Fight club American Beauty ISU
Zach Kula
Mr. John
ENG3U
May 17, 2014
In Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, the main character is presented as a lifeless, dull person. He leads a consumerist life where his possessions are what he values and are what he believes form him as a person. Once his condominium gets blown up, he believes his personal identity gets destroyed. He also has insomnia, and in order to resolve it he goes to support groups for people with terrible conditions. He cries with them, which allows him to sleep peacefully. In Sam Mendes’ American Beauty, Lester Burnham is introduced as a man who seems to be living the American dream. However, it is far from the truth. Every day he goes to the job he hates, only to come home to have another dinner where he gets criticized by his wife and child who despise him. It is only when the influential side characters Tyler and Ricky are introduced that the main characters begin to have hope that their miserable lives could still be saved. It is evident that the narrator and Lester share one main conflict: their lives are filled with emptiness and they are both struggling on the discovery of meaning and fulfillment. The narrator and Lester are therefore true representations of a person’s journey to discover their personal truth and values in life. One value that the narrator and Lester begin to share is the value of anti-consumerism. Early on in Fight Club, The narrator’s personality was formed from his possessions. He bought all of his things from IKEA and would always continue to search for ways to improve his condominium. It is only when he meets Tyler that his values change. The narrator’s condominium gets blown up, destroying all of his possessions. He then goes to live with Tyler, in a broken down abandon house where there are holes in the floor. Together they start a fight club, where men fight not for the pleasure of winning, but just for the pleasure of fighting one another. Through fighting, the narrator is able to let go and forget
Mr. John
ENG3U
May 17, 2014
In Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, the main character is presented as a lifeless, dull person. He leads a consumerist life where his possessions are what he values and are what he believes form him as a person. Once his condominium gets blown up, he believes his personal identity gets destroyed. He also has insomnia, and in order to resolve it he goes to support groups for people with terrible conditions. He cries with them, which allows him to sleep peacefully. In Sam Mendes’ American Beauty, Lester Burnham is introduced as a man who seems to be living the American dream. However, it is far from the truth. Every day he goes to the job he hates, only to come home to have another dinner where he gets criticized by his wife and child who despise him. It is only when the influential side characters Tyler and Ricky are introduced that the main characters begin to have hope that their miserable lives could still be saved. It is evident that the narrator and Lester share one main conflict: their lives are filled with emptiness and they are both struggling on the discovery of meaning and fulfillment. The narrator and Lester are therefore true representations of a person’s journey to discover their personal truth and values in life. One value that the narrator and Lester begin to share is the value of anti-consumerism. Early on in Fight Club, The narrator’s personality was formed from his possessions. He bought all of his things from IKEA and would always continue to search for ways to improve his condominium. It is only when he meets Tyler that his values change. The narrator’s condominium gets blown up, destroying all of his possessions. He then goes to live with Tyler, in a broken down abandon house where there are holes in the floor. Together they start a fight club, where men fight not for the pleasure of winning, but just for the pleasure of fighting one another. Through fighting, the narrator is able to let go and forget