Transcendence in “Fight Club” and The Stranger
One’s value in life is often judged by many artificial factors. These are often the values that society decides are important. Far too many people simply choose to follow this path and live a life devoid of true meaning. The movie, “Fight Club,” and Albert Camus’ The Stranger try to show the effects that this mindset can have on a person. Both works demonstrate a man’s attempt to become an existentialist against the pressure of society. Both men start by simply living an existentialist’s life, their great sacrifice and great personal pain grants them enlightenment, but they ultimately gain their authentic existence through one ultimate sacrifice.
Both men decide to rebel against society by living a life that doesn’t comply with society’s rules. Meursault first rebels through his lifestyle. He is indifferent to the demands that society attempts to place on him. He believes that death is a natural process of life, so he doesn’t cry at his mother’s funeral. Meursault even lights a cigarette, because “it didn’t matter” (Camus 8). Death is just the end of one’s journey. He also defies society’s rules by acting indifferent towards the promotion that his boss offers him. Society expects one to be excited about a job that would have better pay, more power, and a better location. Meursault just doesn’t care about such artificial things though. His indifference confuses those around him, and further separates him from society. Tyler Durden also rebels by choosing to live the life of an existentialist. He chooses to not care about his job or getting promoted. He stops watching television and buying furniture that he doesn’t actually need. Tyler lives in a deserted house that is cut off from the world around it. He starts Fight Club, and rebels against the normally pacifist attitude that society enforces. By living in isolation and separating himself from material pleasures, he takes the first steps towards living an authentic life.
Their steps towards an authentic life also involved great personal sacrifice. Meursault is only able to come to his revelations about society after he is imprisoned for murder. He realizes that his normal life has been devoid of meaning, because he has been too distracted to actually examine his memories and enjoy his journey. “I realized then that a man who had lived only one day could easily live for a hundred years in a prison,” Meursault states. The prison system controls all of his basic needs, so he is able to actually focus on his past life and realize that life is a random journey that always has the same destination, death. Because of this, it is necessary to never focus on the predetermined end, but on the journey to it. Tyler Durden also has to sacrifice himself to gain his enlightenment. His first realization about life comes about when the narrator fights Tyler Durden. This struggle with himself brings about a great revelation in his life. Fighting allows him to feel free and alive. He continues to fight inside Fight Club, and each fight brings him enlightenment through the pain that he suffers. Tyler also gains enlightenment by torturing himself. His alter ego pours lye on his hand, to force him to come to make the leap and admit that life is completely random and that all material possessions are of no real value. It is only through this physical pain that he is able to break away from a society that tries to rule his mind.
Both men were only able to transcend their false existence by facing their own death. Meursault faces his death through his pending execution. Society forces him to face death for holding the beliefs that he does, but facing death only reaffirmed them. The scene with the chaplain clearly states his views about society. He despises it for its arbitrary and artificial rules, and most of all, he hates the need for religion that it expects him to have. Meursault is at peace with his death, and they simply can’t see how that is possible. He defies their standard set of rules. His ultimate transcendence is shown by his attitude towards society. He now accepts that they will never understand him, and he is fine with that. Their hatred and confusion only further proves his beliefs to be true. In a strange allusion to Jesus Christ, he wishes, “that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate” (Camus 123). This breakaway from society clearly shows that he is now independent of them, and he no longer needs their approval. His transcendence to an authentic life is now complete. Tyler Durden is only able to reach an authentic and free state through facing his own death. After making the startling realization that the narrator and Tyler Durden are the same man, Tyler Durden makes a frantic attempt to stop the events that he put into motion. He fails and is ultimately captured by the men of fight club and put into a room by himself. Here he argues with his second personality and realizes that he can end his inner struggle by killing his second personality. He accomplishes this by shooting himself in the face, killing “Tyler Durden” and freeing the narrator. Through facing his death, he is able to reach the level that he wishes to reach. He has “killed” the radical side of his personality and he can now exist as a free thinker who is actually independent of both dominating influences in his life, the capitalist world and the persona he created. He already existed free of the capitalist world at this point, but his persona had been ruling his life and preventing him from actually being an independent thinker. By shooting himself, he is able to gain his freedom and transcend his meaningless existence.
Both “Fight Club” and The Stranger show men who are desperately trying to break free from their pointless lives and exist as real humans. Meursault and Tyler Durden both approach this destination through the same methods. They begin by applying existentialist ideals to their everyday life. Both gain partial enlightenment through their pain and sacrifices. Finally, both transcend their meaningless existence by facing death. Their struggles to become enlightened and authentic individuals paralleled each other.