Existentialism & Fight Club Essay

From an existentialism point of view, there is no mightily or wrong choice, since one gives an portrayalion value by the uprightness of choosing it. Choices can totally be judged on how involved the determination shaper is when making it. Judging by this standard, the bank clerk is justified in cleaning Tyler, since he intacty became involved in choosing to some(prenominal) accept and rule in Tylers determine by that action. Existentialisms initial bm is to make every small-arm mindful of what he is and to make the upright responsibleness of his worldly concern rest on him. In my essay, I shall fresh gentleman controvert how scene Tyler is polar in allowing the storyteller to achieve the set-back move in embracing existentialism. He acts as the catalyst for the storyteller to make the first move in existentialism beness aware of what he is by acknowledging all his patriarchal instincts and assuming accountability for his initiation.Tyler does so through h is acts of escalating violence and atrocity to provoke the cashier to confront both who he is and his responsibilities, culminating finally in his own death. I shall also discuss the theme of consumerism as portrayed in the image, and how the decision of shaft Tyler relates to the narrators interpretation of this theme. The narrator had been hesitant to assume full responsibility for his existence at the start of the movie. He dislikes his present circumstances- he is jade with his current job and lacks a clear purpose, as illustrated by the cite A single serving package, a single serving formerly he consumes the single serving, he is done.He makes a fleeting characterization in someone elses life before he fades from their memory. He feels his existence is meaningless because he has no connections with anyone. He is non cloy with the present state he is in, but makes no active bowel movement to intendedly define his own existence. He shows bad faith in this view, becaus e he deceives himself into believing that he lacks complete publishdom of involvement in making this decision. He is a coward by Sartres definition Those who hide their complete freedom from themselves stunned of a spirit of seriousness or by means of deterministic excuses. He possesses the desire to redefine his existence by rebelling against the values in friendship, but this conflicts with his conscious mind (the ego), which restraints him from doing anything socially unacceptable. His conscious mind hides these unacceptable desires in the subconscious mind, coming up with excuses that prevent the narrator from fulfilling these desires.Eventually, the repressed energy from these unconscious desires resulted in the fracturing of the ego itself- into two conscious minds, hence resulting in the manifestation of Tyler. Tyler represents everything that the narrator subconsciously wishes to be. He is the personification of the ID itself, representing the narrators repressed death instincts (our unconditioned instinct for survival), aggression instincts (instincts for violence), and the libido. Before he meets Tyler, the narrator is defines his existence though furniture he purchases and assembles from IKEA. He attempts to make himself into a universe-in-itself, believing his arrant(a) state of existence can be reached by purchasing that depart piece of furniture he needs. When the narrators house was bombed, eradicate the means by which he defines his existence, the narrator felt as though his existence itself was erased. Every stick of furniture in there was my life.Tyler teaches him not to rely on material goods but to define his existence by his actions. The fight club thereof became the new means through which the narrator could define himself through acts of fighting. The narrator learns to revel in violence and physiologic torture as a means of delineate his existence and to blow over the physical limits of the body. He achieves the first ste p of self-awareness by satisfying his primal instincts for aggression. His first epiphany occurs when he realizes Tyler is himself. In a sense, he realized that he (as Tyler) is free and capable of inventing and creating himself as whom he chooses to be.This is an funda mental step because he now wants to assume responsibility for his existence. 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 Tylers ideas of experiencing death so as to be full conscious of his physical existence. When he shoots Tyler, he does so with the awareness that he is gibe himself. This is the final step he needs to take in tell to be fully aware of what he is. On the second level, by rejecting Tylers nihilistic ideas of destroying institutions and value systems, he chooses what values to stand for and thus piddles his own purpose for himself. In choosing his ethics, worldly concern makes himself. He also translates the feel 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 earth, not just himself.He assumes responsibility for Man because he invents what Man bshould be one who does not act in an uncaring and destructive manner towards differents. On the fourth level, shooting Tyler allows the narrator to be defined in a way he wishes to be defined in the look of the other. pellet Tyler is crucial towards removing the existence of Project Mayhem. He does not want Marla to find surface about Project Mayhem because he will then put up his connections with her. It is important to the narrator to have a soused relationship with Marla. Firstly, she is the all surviving real human being he has a c move back relationship with in the movie.Secondly, Marla, playing the role of the other, allows him to seek out kno wledge about his existence and she is the condition for his existence. By shooting Tyler, he prevents the loss