme and insights that are illustrated in Judith Cofer's "The Other."
Jack is "a twentysomething wage slave" of the late 20th century who bases his identity in his material possessions (Smith 58). The scene in his apartment where he discusses the type of things that he owns illustrates this point, and shows that he thinks he can find happiness and identity in these items. As he walks through the apartment it is portrayed as an Ikea catalog with his possessions having product descriptions and prices underneath them. This illustrates the fact that Jack is trying to find happiness through materialism, which proves to be a very hollow lifestyle to partake in and serves as the main catalyst for the creation of Tyler.
Although not as apparently driven by materialism to the extent that Jack is, but equally as conventional, the narrator of "The Other" is ver...
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...er into a life less constrained by professionalism and decorum. However, in both instances, a balance is needed between the two personas. In Fight Club, the struggle is resolved when Jack beats Tyler at his own game by learning to not fear death and to live life to the fullest; however, there is no such ending in "The Other" and the struggle is left for us to resolve.
Works Cited
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. "The Other." Dreams and Inward Journeys. 3rd Ed. Eds. Marjorie Ford & John Ford. New York: Longman, 1988. 363-364.
Crowdus, Gary. "Getting Exercised Over Fight Club." Cineaste 25.4 (2000): 46-.
Fight Club. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter. Digital Video Disc. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2000.
Smith, Gavin. "Inside Out." Film Comment 35.5 (1999): 58-68.
Jack’s conformity follows him to work as he becomes a doormat. His socialization is confined to the limits of his cubicle with the only exception being when he is on business trips. During flights he develops relationships with the passengers around him. This is not done out of a real honesty for a conversation, but out of a need to fill a void, a loneliness, a lack of self-worth. His life is full of “single serving friends”, car crashes, and wishes of an eventful death because the monotony of his life gives him strict boundaries to live by. His...
Philo allegorizes Leah and Rachel in several related ways in his works (cf. Sly, 163-74). At one point he identifies Rachel with bodily beauty, ...
Even though Skinner made a name for himself through his scientific endeavors, his novel Walden Two displays his literary training and knowledge. By using the metaphor of the sheep to further explain the lives of Walden Two members in an enriching and scholarly way, Skinner manages to weave science and art together. His ability to enforce the ideas of positive reinforcement, acceptance of roles, and the politics of the Walden Code through the simplicity of a flock of sheep shows his literary merit. Skinner proves that he is not only a scientist, but a writer as well.
Tyler’s failure as a businessperson and his overall frustration with the societal functions in the United States led him to conform to regular societal norms. Jack Moore, a contrasting character, who suffers from insomnia as a result of frustration with a standardized and plain lifestyle. Both Jack and Tyler eventually conform from society through different avenues, each with unique and contrasting impacts on their lives. Jack and Tyler engage in co...
Lyons, Oliver, and Bill Bonnie. "An Interview with Tobias Wolff." Contemporary Literature. 31.1 (1990): 1-16. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
“In philosophy, or religion, or ethics, or politics, two and two might make five, but when one was designing a gun or an aeroplane they had to make four” (Orwell 250). Winston lives in a time where a set of rules preventing him to be free are imposed on him – the Party defines what freedom is and is not. “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows (Orwell 103)”. Winston expresses his views on The Party within his diary even though he knows it is not accepted by The Party or the Thought Police. The narrator in Fight Club uses fighting as a form of escapism from his anti-consumerist ideologies revealed by his alter-ego, Tyler Durden. “Fuck off with your sofa units and strine green stripe patterns. I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let’s evolve—let the chips fall where they may. (Fight Club)” Tyler urges the narrator to stop conforming to consumerist-imposed views of perfection and break barriers to evolve. Tyler and the narrator create a medium for people in similar positions to escape from societal bound norms; it is aptly named “Fight Club”. In comparison, both Tyler Durden and the narrator from Fight Club and Winston Smith from 1984 share
Kreise, Steven. “Lectures on Ancient and Medieval History”. The History Guide. August 13, 1999. November 12, 1999. http://www.pagesz.net/%7Estevek/ancient/lecture20b.html
Two years after Skinner’s birth, his brother Edward Skinner was born. The Skinner brothers kept themselves out of trouble in the railroad town of two thousand people by experimenting in building things out of makeshift materials. A couple things that the boys built were a shack in the woods, and a cart with an opposite direction steering wheel. Skinner would use these skills later on in his life. Skinner also occupied his time by writing short stories and novels. At the age of nine, Skinner joined the Junior Boy Scouts where he experienced camping, and learning how to be ind...
Fight Club is a novel written by Chuck Palahniuk. This is a story about a protagonist who struggles with insomnia. An anonymous character suffering from recurring insomnia due to the stress brought about by his job is introduced to the reader. He visits a doctor who later sends him to visit a support group for testicular cancer victims, and this helps him in alleviating his insomnia. However, his insomnia returns after he meets Marla Singer. Later on, the narrator meets Tyler Durden, and they together establish a fight club. They continue fighting until they attract crowds of people interested in the fight club. Fight club is a story that shows the struggles between the upper class and lower class people. The upper class people here undermine the working class people by considering them as cockroaches. In addition, Palahniuk explores the theme of destruction throughout the book whereby the characters destroy their lives, body, building and the history of their town.
The Fight Club, directed by David Fincher, constructs an underground world of men fighting with one and other to find the meaning to their lives. Ed Norton and Brad Pitt are the main characters who start the fight club. They make a set of rules in which everyone must follow.
Fight Club. Novel by Chuck Palahniuk. Screenplay by Jim Uhls. Dir. David Fincher. 1999. 20th Century Fox, 2002. DVD.
Fight Club is the film adaptation of the novel written by Chuck Palahniuk. This film portrays the life of a thirty year old insomniac, office worker and the alter ego he creates to escape the struggles of everyday life. Themes of isolation, masculinity and consumer culture are all present throughout the film, making the main character a very relatable figure for those emerged in the “average joe” life.
Tomkins, Stephen. A Short History of Christianity. 1st ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006)
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Ancient Egypt was a civilization of rich culture, advanced techniques, and societal prosperity. Depending heavily on the Nile River for its resources, Egypt often found itself with an abundance of crops. This surplus was much to thank for the peace among Egypt’s society, without the lack of material, there was no need for disputing among themselves or other civilizations. Egypt was well organized, and utilized a monarchical government system that was influenced by their religious ideals and beliefs, as well as implementing roles for women in the society. The success of Ancient Egypt took hold for many years, and grew to become a model for the surrounding societies and groups.