The Rules of Fight Club

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk is one of my favorite book-turned-movies. Although, it is a bit hard to separate Brad Pitt and Tyler Durden, there couldn't have been a better interpretation of how egotistical and hilariously maniacal this character was when it came to explaining what a fight club was all about. Not only did it represent brotherhood amongst "men raised by women" but it also was a major outlet for releasing frustration, and finding distraction in real problems. Tyler is the ultimate problem child; he fits in perfectly as the leader of fight club when he takes all the newest members under his wings to explain the eight rules of fight club:

1) You don't talk about fight club.

2) You don't talk about fight club.

3) When someone says stop, or goes limp, even if he is just faking it, the fight is over.

4) Only two guys to a fight.

5) One fight at a time.

6) They fight without shirts or shoes.

7) The fights go on as long as they have to.

8) If this is your first night at the fight club, you have to fight.

(48-50)

Each of the rules are clear and concise; they are each fair rules. Since, I believe that the narrator and Tyler Durden are one in the same (Tyler being the narrator's alter ego), you can feel the fire in Tyler's eyes and the passion he feels when he is explaining each rule of fight club. We also learn just the kind of person Tyler is because he "works night jobs where he causes problems for the companies; he also makes soap to supplement his income and create the ingredients for his bomb making which will be put to work later with his fight club" (Fight Club, Wikipedia.com).

The fight club is ultimately a secret society, thus the first two rules, where its members can share an outlet that is just as valuable as it would have been had its members joined the boy scouts, taken karate classes, or joined a fraternity in college. The third rule is my absolutely favorite, simply because anyone can pretend to limp if they are tired of fighting but the best part is that it is a rare commodity - when a fight is initiated, it is rarely ended out of boredom or losing interest. The members of fight club are just as passionate about their secret society as Tyler is.