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Michael Ruwoldt
Mr. Newman
English 101: Rhetoric
22 October 14
Violence is the Answer
David Finchers Fight Club starts with Edward Nortons nameless main character. His
insomnia that alienates him from the rest of the world, can only be relieved by the cancer and
alcohol support groups. Throughout the beginning of the movie the main character is troubled by
a conniving woman Marla, who also goes to the support groups. The fact that Marla is in his
support group troubles him, she doesn't have testicular cancer, she isn't an alcoholic which
irritates Nortons character since he is no longer the only one faking his illness. Eventually the
main character will meet his charismatic friend, the soap salesman, Tyler Durden. Edward
Nortons character and Tyler Durden create a fight club that explodes into an underground army
that attacks the system. Both Charles Cassady Jr. and Ann Hornaday agree that Fight Club is
twisted and violent throughout the movie, but their outlooks differ on the way males are
portrayed in the consumerist society.
Both Cassady and Hornaday agree that Fight Club had some disturbing and touchy
subjects throughout the movie. Hornaday began stating that the movie has its sick-puppy kicks
if your idea of entertaining is guys running around and causing havoc. The men who end up
joining the fight club begin their destruction which they call, Project Mayhem. They come up
with ideas like bombings and monkeywrenching the system eventually leading up to more
insane stunts to take those around them. The authors agree on the fact that the ideas of beating
the hell out of each other to release a mans anger on being left behind is not the normal way to

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go.In the reviews both authors related that before fighting, Edward Nortons character felt relief
when lying about having testicular cancer. Also, the articles explain that the readers will feel
confused, the fact that the main character finds himself at peace when hes having a conversation
with a penguin is not something many people with insomnia even have says Hornaday. The
psychotic feelings Marla creates even turns Nortons characters world upside down, she is
overpowering to him and she even haunts him when he goes to his mind to find peace.
Even though the cynical plot outline was a lot to take in, the violence of the movie was
important to Cassady and Hornaday. They both stated in their reviews that the movie was about
men behaving really, really badly. Men in the movie feel that because they have testicular
cancer they arent men anymore, just like losing their jobs to some women bothered the guys too,
the fighting helps them release their anger which both Hornaday and Cassady can agree on. The
authors both share their ideas that fighting helps Edward Nortons character sleep, something
that Marla ruined for him. Project Mayhem was the escape route for these men. Violence wasnt
the only answer, but thats what helped the main character overcome the fact the only thing kept
him at peace was taken away by a woman. The critiques also include that the fight scenes and the
somewhat gruesome crimes were a way to attack the consumerist economy.
While the reviews share their similarities like talking about the movies violence and
twisted ideas, it differs in how the men are viewed in the world. The reviews both touch on the
troubled girl Marla, but one goes into deeper detail. The Cassady article explains the love
triangle between the main character, Tyler Durden, and Marla. This left the main character more
hopeless feeling than he already was. After looking at both articles, Hornaday explained that
their goals were to attack the system born of Bill Gates, Disney, and Martha Stewart. This goes
beyond the fact that its just women controlling these mens lives, but the 1% of America has

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been a huge role in why they created Project Mayhem. The attacks differed for these two
critiques but they both made the point that Project Mayhem was for the better of the lower males.
The males who suffered from being shut down in the rough times of their lives.
Fight Club can be determined in many ways, the reviewers both assessed the movie with
some similarities and some differences. Most people that have seen the movie can agree that it
leaves you with your eyes open, but Charles Cassady Jr. and Ann Hornaday agree that the
cynical and violent plot outline made the movie one for the ages, but also had different outlooks
on the way the men played a role in society.

Works Cited
Cassady, Charles, Jr. Fight Club Movie Review. Common Sense Media. Community
Sense Media, 7 Mar. 2005. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
<https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/fight-club>.

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Hornaday, Ann. One Solid Punch. The Baltimore Sun. N.p., 15 Oct. 1999. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
<http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1999-10-15/features/9910150288_1_fight-club-tyler-durdenedward-norton>.