Perfection In Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club

     The tone established in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is unusual in that from the beginning to the end the focus has been shifted. In the beginning of the narrative Douglass seems to fulfill every stereotypical slavery theme. He is a young black slave who at first cannot read and is very naïve in understanding his situation. As a child put into slavery Douglass does not have the knowledge to know about his surroundings and the world outside of slavery. In Douglass’ narrative the tone is first set as that of an observer, however finishing with his own personal accounts.

The essay goes into great detail of his relationship with his father. He describes his father as cruel (65), bitter (65), and beautiful (64). He does mention the bad in length. On the flip side, he tells us some of the good as well. Throughout his storytelling, the reader gets a glimpse into his life and the way he feels. His feelings evolve during the extent of the essay.

The narrator though an educator, is not very good at verbalizing his emotions. He tends to be the person who keeps everything inside

Tyler is a nihilist because he does not believe in the value of friendship or loyalty. Tyler's main drive is to destroy the narrator's life. Tyler has not emotional connection to people, and he also has no regrets. He, eventually, forces this philosophy onto the narrator and thereby transforms him into Tyler Durden. In the first chapters of the novel, it is difficult to distinguish the narrator and Tyler because of the effect that Tyler had on the narrator's personality. Tyler emphasizes this point when he says, “I used to be a nice person” (Palahniuk 98). Eventually, Tyler destroys the narrator's humanity and pulls him from the senses that control societal actions.

As an audience, throughout the film it is evident that there is a significant contrast between the narrator and Tyler as they view many things differently. Just like the Fight Club and the IKEA furniture, the narrator becomes obsessed with Tyler and the life he leads. When Tyler is first introduced as a passenger on the airplane, the narrator is immediately drawn to him in a way that is different than any other person he has met. He feels a connection with him that he has not felt before, which is why he calls him when his apartment burns and he loses all of his important IKEA furniture. Tyler tells him it’s “just stuff” (Fight Club) and “the things you own end up owning you” (Fight Club), which completely contradicts everything the narrator had previously believed about his home and the furniture. Through Tyler, the narrator starts to lose his need for material objects when Tyler tells him “Fuck off with your sofa units and strine green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let... let’s evolve, let the chips fall where they may” (Fight Club), instead he focuses on the fighting and his friendship with Tyler since he has finally found something that fills the void in his life and gives it meaning. Though it may seem abstract that Tyler would fit into this argument, it all comes together at the end of the film when the audience finds

Throughout the narration, Douglass has tried to maintain the flow using the techniques of realism and irony in order to present his themes. The reader can observe his helplessness for misery of the slaves from the quoted incidents. For example in the very first chapter, Douglass recalls the incident of his Aunt Hester who is

But where the story began to take a turn was when Marla, the woman that he met in the support groups, called and stated she was in the process of committing suicide. He pretty much blew her off when Tyler took the initiative to go to her apartment where he becomes her coping mechanism by using sex. But while the narrator (Edward) thinks that he is having some sort of nightmare not understanding it is actual reality. Then noticing the tension between the two the narrator states that they Marla and Tyler remind him of his parent because he never sees them in the same place at once. The only time that they spent in the same room was during sexual intercourse. He narrator was jealous because of the way he felt for Marla, but just too afraid to express it because she was already sleeping with Tyler. This is why the tension was so high.

The tone established in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is unusual in that from the beginning to the end the focus has been shifted. In the beginning of the narrative Douglass seems to fulfill every stereotypical slavery theme. He is a young black slave who at first cannot read and is very naïve in understanding his situation. As a child put into slavery Douglass does not have the knowledge to know about his surroundings and the world outside of slavery. In Douglass' narrative the tone is first set as that of an observer, however finishing with his own personal accounts.

