A Gun and an Explosion and Anarchy as Symbols in Fight Club

A Gun and an Explosion and Anarchy as Symbols in Fight Club

Fight Club is a book by Chuck Palahniuk, which narrates the escapades of an unnamed narrator. The narrator has insomnia. Unable to find a solution, he resorts to support groups for conditions he is not suffering from, and surprisingly finds solace. The story focuses on his interactions with Marla Singer and Tyler Durden. The narrator and Tyler decide to form a secret club for men to engage in physical combat, which they name Fight Club. Chuck Palahniuk’s book was inspired by his own life when one time on returning to work from a camping trip with bruises, his coworkers failed to question the origin of his injuries (Bures 50).

The first chapter of the book introduces us to Tyler and the narrator. They are on the roof of the Parker-Morris building, which the narrator says is the tallest building in the world. The narrator seems to be having an altercation with Tyler having a barrel of a gun in his mouth. There are multiple explosions in distant buildings, with the narrator vividly describing the shattered glass and smoke from the destruction. He tells us how Tyler intends to destroy the building, which they are standing on, causing it to crash into the museum, which is his real target. This is in his plan to instigate anarchy to change society.

These three items, a gun, an explosion, and anarchy, can be interpreted as symbols that represent the fight club, the narrator himself, and Marla and Tyler, respectively. In realizing the similarities in their attributes, the reader is better able to understand the roles that the characters play and the message that he is trying to put across.

Tyler Durden has placed the barrel of his gun in the narrator’s mouth. We expect the narrator to be scared of the gun, but instead, he is analyzing it. He is more worried about sanitation, as indicated by his statement, “I’m wondering how clean this gun is.” He also explains how a gun’s silencer is made. “To make a silencer, you just drill holes in the barrel of the gun, a lot of holes” (Palahniuk 1). He continues to say that if the holes are not drilled correctly, the gun could injure its wielder.

The descriptions of the gun are comparable to the nature of the fight club. The care that is required in creating a gun shows us how important it was for the organization to be carefully planned as well. To ensure the success of their mission to bring about systemic changes, Tyler and the narrator should have executed the plan meticulously to avoid failure. The possibility of the plan producing unintended consequences was high since the organization was unpredictable despite the rules that Tyler established. Eventually, the fight club evolves into Project Mayhem. During one of their missions, Bob, whom the narrator cared for genuinely, gets shot and dies.

The narrator’s concerns about the cleanliness of the gun may be compared to the morality of the fight club. While in most cultures, fighting is viewed as wrong and destructive behavior, the fight club encouraged men to fight each other under specific rules. The secret organization did indeed have the capacity to bring about the fall of capitalism and consumerism. Hence it seems to be the goal of both Tyler and the narrator. However, does the end justify the means? Instead of fearing for his life as Tyler intends him to do, the narrator is more concerned about the gun’s cleanliness. This may be considered an omen for the failure of the organization. It was not going to bring about the desired change because its moral principles were deeply flawed. Violence rarely brings the social change that we wish to see (Nieburg 53). The fight club evolved into a terrorist organization rather than the opportunity for self-expression that it was intended to be.

There are several explosions that are described in the first chapter of the book. Project Mayhem has planted bombs all over the city to detonate buildings in an attempt to topple capitalism and consumerism. Even the building on which Tyler and the narrator are standing on is rigged with explosives. The narrator also imagines how the building is going to be destroyed. He alludes to the anticipated explosion when he says, “The Parker-Morris Building won’t be here in nine minutes” (Palahniuk 2). The narrator is anxious about this fact because he thinks he will die on the roof of the building. He is counting down minutes from the explosion.

The explosions are a representation of the narrator and his questionable mental health. In chapter eleven, the narrator also comes home to find the police and firefighters outside his building. This is because there has been an explosion in his house. We later learn that it was he that planned the explosion. Explosions are essentially sudden releases of energy. The explosions are an expression of the narrator’s unstable state of mind following his frustrations. In chapter one, he tells us how to make an explosive and is particular about the ingredients, stating that some combinations might not work. When the narrator says, “Some folks, they use paraffin
mixed with nitro. Paraffin has never, ever worked for me,” we learn that he has made explosives multiple times (Palahniuk 1). He also uses the word ‘explosion’ multiple times in his descriptions, and this may be an indication of his obsessive thoughts. Psychologists say that obsessive thoughts may be an indication of underlying mental health issues (Klinger 2).

The explosions are a metaphor for the narrator’s discontent with his life, and the frustrations brought about by his insomnia. They escalate to the creation of an imaginary friend who is Tyler Durden, and the formation of the fight club, which evolves into a terrorist organization. This loss of control all begins because he feels unfulfilled in his life and work, and needs to find an outlet. This should serve as a lesson on the importance for people to seek help from appropriate sources before they end up causing harm to others. Besides, society needs to provide holistic solutions to people suffering from mental health issues that may be brought on by their daily activities, even at the workplace.

Also, anarchy is used in the book as a symbol to represent the unusual characteristics of Marla and Tyler. In chapter one, there is a description of a crowd that has gathered in the streets. Interestingly, at the same time, buildings are exploding. Tyler creates project Mayhem to destroy capitalism and consumerism by instigating several attacks on targets he thinks are related to the system. In doing so, he hopes to bring about social change, which in itself is anarchy. Both Marla and Tyler are described as very untidy and disorderly people, who do not follow the rules. For example, after agreeing to split the support groups among the narrator and herself, she goes back on her word and says that she is not going to share. Her apartment is in a terrible state, and so is Tyler’s house. Their disorderly and unpredictable nature and defiant characters are what the author is trying to allude to with the anarchy.

All these symbols of destruction represent the nature of the characters. Also, the fight club alludes to the chaos in the mind of the narrator. He is seriously disturbed to the point of deriving pleasure from his pain and that of others. All of these symbols are destructive. However, the anarchy may also represent the freedom that comes with refusing to conform to societal standards. This freedom can be seen in the way Marla and Tyler carry themselves throughout the story. The narrator, therefore, uses them as an outlet for his emotions and yearning to be free. While he is neat and composed, he creates characters that are the opposite of who he is to find a release for his suppressed desires. In this sense, the symbols may be viewed as a useful tool for his self-expression.

Works Cited

Bures, Frank. “Inner space: clearing some room for inspiration.” Poets & Writers Magazine 40.1 (2012): 48-53.

Klinger, Eric. “The contents of thoughts: Interference as the downside of adaptive normal mechanisms in thought flow.” (1996).

Nieburg, H. L. (1963). Uses of violence. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 7(1), 43-54.

Palahniuk, Chuck. “Fight Club. 1996.” London: Vintage (1997).