ENGL 115W Study Guide - Final Guide: Gynecomastia, Testicular Cancer, Masculinity
27 Apr 2018
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Violence and Masculinity in îFight Club
îThroughout Chuck Palahniukâs novel îFight Club
î
, violence and masculinity are
interconnected themes that influence the actions of the narrator, as well as his alter-ego, Tyler
Durden. Tyler creates fight club, which becomes a way in which he expresses his frustration and
dissatisfaction as an emasculated man in an effeminized society. It is only through violence and
pain that disenfranchised men like him are able to escape from the superficiality and femininity
of a world defined by consumerism, allowing them to reassert their masculinity. However, when
fight club is replaced by Project Mayhem, the narrator discovers that excessive violence is
ultimately too destructive, eviscerating society of a sense of morality. îFight Club
î
shows that
although violence may be employed to temporarily resolve feelings of emasculation, the
acceptance of both masculinity and femininity, as well as the elimination of the perception that
society is becoming increasingly feminine, serve as more effective solutions to the problem.
At the beginning of the novel, âRemaining Men Together,â the testicular cancer support
group that the narrator regularly visits, reflects Tylerâs view of a society in which men no longer
have âballsâ - a society in which men are deprived of their masculine identities (21). At
Remaining Men Together, the narrator meets Bob, who, after having his testicles removed and
developing breasts due to his bodyâs increased estrogen levels, goes bankrupt and is left with
âtwo grown kids who wouldnât return his callsâ (22). The disconnection of him from his family
displays the extent in which emasculation can negatively affect men and suggests that following
emasculation is a declining lifestyle. These series of events also contribute to the narratorâs fear
that the increased feminization of a society will lead to its downfall. By crying and taking
comfort in Bob, who has âbitch titsâ in addition to being surrounded by castrated men - men who
symbolize a physical loss of masculinity - the narrator reveals that there is feminine aspect of his
character and therefore, the feminization of society has influenced him.
The narratorâs indulgence as a consumer further amplifies his femininity. As part of a
generation without âa great war⌠or a great depression,â his great war being âa war of the spiritâ
and his âgreat depressionâ being his life,â the narrator turns to consumerism to measure his
worth. (149). He is particularly concerned with the state of his condominium, ensuring that
everything from the rug and the sofa to the dishes are perfect. Even those who had previously sat
with pornography look through IKEA furniture catalogues instead, suggesting society has not
only become increasingly consumerist, but also more feminine. His material wealth eventually
fails to satisfy him and as a result, his emptiness partially results from his disillusionment with
his material wealth, which has rendered him powerless: âI felt trapped. I was too complete. I was
too perfectâ (173). This, along with Marla Singerâs feminine presence at support group meetings,
which threaten to bring the narrator back to the reality he desperately wants to escape, cause him
to create an alter ego who is âfunny and charming and forceful and independentâ and looked up
to by men who âexpect him to change their worldâ (174). This alter ego - Tyler Durden - is the
epitome of masculinity and a manifestation of the narratorâs perception of an ideal man, formed
in an attempt by the narrator to detach himself from what he perceives as an overly feminine
society.
Throughout the novel, Tyler expresses his hatred of the emasculated society he lives in -
one that is defined by consumerism and physical beauty. As displayed by Bob, who had been
immersed in a world of consumption and entrapped in its rigid masculine ideals, the significance
society places on consumption and beauty only leaves men stripped of their masculinity and
