Brad Richardson Dr.

Laura Otis English 389 11 December 2012 Fraternity Through Mayhem Although Chuck Palahniuk never mentions the word "fraternity" in his novel Fight Club, fraternity proves to be a much more suitable description for the group. The men of Fight Club and Project Mayhem may join for various unknown fictional reasons. However, according to Palahniuk's afterword, many real-life groups started around the world following the movie based on his novel (211). Despite the characters themselves being fictional, Palahniuk's written words inspired real life actions. Therefore, whether fictional or not, the reasons for joining Fight Club and Project Mayhem mirror actual reasons for joining a similar group. Noting that countless fraternities and secret societies exist around the world, some part of joining and partaking in these types of groups must prove appealing. Despite all of the negativity associated with Fight Club and Project Mayhem from outside observers, the appeal of these two groups stems from the sense of belonging incited as well as the natural longing to partake in something larger than oneself. Before joining any group, the initial interest generally comes about from a perceived sense of similarity between oneself and current group members. As Palahniuk writes, "What you see at fight club is a generation of men raised by women" (50). This description can mean in a literal sense growing up without a father and being raised solely by the mother. However, in a broader sense, people who are drawn to Fight Club perhaps represent a much larger group of people. It also may refer to anyone who had a difficult childhood, or simply worked hard to get

where he is and is not satisfied with his place in life. Anyone joining Fight Club for the first time can look around the room and recognize that everyone else is also there for a reason. This reason will differ from person to person; however, some things are constant. Palahniuk's narrator explains, "Most guys are at fight club because of something they're too scared to fight" (54). This represents the major commonality between all who partake in Fight Club, and the basis for the ease of their bonding. To have any interest in Fight Club, one must have some sort of pent up tension or anger that one wants to release. Without any anger or frustration, there would be very little for which to fight. Knowing this fact, men are encouraged to participate. It can represent a way to release their day-to-day frustrations in a non-personal way on another man who is similarly motivated. Nicholas Syrett writes of fraternities, "Part of the appeal of such clubs was also that they were not open to the prying eyes of adults, who might seek to regulate the behavior of the boys involved; they were a means for boys to establish some measure of control over their lives, or so it seemed" (25). By physically putting their own lives in their hands, they could feel a sense of self-control and power over their own destiny. This similarity of focus unites the members before even joining. However, the strongest bond is formed upon joining the club. All fraternal organizations portray a particular inclusivity versus exclusivity principle. These types of organizations try to idealize the ratio so that the group is inclusive enough to encourage participation and growth while simultaneously remaining exclusive in order to keep current members satisfied with their "elite" status. Fight Club utilizes this principle perfectly. By allowing anyone to join who is willing to fight, it creates an everyman attitude whereby no one receives special treatment. However, it also remains an exclusive organization in that every single member discovered Fight Club through word of mouth. Therefore, even having gotten

word of the group puts each particular member at a distinct advantage over the public. Also, this method acts as a linking tool whereby every member of Fight Club heard from a current club member, from someone who had broken the first rule. The exclusivity of Fight Club is furthered by the obvious bruises and cuts on the faces of the participants. As the narrator explains, "Now I go to meetings or conferences and see faces at conference tables, accountants and junior executives or attorneys with broken noses [...] or they have a couple stitches under an eye or a jaw wired shut [...] We nod to each other. Later, my boss will ask me how I know so many of these guys" (54). This secretive aspect of Fight Club, where only members recognize other members, strengthens their bonds to one another. The exclusivity is strengthened even further when outsiders like the narrator's boss acknowledge that they do not understand what is happening. Much like a secret handshake for a secret society or fraternity, a knowing glance or this simple head nod creates instant gratification for each member, reassuring him that he is not alone in his suffering. The narrator hopes to keep this exclusivity constant. The narrator's biggest descent into outrage and assuming the persona of Tyler while awake occurs at the hand of his questioning boss. Upon seeing the Fight Club rules in the copier machine, the boss questions the narrator and the narrator responds, "This way, when he shows up to work one morning and pumps a round into his nagging, ineffectual, petty, whining, butt-sucking, candy-ass boss, one round will split along the filed grooves and spread open the way a dumdum bullet flowers inside you to blow a bushel load of your stinking guts out through your spine" (98). The boss, in this scene, acts to oppose the exclusivity of Fight Club. By learning of Fight Club through "improper" means, the narrator unleashes on his boss. The narrator deems the boss not worthy of membership because he creates much of the anger released by the narrator at Fight Club.

