Jonthan+Denis

__ Self Deconstruction and Resurrection: Chuck Palahniuk __
America is a large corporate machine, always on the go, always producing, never relenting. From an early age, our people are taught to become the best possible spokes in the wheel of America. Our lives are already mapped out for us from birth. You go to school, get a job, pay your taxes, and buy products. There are inherent social problems which arise in such a rigid system for life. An extremely low percentage of Americans love what they do. Some find they are not leading the lives they had dreamed. Perhaps the blueprints laid out for Americans do not promote free will or self-actualization. Chuck Palahniuk is a contemporary novelist who tackles these social issues in American society. His novels discuss problems in American culture and propose solutions for survival. He suggests individuals must disconnect themselves from the norms of society in order to truly define themselves and what they stand for. This Wiki will analyze Chuck Palahniuk’s philosophy on the social issue of the lack of individuality in a hyper-stimulated society.

**__ Choke: __**

Chuck Palahniuk’s fourth novel “Choke” is about being consumed by addiction and outside influences. The social issue addressed is a loss of individualistic thinking. Victor Mancini, the anti-hero of the novel, is a sex addict who scours local sexual addiction recovery groups for action. He is joined by others like him in a constant chase to fulfill his never ending addiction. When he is not trying to get laid, Victor works a cushy job at a colonial-themed park. The majority of the time he spends at work consists of telling falsehoods about colonial times to patrons, having sex with the milk maids, and screwing around with his dim witted friend Denny. Victor has taken the easy path in life. He has let the world define and control him.

" Well, people who don’t want to get on with their lives, and don’t want to accept responsibility for the direction of their lives want to hang out with other people who don’t want to accept responsibility or move on, and so you find that your entire culture around you are people who are just like you, because that’s what’s comforting. And so, that’s what the world becomes for you; you don’t even see people beyond those people who are just like yourself. And so, for Victor, this is how the world is because this is how he is, and this is what he’s surrounded himself with." -Chuck Palahniuk (1) Victor is a leaf floating in the wind. His life is dictated by outside forces and circumstances. His life is molded to please the people around him and to indulge in his debilitating addictions. He has let the world define who he is, instead of declaring his own definitions. Palahniuk is using Victor to propose that too many people have grown accustomed to settling for what is comfortable. Maybe it is not their fault. Perhaps the hyper-stimulated pace of society is to blame. If we don’t get a chance to breath or think, how are we suppose to tread any path other than the ones mapped out for us?


 * __ Survivor: __**



This question leads us back to Palahniuk’s third novel “Survivor”. The social issues presented deal with the lack of individuality in our upbringing. We become who we are through our life experiences. The lessons we learn as children can have the greatest psychological effect on our lives. Our brains are hard wired from what we learned and experienced at an early age. However, we can still change ourselves through self actualization and empowerment. Tender Branson is Survivor’s anti-hero. The beginning of the novel begins at the end of the story. Tender has hijacked a plane which is careening into the Australian outback. We assume Tender’s ultimate fate already, but what drove him to such a crazed suicide? Tender is the sole survivor of a Creedish death cult. He was born to work as a servant, send his income back to the Creedish community, and ultimately sacrifice himself to the Deliverance. Tender is in constant battle through out the story with the thought of killing himself. It is what he was born to do. However, he finds a new life away from the cult in the arms of a woman. During this process Tender becomes a celebrity from his status as the sole survivor of his cult. The constant reminder of what he is drives him to hijack a plane to perform suicide. Tender decides to parachute to safety in the final moments of the planes decent, conveniently faking his own death. Thus rejecting the life he was born into. “The books are never about what you think they are about. Survivor is really about our education system because I feel, more often than not, kids are sort of taught or trained to be the best possible cogs in some big corporate machine. They are not really taught in an empowered way that they can start their own company so they can create and run their own lives. They are taught to just be good employees, to just fit in.” -Chuck Palahniuk (2)

The Creedish cult in Survivor is a metaphor for American education. Our system may not be as extreme as the Creedish, but the underlining linearity is still present. Palahniuk is trying to show that Americans are committing suicide with their individuality, because it is what we are taught. These are the lives our family and friends lead so it is only natural for us to follow. Like Tender, there is a point in our lives where we must decide whether to be comfortable with what is mapped out for us or make a leap of faith into a new way of life.


 * __ Invisible Monsters: __**

Shannon McFarland, the anti-hero in Palahniuk’s second novel “Invisible Monsters”, never had a choice to make a leap of faith. A new life was forced upon her through gruesome circumstances. She was a beautiful model who had everything until her jaw was shot off in a drive-by shooting. The bipolar book cover accurately depicts Shannon’s metamorphosis from beauty to hideousness. Her life was turned upside down. Reinventing one’s self through self empowerment is the major issue being presented in Invisible Monsters. No one wants to look at Shannon’s disfigured face. She becomes invisible to her former community. However, she finds power and self confidence in the fact that people are so afraid of her (2). The type of confidence a monster might have while chasing after its frightened victims. Shannon learned how to create her new life by forgetting her former self.


 * __ Fight Club: __**

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The theme of self creation through self destruction is most prominent in Chuck Palahniuk’s first novel “Fight Club”. The anti-hero is never given a name, but is often referred to in literary circles as Jack. Like many Americans, Jack is overworked, underpaid, and extremely unhappy with his monotonously routine life. He meets a new friend by the name of Tyler Durden after his condo, which contained all his cherished IKEA furnishings, is “mysteriously” blown to bits. Tyler teaches Jack to reject that which was given to him. To completely deconstruct his life, so he can start fresh. Tyler and Jack start a Fight Club which quickly escalates to an anarchic group called Project Mayhem. Tyler becomes less of a mentor and more of a dictator. Toward the end of the novel, it is revealed that Tyler is Jacks split personality. Jack eventually eliminates Tyler, thus allowing himself to choose his own way of thinking. . Palahniuk proposes that in order to truly find ones self one must create a blank slate. “It is only when we have lost everything, that we are free to do anything” Tyler surmised. Perhaps there is a war, not just between individuals and the constraints of society, but between individuals and themselves. Chuck Palahniuk portrays the troubled lives of characters most Americans can relate to. His novels are designed to make the readers question themselves. They encourage introspective thought, self actualization, and self empowerment.


 * Bibliography: **
 * (1)** **http://www.3ammagazine.com/litarchives/2001_dec/interview_chuck_palahniuk.html**
 * (2)** **http://phillyedge.com/node/3023**
 * (3)** **Palahniuk, Chuck. __Choke__. Anchor, 2002**
 * (4)** **Palahniuk, Chuck. __Survivor__. Vintage, 2000**
 * (5)** **Palahniuk, Chuck. __Invisible Monsters__. W. W. Norton & Company, 1999**
 * (6)** **Palahniuk, Chuck. __Fight Club: A Novel__. Holt Paperbacks, 1999**