Fight Club

Bob and Chloe’s bodies defy gender stereotypes. Compare the fates of these two characters and examine what the novel offers its reader regarding bodies which exist outside traditional binary norms.

Midway through the novel, the Narrator begins writing haiku poems. At first, he faxes them to the other employees in his office, but then he begins to write them in his head during times of stress. Select one of the Narrator’s haikus and explore its connections to the novel.

The novel collapses dichotomies such as sex and death, and pain and pleasure. Select one scene from the novel in which you perceive these concepts to be at a moment of sharp contrast, and then explore how these concepts inform characterization and conflict.

The characters in the novel sometimes romanticize or glamorize death—either their own or someone else’s. Examine a moment in the novel in which death is decidedly unglamorous and explore how that scene contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Two characters in the novel appear to be named Walter: the Microsoft consultant at the Narrator’s presentation and the rich hostess’s husband in a story Tyler tells. Some critics argue that these men bear the same name because it represents their generic existence in a cookie-cutter society. Select one character from the novel and explore the symbolic meanings of their name, and how those meanings appear in their characterization and narrative arcs.

Bearing in mind that the members of Project Mayhem leave behind their given names when they forsake their individuality after joining up, explore the significance of the Narrator never having his own name.

Another arena in which the Narrator/Tyler feels profound dissatisfaction is in familial bonds and spirituality. Compare both men’s philosophical approaches to religion.

When the Narrator participates in fights at Fight Club meetings, the scenes of violence are poignant and brutal. Select one such fight scene and conduct a close reading of its imagery and figurative language devices, and examine how such language contributes to the significance of the scene.