I had the task of
identifying the concept of identity in Chuck Palahniuk's gritty, dark
and wonderful novel
Fight Club. Through exploration of concepts in
the real world through media such as the internet and real life
examples it shows how this concept is everywhere, and in different
ways, it effects everyone in some way,
shape, or form. When I read
in the book that “You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.
You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are
all part of the same compost pile.” (p.134) It really got me how
true it is in a way when it comes to things like the internet and
even when it comes most people when they're buying their clothes.
When everyone wants to seem popular and go out and buy their clothes
at American Eagle, American Apparel, and even places like Hot Topic
trying to fit in with what everyone else in their little group, or to
follow whatever trend there is to think that they stand out, trying
to create an individual identity they fail. That is because, while
they think they think they're being unique, someone else has the
exact same shirt, or the exact same pants, or shoes, or belt.
In the novel, the
narrator identifies himself through his possessions, his job and
Fight Club itself. The narrator says “I loved my life, I loved
that condo, I loved every stick of furniture. That was my whole
life. Everything, the lamps, the chairs, the rugs were me. The
dishes in the cabinets were me. The plants were me. The television
was me. It was me that blew up. Couldn't he see that?” (pp
110-111). This is the perfect example of people becoming their
possessions. Bringing this into the real world, if someone owns a
Harley-Davidson motorcycle, they are automatically identified as
bikers, they are identified as their Harley. Same with cars, if
you're going to spend 40 thousand plus on a car like a Tesla, a
Lexus, or a Lamborghini you want to be identified by that car. The
best media example of this is would be the movie Glengarry Glen Ross.
The character of Blake played by Alec Baldwin said it best when he
identified himself as his watch by saying “That watch costs more
than you car. I made $970,000 last year. How much you make? You see
pal, that's who I am, and you're nothing.”
Lastly, there is
the identity that an individual creates either intentionally or
unintentionally. The narrator says, “Tyler Durden is my
hallucination.” (p. 168). This is when he realizes he is actually
Tyler Durden. This can be very true online. You aren't who you say
you are online, if you are in a chat room, you create a different
personality than you really are. The internet is the one place that
people can be someone else, because no one knows who you are. The
activists group that calls themselves Anonymous is the perfect
example.
