Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Meeting Date: November 19, 2009
Discussion Questions

1. Who is Tyler Durden?  What does he represent in the novel and in society?
2. Is the fight club just another version of a support group?  What is the author saying about support groups and why does his narrator depend on them?
3. The narrator says, “May I never be complete.  May I never be content.  May I never be perfect.”  What do these stages of character represent to the narrator and why is he resistant of them?
4. Why do the characters need to be close to death to feel more alive?  Is this the authors comment on society or is he saying more? 
5. Palahniuk states in an interview, “All my books are about a lonely person looking for some way to connect with other people.”  Is this statement reflective of Fight Club?  Why or why not?
6. Were you surprised that Tyler and the narrator are the same person?  If not, why?  And, during the narrator’s first fight with Tyler, people are cheering them/him on?  How does this alter your perspective of the narrator?
7. What do you think about the way the narrator treats Marla?  Why do you think Marla stuck around as long as she did? 
8. Chuck Palahniuk seems to be getting at the idea that men are so caught up in artificial cares and worries that it takes a purposeful break from reality/expected social conduct to be a man again? Is hitting rock bottom the only way to get better and are these men any better for it?
9. Do you think the book and movie are similar?  Should movies based on books be similar or take allowances?
10. Overall did you identify with any of the characters?  Did you feel that over the course of the book they changed for the better or worse?  

*Questions developed by Darlene Hellenberg, Kelly Bennett, and borrowed from Culture Watch