Welcome
In the last few weeks we have been reading the book “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk. In the book Fight Club the main character Tyler Durden starts up these weekly bar fights after closing hours called referred to as. Fight Club, is a place where people are not they are in their everyday lives. It is a place for various people (mainly men) to escape from the outside world and relieve their stress. Fight Club quickly grows, and expands to different cities all over the nation, which Tyler Durden is the founder of . In the book, the main character Tyler Durden believes that one must lose everything and hit rock bottom in order to attain and become a better, more successful person. He goes to many extremes in order to achieve this and to “feel alive”. He comes to near death experiences in order to get these feelings. Although Tyler gets the feelings that he has been looking for, I do not think that he goes about doing things the most ethical or logical way.
Throughout the entire book, Tyler Dyrden does many different extreme things to get attention in any way that he can. These things vary from peeing in soup at a party, threatening to cut the police chiefs balls off, chopping up film and adding nude snippets into them for split seconds etc. Generally speaking most people, don't go out of their way to try and get attention by doing such odd actions. Tyler even says in the book “Unless we have God's attention, we have no hope of damnation or redemption. Which is worse, hell or nothing? Only if we’re caught and punished can we be saved.” (141). Tyler Durden's way of thinking is that you need to act up or make a scene even if it's a bad thing in order to get someone, in this case God’s attention. I completely disagree with this radial mindset. Just because you may not be getting the immediate attention you want for the time being does not mean that God or anyone else is not watching or paying attention to you. You do not have to do bad things in order to be recognized, people are noticed every day for doing positive things. Positive things such as helping others, or helping yourself; whether it may be volunteering at your local church or taking care of your body by exercising.
Personally I believe that God is always looking after all of his children. Being a disruptive and destructive presence only gets you noticed in a negative way; and this is not a good look for your image. If you are known for only doing bad things like vandalizing, stealing, or causing a big scene such as a fight you people will not view you in a positive light. God acknowledges all of his children in a unique way. Therefore Tyler Durden is incorrect when he says that God only notices him for his bad actions. I know that even though what you do whether it may be a good or right thing to do may seem like it’s going unnoticed it is not. Someone whether it may be a teacher, a coach a family member, or even God is always watching us. God just gives us the choice to make a good or bad decision and it is up to us to decide what is right.
Towards the beginning of the story, Tyler is on his way back from work as he is thinking about all of the items in his apartment. He reflects on how all of these items took him his entire life to buy these piece of furniture that fill his apartment. As he is reflecting on these items he begins to come to a realization that all of these things are materialistic and he has them just because everyone he knows has these specific items. Tyler then says to himself. “Then you’re trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you” (44). When Tyler says this he is making the comparison that although you may have purchased these items they now run your life. Like Annie Leonard refers to in the text “The Story of Stuff” these materialistic things are what suck us into consumer culture. The media, advertises that we must have these certain items and that our life without them won't be as great. These ads have a domino effect, they not only affect individuals but those individuals go off and relay the message to other people how they must have the biggest and best thing next. This quote correlates exactly with what Annie Leonard is trying to get across in “The Story of Stuff”. She believes that what our problem in our american consumer society is that we get sucked into buying and wanting these things that we really don't need, just because everyone else has/wants them.
This directly, refers to the work watch spend treadmill Annie Leonard was to referring to in the story of stuff. In “The Story of Stuff” Leonard touches on people are always worried about what everyone else has and what society says you should have. This is not a good thing, because the items do end up “owning you” because you feel as if you have to have these materialistic things when in reality you don't. Unlike Tyler Durden I do not fall into this work watch spend treadmill like most of our society does. For myself making a large purchase such as a few furniture pieces I, have to really really want to know or need the item. I am not like Tyler Durden in the sense that I need to keep up with the latest and greatest things that everyone has. This quote also touches on the article in Fight Club draws techies for bloody underground beatdown. In the article one of the interviewees says “We have to go to work every day. We're constantly told to buy things we don't need, and just for a couple hours we have the freedom to do what we want to do” In the consumer culture of Tyler's life, the objects he purchases’ such as his furniture don't do much for him. They don't make him feel satisfied or accomplished. All it shows it that since he works he has the ability to buy and is supposed to make him happy. In order maintain this idea of completeness, Tyler believes that has to continue working because he needs the money in order to keep up with this lifestyle he is reaching for.
Another thing that I do not agree with Tyler Durden in the book is on how he goes about certain situations. Often more times than not Tyler finds an extreme way to get his point across. In one particular scene of the book, Tyler is a server at Madam's party and is does various things that are not part of the social norm. During the beginning of the Party Tyler takes the soup that is being served and begins to pee in the soup. At all of these parties that Tyler serves he does these peculiar things for his own enjoyment such as farting near the bread so the odor sinks into it. Later in the party Tyler gives the host Madam a note. In the note reads “‘I have passed an amount of urine in at least one of your many fragrances.” (82). Once Madam reads this she instantly panics. As Madam is going through her many fragrances, Tyler then reveals that he actually did no pee in any of her perfume bottles. Turns out he just did it as a sick joke. She begins going through all of her perfume bottles to make sure that no one comes in contact with them. She becomes hysterical and begins breaking all of the perfume bottles. This leads to severe bleeding from Madam. Tyler does this because Madam is so wealthy and believes that these rich people are ungrateful and does this because he finds it amusing. Tyler does even act upon his feelings in the first place. All he did was cause a huge fiasco and got people injured. In society you cannot just do things like this, it is not ethical and in reality would have larger consequences to it.
Another subject that Tyler touches base on is the idea of hitting rock bottom. We come across this idea in the book when Tyler is making soap one day. The reasoning for Tyler behind hitting rock bottom in the story is that in order to become free you need to lose everything. He says “'It's only after you've lost everything," Tyler says, "that you're free to do anything.'" (69)
In Tyler's use of the term, he means it more as reaching the absolute self. Being able to hit Rock bottom is reaching one's pure being. Once you have taken one's: property, ideas and thoughts, they can let go of all urges and become free. I completely disagree with his mentality because you do not need to lose everything in order to achieve or discover oneself. Personally for I do not believe that dropping out of school and living life by doing extreme gestures to get a rush a a feeling of “ life” is the way to go.
For myself, I know that if I go to school, and become successful later in life. There is no need to be destructive in order to find that. I am a self motivated young woman who strives for more. I am blessed to be in the position that I am right now. My twin sister and I are the first girls in my family to go to a university. In addition to that I have been so lucky to receive a $15,000 a year scholarship through my dad's union that he is a part of. To me giving up all that I have achieved to reach “rock bottom” is absolutely foolish for me. Some people aren’t able to even make it this far or even have these opportunities. Tyler Durden's radical way of thinking is not applicable to me because why are you going to give up something great if you already have it.
All in all through reading the book it was interesting to see how Tyler Durden approached different situations. Although Tyler may have gotten the outcome that he was looking for it does not mean that his actions throughout the story should be justified. There can always be a better way of going about things rather than Tylers radical way of thinking. Especially when it comes to his concept of reaching rock bottom, you do not have to give up everything in order to achieve something.
Works Cited
Leonard, Annie. The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health--and a Vision for Change. New York: Free, 2010. Print.
Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
Fight Club Draws Techies for Bloody Underground Beatdowns. USA Today, 9 May 2006. Web. 30 Dec. 2015.