Along with the club itself being secret, Fight Club and Project Mayhem also have their secret rules. Fraternal organizations usually have some form of rules of behavior or secret bylaws. These rules enhance the exclusivity of the particular club, further enhancing its appeal. By allowing the members to live by a separate set of rules from the larger society they are fighting against, the rules also act to strengthen the conviction of the members. These rules not only give structure and organization to the groups; they form a hierarchical structure where the leaders and founders write rules to govern the greater body of members. And much as in actual fraternal groups, the leaders can alter or change these bylaws, as Tyler Durden does as Fight Club transitions into Project Mayhem. Although the overwhelming authority ends up resting in the hands of the leaders, the structure is necessary to maintain the group. Even though Fight Club and Project Mayhem revolve around self-destruction and anarchy, the very first thing Tyler did upon their founding was create the rules. Tyler also enacts various other ritualistic methods for running Fight Club and Project Mayhem. Rituals play a large role in fraternities as well as secret societies. The rituals are passed on from past members and unite new members to the tradition. Rituals enhance the exclusivity process through the secrecy and unity created. One ritual in the early parts of the novel is the announcement of the rules for all new members by Tyler standing in the center of the ring. However, once Fight Club expands to other cities and Tyler cannot attend, he creates a new ritual to carry on the tradition. The narrator writes, "From now on, when a leader starts fight club, when everyone is standing around the light in the center of the basement, waiting, the leader should walk around and around the outside edge of the crowd, in the dark" (142). This ritual becomes routine throughout all the new fight clubs established. This initiates the transition from Fight Club into Project Mayhem. This change symbolically represents the narrator's first true

loss of control to the club itself. The club is no longer men led by Tyler; a movement has been created in which the power now lies in the hands of the collective members. The loyalty expected of the members of Fight Club is greatly expanded upon creation of Project Mayhem. The loyalty system created appeals to the members because it offers another outlet to express their frustrations on a larger scale. Further, this system of loyalty may allow them a means of which to overcompensate for failed loyalty in relationships throughout their lives, be it a family member or employer. Tyler writes, "Bringing the required items does not guarantee admission to training, but no applicant will be considered unless he arrives equipped with the following items and exactly five hundred dollars cash for personal burial money" (127). This requirement creates two characteristics common to most fraternal organizations: a dress code and dues. By designating which clothing to wear, it not only creates uniformity across the organization, but unites the members in a common appearance. By paying dues, even for a more morbid reason than real-life organizations, it illustrates how members are invested in the organization. The members' investment in the organization, both monetarily and physically, creates a stronger bond between its members and leads to a mob mentality. This mentality extends as far as completing an assignment on Tyler himself. The narrator writes, "From the back of the bus, I can see maybe twenty people sitting between me and the driver. I count the backs of twenty heads. Twenty shaved heads [...] The shaved heads turn around one after another. Then one by one they stand" (187). Although a mob mentality is usually seen as a negative characteristic, it does act to link members of a particular group. This extreme form of bonding allows for brutal and violent acts involving Project Mayhem towards the end of the novel.

Violence is not common across all fraternities and secret societies. However, they are seen as masculine organizations, and some can have violent characteristics. Fight Club involves violence among members. Project Mayhem takes it a step further and involves violence against non-members. By the time Project Mayhem reaches its peak, the group seems to resemble a military group. This again hints at a fraternal component of its appeal. So much of military advertising and appeal is based on brotherhood and joining a fraternal order. The speech in Project Mayhem also resembles the military. The narrator writes, "Every bar I've walked into this week, everybody's called me sir" (158). The members of Project Mayhem behave exactly as if they were soldiers obeying the orders of their commanding officers. Although Fight Club and Project Mayhem involve violence, both promote controlled and directed violence. The controlled violence in Tyler's mind acts out his hopes of a controlled rebellion. From the beginning, Tyler encourages rebellion with every statement he makes, even if he is only convincing the narrator. Tyler says, "Getting fired, is the best thing that could happen to any of us. That way, we'd quit treading water and do something with our lives" (83). Project Mayhem eventually leads to violent rebellion. However, upon forming Fight Club, the rebellion Tyler wants is simply a sense of seizing one's own life and not wasting it working at a miserable job. This type of rebellion gives the men a sense of hope that they, too, can do better than their current way of life. Offering a way out of their mundane lifestyles by joining Fight Club makes this type of group very appealing. The rebellion in Fight Club and Project Mayhem again mirror the structure of actual fraternities. Syrett writes, "An understanding of the rules and regulations that governed college life makes the appeal of fraternities more obvious. Fraternities, by deliberately flouting the college rules that banned them, were one of the means by which

students asserted their independence" (24). Therefore, these men are not only rebelling against their current lifestyle, but the society that binds them. This sense of rebellion, along with the military-like implications, indicates a larger sense of societal change. Although the lives of the members of both Fight Club and Project Mayhem are very structured on a personal level, the group has far-reaching consequences in the community and nationally. The mechanic quotes Tyler, "You have a class of young strong men and women, and they want to give their lives to something. Advertising has these people chasing cars and clothes they don't need. Generations have been working in jobs they hate, just so they can buy what they don't really need" (149). The rebellion Tyler calls for is a rebellion against society in general as it exists in a materialistic world. The personal gratification of selfdestruction and taking control of one's life helps draw in new members. The larger sense of saving the world from mediocrity retains the members. The unity and bonding established through joining a fraternal organization creates an appealing process for men, regardless of the negative actions taken once joining the group. The larger implications of changing the society in which they are trapped further motivate the members to carry out Tyler's orders. Whether committing violent or illegal actions, the act of being rebellious itself acts as a release. This holds especially true for people of the mindset of feeling oppressed by the work-place or society on a daily basis. However, despite all the positive effects received by the members on a personal level, organized rebellion ultimately does more harm than good. Organized rebellion very quickly turns to organized oppression and a sense of being controlled similarly to the society from which they are revolting.

Works Cited Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2005. Print. Syrett, Nicholas L. The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2009. E-Book.