Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

Without a doubt, certain people in the world feel like they need to change themselves in order to content the people around them. Consequently, they are forced to make decisions that they do not desire and become overwhelmed by the fact that they have blinded themselves to see who they really are. Because of the ongoing judgment society places upon us, it pressures one to alter their mindset and change the way they act. There are instances of “choking” which symbolize being vanquished by the fact that the people revolving around you are pressuring the choices you make. In the novel, Choke, Chuck Palahniuk highlights the recurring theme of feeling “choked” by society’s expectations and it results in a loss of identity and direction. This is evident when Victor Mancini, a medical dropout who becomes a sex addict, is affected by this and throughout, he constantly tries to adapt to the thoughts of the outside world continually attacking him. It is apparent that Victor feels “choked” by other people’s perception of him through his conversations with his mother, his concepts he creates for choking in restaurants, and the effects of his sex addictions.

The first illustration that suggests Victor Mancini is “choked” by society is through his conversations with his ill mother, Ida Mancini, who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at St. Anthony’s hospital. Victor is occasionally viewed as being Fred Hastings, a completely different person to whom his mother sees him as because of her loss of memory. Thus, she expresses most of her personal thoughts to him. Throughout his visits, Victor is not too delighted to hear the things his mother says about him. For example, Ida says, “He’s dropped out of medical school and is making a big mess ou...

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...ith a view of the lives of these students. “We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all.” (260). This quote reveals that not all of society is ignorant to these clones, and those who personally interact with them are able to see how immoral their existence truly is. Unfortunately, to most of the public, the idea of their existence being a cure for many deadly diseases, overrules the concept of their unjust treatment. “ There was a lot of support for our movement back then… before we knew it all out hard work had come undone… people did their best not to think about you.”(262 – 263). Even after the public revelations of the clones’ lives is exposed, and sympathy towards them starts to grow, people quickly change their minds and choose to ignore them, leaving them defenceless.