Society has become addicted to achieving perfection. Its precedence can be seen in every aspect of life from sports to appearance. The illusion of human perfection motivates great feats yet it can also be the cause of infamous failures. Famous coach and commonly quoted motivator John Wooden once said “Perfection is impossibility but striving for perfect is not. Do the best you can. That is what counts.” Working for an idea or belief that is unreachable or in some cases may not even exist seems futile, but the success of the attempt does not outweigh the presence of the effort. The idea of perfection is unachievable because everything has flaws, but the path to perfection is walkable. In his

The narrator, in an attempt to foil the plans “Project Mayhem” had set into place, turns himself in to the authorities. This however, is a feeble attempt, leaving him by himself to fix the problem. The narrator then finds the plans that Tyler had drafted and calls the targeted companies. After exhausting all possible options,

His second epiphany occurs when he shoots Tyler, and thus himself. On the first level, the narrator acknowledges his death instincts by confronting his fear of pain and death. He accepts Tyler’s ideas of experiencing death so as to be fully conscious of his physical existence. When he shoots Tyler, he does so with the awareness that he is shooting himself. This is the final step he needs to take in order to be fully aware of what he is. On the second level, by rejecting Tyler’s nihilistic ideas of destroying institutions and value systems, he chooses what values to stand for and thus creates his own purpose for himself. “In choosing his ethics, Man makes himself.” He also translates the belief in these values into the actual action of shooting Tyler, thus defining his existence through actual action. On the third level, by shooting Tyler, he assumes responsibility for all of Man, not just himself. He assumes responsibility for Man because he invents what Man should be: one who does not act in an uncaring and destructive manner towards others. On the fourth level, shooting Tyler allows the narrator to be defined in a way he wishes to be defined in the eyes of the “other”. Shooting Tyler is crucial towards removing the existence of Project Mayhem. He does not want Marla to find out about Project Mayhem because he will then lose his connections with her. It is important to the narrator to have a

Nonetheless, the Narrator begins to fall back into his old habits and his life is once again a disappointment. When traveling on a plane for work, he meets a soap salesman, Tyler Durden. The soap he makes is constructed by stolen fat from human liposuction clinics, which shows a glimpse of the corruption in Tyler Durden’s personality. The zeal, power, and confidence immediately attract the Narrator to Tyler. He feels drawn to Tyler and is constantly trying to grasp

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

Fight Club is a unique film that has many different interpretations consisting of consumerist culture, social norms, and gender roles. However, this film goes deeper and expresses a Marxist ideology throughout; challenging the ruling upper-class and a materialist society. The unnamed narrator, played by Ed Norton, represents the materialist society; whereas Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt, represents the person challenging the controlling upper-class. Karl Marx believed that the capitalist system took advantage of workers, arguing that the interests of the upper-class class conflicted with that of the common worker. Marx and Durden share the same views about the upper-class oppressing the materialist, common worker. By interpreting Fight Club through a Marist lens, the viewer is able to realize the negative effects a capitalist society has on the common worker by seeing the unnamed narrator’s unfulfilled and material driven life in contrast to the fulfilling life of Durden who challenges the upper-class. The unnamed narrator initially fuels the upper-class dominated society through his materialistic and consumeristic tendencies; however, through the formation of his alter ego—Durden—the unnamed narrator realizes the detriment he is causing to himself and society. He then follows the guide of Durden’s and Marx’s views and rectifies his lifestyle by no longer being reliant on materials. Also by forming fight club, which provides an outlet, for himself and the common worker,

Perfection is a deadly sickness. It is a wicked plague which clouds the mind, destroys focus, and eliminates any value you may hold for yourself. We are all told that perfectionism is, well, perfect. A flawless way to live where you make no mistakes, avoid any challenges, and are loved and cherished by everyone around you. But this cruel mindset is like a collar that chokes fun and kills passion, constricting joy and creativity in favor of the one and only best decision. The decision that will get you perfect grades, a perfect reputation, and nary an ounce of criticism. Now, while this might seem good, I can tell you for sure that it’s not. How? Because I’ve tried it.