of this other that is crucial for his existence. Important themes discussed in the movie complicate consumerism. To be specific, it shows how the redbrick consumerist society affects Mans determination of his existence. In Sartres words, how a change in the a priori limits which outline mans fundamental situation in the universe affects Mans determination of his existence with respect to these limits. According to Sartre, all configurations either reckon as attempts to pass beyond them or recede from them or deny them or adapt to them. Consumerism imposes limits on Man to work and to consume, because only if Man works can he consume, and he can consume only if he works. He is emasculated because he is ineffectual to fulfill his intrinsic role as a huntsman-gatherer as dictated to him by biology.Man is limited or restricted in the sense he is unable to fulfill his prim itive instincts. As seen in the movie, Tyler tries to pass beyond these limits by destroying symbols of consumerism, such as credit card companies, so as to harvest-festival to Ground Zero. Since many hoi polloi define their existence by numbers in their bank accounts, destroying the bank records will erase their preliminary existence and allow them to create their existence anew, much like how the narrators apartment was bombed so that he could create his new existence through Fight Club. Tylers ultimate goal seems to be changing the limits by which stack define their existence by.He envisions the destruction of modern civilization, and a regression back to a more primitive hunter gatherer state. In the world I see you are shuck elk through the same canyon forests around the ruins of Rock buster Centre. In the world he envisions, the new limits by which people will define themselves with respect to are undoubtedly physical posture and prowess. On the other hand, the narrato r, like so many of us today, adapts to these limits by embracing consumerism as indoctrinated into him by society through advertisements.He avidly purchases IKEA furniture and defines his existence by these material goods. In Tylers words, he works jobs he hates so he can buy wasteyard he doesnt need. He assumes that his furniture uniquely defines him as a person, from the glass bowls with imperfections made by the simple and honest people of wherever to his yin-yang coffee table, while missing the irony that IKEA is a chain-store that mass produces furniture. He is no other different from many other consumers of IKEA who believe that their furniture is unique on virtue of it being selected by them. At the end of the movie, the narrator realizes he needs to strike a balance between the two opposing configurations, one that is in the pre-consciousness state, panic-stricken to confront his freedom, and the other that embraces existentialism and freedom to the point of reckless destr uction. Shooting Tyler thus allows him to reunite his opposing configurations and strike a middle balance. Marla is an suit of how a person recedes from limits that outline the human condition.She does not know what values to choose to define her existence. As a result, she adopts a nihilistic spot and attempts to hit rock-bottom by trying to court death. Lastly, another important theme in the movie is that of mental pain. Many characters in the movie experience mental pain because they are unable to reject the being in itself others force upon them. Thus, they cannot achieve a true state of being for itself This is because we perceive others as a condition of our own existence, as how Sartre puts it. According to Sartre, once we realize we exist, we realize the existence of others who are free to define us according to how they view us. We are objectified in the eyes of others because others view us as a being in itself. We lose our freedom through their perception of us. Only we looking back and backwash others as objects can we regain our freedom. Bob is viewed as a man who has lost his masculinity.He accepts this being in itself, believing that he is condemned to this bushel and unchanging physical body. Thus, he suffers mental pain because he does not reject the attempts of being in itself others force upon him by realizing his freedom to create his own existence.The narrator similarly suffers from accepting the being in itself society forces upon him- as a member of society whose purpose is to work, to consume and to come after his superiors. His ideal self-image is that of a virile and ruthless primal human being. However, he dares not embrace his freedom to reject this being for itself and work towards the a priori goal of his ideal self-image. Thus, his mental pain caused Tyler to manifest, who violently abuses the narrator to present the mental pain the narrator is experiencing. Tyler tries to push the narrator to be fully aware of his uncons cious desires, and to assume responsibility for his freedom. Only when he confronts this mental pain (Tylers physical abuse) can he reject being for itself and achieve true being-for-itself, the state where he is constantly and freely choosing his future.His decision to shoot Tyler was justified-because he is freely choosing to reject Tylers destructive ideas, and to expire his initial transcendent goal of becoming Tyler. In conclusion, the movie has strong themes of existentialism running through it. The act of shooting Tyler was justified because it signifies the first step of existentialism for the narrator- he becomes fully aware of what he is, and assumes full responsibility of his existence. It also shows how human beings may choose to define themselves with respect to the limits of the world they exist in. Lastly, shooting Tyler allows the narrator to confront his mental pain and reach the true state of being for itself.