Chuck Palahniuk, addresses the issue of masculinity in a manner that is both obvious and roundabout at the same time. The novel’s main protagonist, whose alter-ego will be established with the initial conception of Tyler Durden, is a man ill-at-ease with his dwelling in modern-day society. Suffering from insomnia, and after recurring visits to his doctor, the narrator’s doctor advises he begin to join therapy sessions for patients of extremely devastating illnesses so that he can learn to sympathize with real torment. Through this The narrator sees men who have shattered the conventional view of masculinity and for reasons have incorporated more womanlike attributes. “Bob cries because six months ago, his testicles were removed. Then hormone support therapy. Bob has tits because his testosterone ration is too high. Raise the testosterone level too much, your body ups the estrogen to seek a balance.” The insinuation is flawless: loss of the male genitalia has allowed men to correctly convey their emotions in a method that would formerly be unmanly. The themes of crying and testicular cancer have a sizeable role in the introduction of Palahniuk’s book, and established the platform for the presentation of Tyler, the anti-narrator who unlocks the narrator’s eyes to the white-knuckle domains of violence and rebellion. Sanders(Sanders) view on masculinity is the exact thing that the men in fight club are fighting for. In his story he describes men as “getting up before light, worked all day long, whatever the weather, and when they came home at night, they looked as though somebody had been whipping them”. His description of the men he grew up with, is the type of men the people of fight club strive to be, free from menial tasks and go back to elbow grease jobs and back-breaking bloody jobs which eventually means you can tap into your prehistoric natures. Sanders says that women believe that men have inherit power and a high social position. In fight club this way of thinking doesn’t matter, the men come from all backgrounds and social hierarchies, they just have one goal in mind and that’s to be the definition of free and being a real man. People assume men have to most privilege to do anything they want, but can they really capitalize on that when they feel are feeling trapped. The large role of masculinity has been established even further with the novel’s evolution into the world of anti-consumerism. For the narrator, who is affected by a grave identify crisis, the buildup of physical belongings surrogates for a more significant spiritual self. Again, it is within Tyler that the narrator starts to grasp the connection between consumerism and manliness, and about the requirement to strip oneself of solid goods in …show more content…
In Fight Club the people want to leave their menial jobs and maybe even high-class jobs, while in Sanders work he seems to think this types of jobs are the things people should be looking for. Palahniuk wants to show us that we should break away from this way of thinking because it doesn’t necessarily make you happy. In conclusion the definition of masculinity has never changed the only thing that has is that women have started to take on more masculine roles. Men still are expected to be the stereotypical man and leader of the house and that probably wont change anytime in the near