Fight Club Setting Essay Quotes

"I found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom."

Said by The Narrator It reinforces Tyler's views on letting go of consumerism. It also shows development of The Narrator over the course of the film. The Narrator no longer cares about materialism, whereas earlier on he considered it to be more valuable than his own life.

"I loved every stick of furniture in that place. That was not just a bunch of stuff that got destroyed, it was ME!"

Said by The Narrator This again strengthens the idea that we have greater fear of losing meaningless items than things we should consider to be valuable. The Narrator suggests that he might as well have been blown up in the condo, as he has lost everything that defined him as a consumer. It is ironic that he says he loved the furniture, because it has no meaning to him and is in fact the source of his insomnia/depression. The Narrator only purchased these items to satisfy his consumerist instincts.

"Is that what a real man is supposed to look like?"

Said by The Narrator This pokes fun at the ideal imagery of men and women made by corporate groups in society. The image in this instance is meant to be the imagery of masculinity, however there isn't anything masculine in an oiled up nearly naked man representing beauty in an underwear ad. Often, models used in ads to promote products are ones that do not represent the imagery of people who will consume the given product, but instead of one that most people can only dream of. The look of disgust given by The Narrator and Tyler also mock and embarrass the brands who come up with ridiculous commercials.

"Nothing was solved, but nothing mattered"

Said by The Narrator (In Narration) It again plays on the spiritual aspect of fight club. Like church, fight club is a weekly event, and the people who attend them exit in no different social change to which they entered. However, being a part of fight club is not about winning or losing, its about the sense of belonging, just like the purpose of attending church is to feel connected and belonging with others.

"I had it all. Even the glass dishes with imperfections, proof they were crafted by the hard working indigenous people of wherever"

Said by The Narrator (in narration) This shows us the nothingness that The Narrator's belongings mean to him. He is a consumer, and purchasing is an obligation which he believes he needs to satisfy his lifestyle.

"We have no great war. No great depression. We've been raised on TV to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires. But we won't."

Said by Tyler Durden It is an interesting quote as war and depression are themes which bring negative connotations, however Tyler is using them in a positive manner. Tyler believes that the downfall of our society is that we are too soft and too reliant on consumerism. While it is a bit extreme, Tyler suggests that war or economic depression would expose that what we own and what we purchase means nothing. In Tyler's sense, removing consumerism would get people to get off their asses and stop believing they will become millionaires from what they purchase and what they see on TV.

"You wanna make an omelet, you gotta break some eggs"

Said by Tyler Durden It poses the question 'does the end justify it's means/is the reward worth the risk'. Tyler is suggesting that does it really matter if lives are lost to project mayhem, all that matters is fulfilling Tyler's ambitions to wipe out the financial district

"The things you own end up owning you"

Said by Tyler Durden This quote suggests that in society, we are so possessive and obsessed over purchasing and consuming materialistic items for no particular reason. Our spending habits on these items turn into an obligation we owe to those items. We have greater fear for losing the things we bought instead of losing things that actually matter. This is backed up by The Narrator - instead of being thankful that he is still alive and was not in his condo when it exploded, he is instead filled with sorrow and anger that he has lost meaningless items from his IKEA catalogue condo.

"It's only after we've lost everything that we are free to do anything"

Said by Tyler Durden Tyler (and Finchers) philosophy is that the key to a meaningful life is too stop worrying about how we can define ourselves through consumerism. By letting go of our materialistic nature, we can stop repeating the same meaningless activities (such as jobs, education) that we hate, and instead focus on what we consider life should be about. It is an interesting theory, however if we are willing to see beyond our own consumerist habits, is one which makes perfect sense.

"We're not killing them, we're setting them free!"

Said by Tyler Durden Tyler believes that by removing the financial sector in society, everyones debt will be erased and people can start their lives over again with the purpose of living, not consumerism. He doesn't care about mass destruction or fear, he only cares about achieving what he wants out of people.

"The 1st rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about fight club. The 2nd rule of Fight Club..."

Said by Tyler Durden Tyler does not need any corporate companies or political/religious movements telling him how to live his life. He is able to determine his own rules to living his life. This is much similar to the ten commandments of the bible, however the birth of fight club is the birth of a spiritual movement for those who do not belong in regular spiritual movements.