Fight Club II

So who is Tyler Durden? Near the end of the novel, we learn that the narrator's insomnia is in fact a mask for a different phenomenon. As in "The Horla," the narrator comes to believe that self-violence is the only way out. How does the story resolve? Can you trust the narrator?

Podcast Lecture: The Somniloquy

Reading:

Palahniuk, Fight Club: Ch. 15-30

Questions:

1. What is Project Mayhem? Why does Tyler start it?

2. Who are the space monkeys?

3. What happens to the narrator's relationship to Tyler around the start of Project Mayhem?

4. What is the meaning of Tyler's kiss?

5. How does the narrator come to realize his TRUE relationship to Tyler?

Activities:

Novel v. Film: If you haven't already, see the Hollywood version of "Fight Club" (1999) and note the stark difference between the endings. How does the film's ending rewrite the story and the character of the narrator? How is the novel's ending less "safe?" Which conclusion do you prefer and why?