Fight Club Chapter 5

Chapter Summary

Our narrator is en route, by plane, from Virginia to his condominium. Packing the bare minimum, he lands to find his bag detained at Dulles having been found vibrating by throwers. Arriving at his condo, the narrator is to hear that a massive explosion took place during his travels. Everything he owned is demolished, save the items in his suitcase (six sets of clothing, an alarm, razor, and toothbrush). The narrator then proceeds to call and meet with Tyler Durden for drinks and advice. There he is instructed, by Tyler, to hit him as hard as he can.

Terms

• Throwers/Rampers - baggage handlers
• Space Waitress/Air Mattress - flight attendants

Masculinity Abstract

Loss of Masculinity

"The American Dream and the concept of success play central roles in American depictions of male accomplishment and masculinity in contemporary American culture" (Tuss 93). Which is to say that what is made power, through culture, is masculine; when possessing what others see as their own end goal, you are holding in essence a phallic symbol. This leaves room for error, when the ideals of power diverge from physical and mental prowess, to compassion and sensitivity.

Review of two key quotes in this chapter share the thoughts of those viewed by Tuss on the topic of masculinty:

"And I wasn't the only slave to my nesting instinct. The people I know who used to sit in the bathroom with pornography, now they sit in the bathroom with their IKEA furniture catalogue." (Palahniuk 33).

"If you don't know what you want," the doorman said, " you end up with a lot you don't." (Palahniuk 36).

The above quotes do corrolate with Tuss in that the narrator's shows a blind worship for an outside definition of success. He talks with almost baited breath of his quilts, blown glass, cutlery, and other decor items. The doorman's direct stab at the narrator reeks of an older, more stable approach to masculinity. There is an implied "I told you so" which represents the old masculine code bucking the new system of ownership.

Regaining Masculinity

Another excerpt from Tuss says of Durden: "... Return to plague their inventors, the cultures and value systems that shape them." (95).

This applies to all men now seeking masculinity. There is a need to take back the phallic symbol of ownership since the current system leaves no man capable of Palahniuk's definition of masculinity. Making your own way, an original path through any scenario, is becoming increasingly difficult. This is why, when asking Tyler for direction, he is told to punch Tyler as hard as he can. The culture's element of power - currency - is held by instituions who aren't willing to release their grasp. The only other choice would be to take it.

Works Cited

Tuss, Alex. "Masculine Identity and Success: A Critical Analysis of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley and Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club." The Journal of Men's Studies 12(2004): 93-102.

Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. New York, New York: W.W.Norton & Company,Inc.,1996.