Addiction to Chaos: The Monster that Lay Dormant Inside
Chaos is a term used to describes situations that are erratic and lack order. This lack of order is something everyone to a certain degree has in common. All the people in the world have some form of chaos in their lives, but with authors like Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club) and Robert Louis Stevenson (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). A common motif that both of these books share is romanticism. By expressing a sense of rebellion against norms in society. Each character in there own way attempting to start a revolution. The ideologies of both the authors and characters portray romanticism almost to its exact definition. In an interview Chuck Palahniuk even said, Im a romantic. All of my books are basically romances; theyre stories about reconnecting with community(Williams).
The disorders in life that The Narrator and Dr. Jekyll experience on the edge of being inhuman, My Characters are not people. They are machines that do a job. They are machines designed to destroy themselves (Williams). Through the minds of Palahniuk and Stevenson a common ground is reached in the two books Fight Club and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; both the narrator and Dr. Jekyll create their own misfortune in trying to fix the problems of the world, or better yet what they perceive the problems to be. In a sense the doppelganger of Dr. Jekyll and The Narrator create a misery that is eerie. These characters could be considered Byronic heroes; they start off admirable individuals but by the end of their journey we pity them. Another observation than can be made is through the birth of their alter egos Dr. Jekyll is in essence attempting to play God, and Tyler Durden (The Narrators doppelganger) believes he is God. The consequences of their decisions lead them to, ceaseless misery, as well as, insanity. Through common themes in these books and similarities of the characters the reader can gain wisdom, knowledge, and perhaps, step by step instructions on what not to do. In the course losing reality, the main characters in these books teach the reader about the duality of man, and how people are not dangerous, but rather the ideas in which their mind possesses are. The similarities in ideologies of the main characters and their decisions lead them both to their doom.
In every novel I have ever read the main characters always have a name. Naming characters is often a very important part of who the character is and why they represent. There is one exception to this naming process; the book Fight Club. To clarify that does not mean much though went into not giving The Narrator a name. In a way it helps the reader to notice that there is something obscure or unusual about the narrator and perhaps he feels as though he is not worthy of a name. It seems that material objects drive The Narrator. We all have the same Johanneshov armchair in the Strinne green stripe pattern. (Palahniuk 33). At this point in the novel the reader notices the obsession The Narrator has over physical objects which posses no real value other than aesthetics. The Narrator, it seems is trying to impress the reader by listing off things that he owned; in hopes of showing us that he is successful. Realistically he is nothing more than a consumer whore, one who thrives off of having particular possessions or brands. Attempting to conform to what he believes is the norm. The importance of exposure seems to be quite well established in advertising practices; it is assumed that the consumer tends to adopt a more favorable attitude toward the advertised product the more often he is told of the vast number of people and prestige individuals who already use the product(Goldberg 325). This idea that Goldberg has presented just reiterates the fact that the Narrator is not really in control of his life; everyone around him has the control and he follows his or her lead. With this being said it in no way means that he was actually happy, in fact all his material possessions were put in place to cover up his discontented and bleak view on life. You do the little job you're trained to do. ?Pull a lever. ? Push a button. ? You don't understand any of it, and then you just die(Palahniuk 2). Even though the reader comes across this line instantly when picking up the book, the though lingers in the mind. It makes us wonder if we have any true purpose in life, or if we are just here to follow directions and do what we are told. The final distinction about this character that is worth noting in relevance to the topic is his insomnia. Suffering from anxiety and a feeling in lack of masculinity [he] just wanted to sleep. [He] wanted little blue Amytal Sodium capsules, 200-miligram-0sized. [He] wanted red-and-blue Tuinal bullet capsules, lipstick-red Seconals(Palahniuk 9). The Narrator wanted to escape the world he was in and be free of the stress it was creating for him, his personal thoughts were that sleeping would fix his problems. The Narrator is desperate for change and feels as though life is passing him by. In a way I thin he hopes that a drastic change happens to him. In result this causes the creation of Tyler Durden. All these factors combine create a character that is disconnected, as well as secluded from society. But, remains unaware of the mischief and mayhem Tyler has caused until it is to late.
This idea of seclusion is something we find in Dr. Henry Jekyll a successful man in his day with a prominent stature in society. Henry Jekyll, M.D., D.C.L, L.L.D, F.R.S., etc. (Stevenson 12). To explain more thoroughly Jekyll is a Doctor of Medicine, a Doctor of Civil Law, a Doctor of Laws, and a Fellow of the Royal Society; the list emphasizes the excellence of his credentials.(Davidson 12). His credentials seem to be his greatest weakness. Dr. Jekyll is overly determined to produce greatness. It is an obsession that possibly was caused by the pressure which society has put on him. In a way this relates to people today, his mind was of a large capacity and had many thoughts that were about and beyond what a normal person could comprehend. In theory he was an extremist and wanted to make an impact on the people he lived amongst. He risked his life while developing his chemical which By degrees, like any addict, Jekyll surrenders his autonomy. His ego ceases being I and splits into two distinct and eventually warring selves, which share memory as they share a common body. Only after Hyde commits murder does Jekyll make the effort to regain control; but by this time, or the course it is too late (Oates). This battle of good and evil is constant through a great deal of this story. In the end it is unfortunate that evil prevails and Dr. Jekyll has not control. We can only blame Dr. Jekyll for this calamity due to his addiction and obsession.
The Fixation in which Dr. Jekyll and The Narrator both possess causes them to create an alter ego. In doing so these alter egos end up destroying the characters in a diabolical and troubles manner. There are striking similarity traits that Dr. Jekyll and The Narrator share, this can also be said about their alter egos.
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