Fight Club Chapter 6

In Chapter 6 of Palahniuk's "Fight Club", the narrator discusses the rules and the origin of Fight Club. Throughout this chapter the idea of masculinity is present. It can be suggested that the narrator prides himself on being his own man, and not in any way like his rarely talked about father. "Fight club gets to be your reason for going to the gym and keeping your hair cut short and cutting your nails. The gyms you go to are crowded with guys trying to look like men, as if being a man means looking the way a sculptor or an art director says" (41-42). Fight club seemed to be somewhat therapeutic to the men that participated in it. Tyler Durden and the narrator are somewhat controversial in the eyes of a woman because of the way they act, speak, and carry themselves. It is evident that the narrator has genuine "gentlemen like" qualities, unlike Tyler Durden. Tyler Durden challenges the narrator's views and aspects on life by making him feel like what he is doing is not what a "man" would do. In different parts of the book, it seems as if Tyler Durden is the father-figure in the narrator's life. "A man is potent and virile because of his contribution to his progeny was greater than that of a woman" (Marafioti 250). The idea of being a man and masculinity is a dominant theme not only in chapter 6 of the novel, it is in fact dominant throughout the whole novel. "Manliness requires not just what we would now consider virile characteristics associated with the possession of a penis, but also and more specifically a man's visualization of that power through the procreation and generation of new life" (Marafioti 251). Going to fight club makes the men feel like men. "Most guys are at fight club because of something they're too scared to fight. After a few fights, you're afraid a lot less" (45). Fight club is where the men in the novel go to portray the manly side of themselves amongst other men.

Summary

The narrator has a black eye from fighting in Fight Club. He is supposed to be doing a presentation but his boss will not let him present because of his appearance. His boss and a consultant from Microsoft ask what happen to him, but he can’t talk about Fight Club. In this chapter we learn the rules of Fight Club, and we also learn the reason why the men fight in Fight Club. We also learn how the first Fight Club originated. It was discovered by the narrator and Tyler. We then find out that the men lack a father figure in their lives when they were younger boys, so they feel lost and without guidance in the world. “The reasons for man destruction behavior can be traced to his physical vulnerability and his innate subconscious feeling of insignificance” (Marshall 75). When a man grows up without a father it makes them feels unwanted. Men tend to think that it is their faults their father left in the beginning. It is a fact that “delinquents are more likely to come from father-absents home” (Lamb 28). This is why the narrator makes up Tyler. Tyler father never taught him how to succeed in life and he also did not teach Tyler any manners. Tyler knew what was right and what was wrong, but he had a care-free attitude about life. He did what he wanted and did not care if anybody got hurt in the process. Studies that are shown by “Roger and Long’s (1968) data also suggest that boys whose fathers are away for long periods of time have difficulties in their masculine development” (Lamb 494). Men tend to take on femine traits that they learn from their mother. The narrator shows evidence in the book when he talks about cleaning his condominium. To solve this problem they fight other men. Both Tyler and the narrator feel like self-destruction and not self-improvement is the only way to remove the pain that they are feeling and hopefully they will become better men. “Contemporary man has fulfilled his evolutionary purpose, but his obsession with destruction has become counterproductive to survival of human life on this planet” (Marshall 31). The men in Fight Club need to fight to feel alive.

Notes

Black eye- Bruises from fighting in Fight Club.

Ellen, Walter, Norbet and Linda- consultant from Microsoft

Microsoft- A Computer Company

Fight Club- The club that Tyler and the narrator form for men to fight each other, so they feel like they are something in his life.

Mona Lisa- A painting by Leonardo da Vinci

1st Rule of Fight Club- Is you don’t talk about Fight Club.

2nd Rule of Fight Club- Is you don’t talk about Fight Club.

3rd Rule of Fight Club- Two men per fight.

4th Rule of Fight Club- One fight at a time.

5th Rule of Fight Club- No shoes/ No shirts.

6th Rule of Fight Club- Fight goes on as long as they have to.

7th Rule of Fight Club- If this is you first night at fight club, you have to fight.

Roundhouse- A punch

Marla Singer- The woman that stole his support group, and he falls in love with her.

Study Guide Questions

1. Why do the men need Fight Club?

2. What is the profession of the narrator?

3. Why does the narrator have stitches in his mouth?

4. What are the rules of Fight Club?

5. Why did Tyler want the narrator to hit him?

6. Who was Tyler fighting when he was fighting in Fight Club?

Works Cited

-Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. New York, 1996.

-Marafioti, Martin. The Manly Masquerade: Masculinity, Paternity, and Castration in the Italian Renaissance. Baltimore, 2006.

-Marshall, Tim. Man's Greatest Fear The Final Phase of Human Evolution. United States of America: Tim Marshall, 1995.

-Lamb, Michael E. The Role of The Father In Child Development. Canada: A Wiley-Interscience Publication, 1981.