They begin to form a symbolic prison in which he has locked himself. He will need money to continue to buy objects such as these. In order to sustain this illusion of happiness and completeness, the Narrator must continue working a job or jobs he finds repulsive. He has not made any of these objects himself. They merely demonstrate his buying power. They do not make him feel happy or give him a sense of accomplishment. In the consumer culture existence of the Narrator's life, the objects he buys are little more than consolation prizes. The Narrator says this while discussing the furniture and contents of his condominium.

'Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.' Palahniuk, p. If one were to achieve it, what would they do after that? On the other, this makes perfection a fleeting goal. On one hand, one can pursue perfection in the hope of achieving it, if only for a brief moment.

Tyler's analogy treats perfection as a double-edged sword. Tyler asks the Narrator what time it is when he completes the sculpture, so that he will know when the shadow is just right to be viewed. The sculpture forms a shadow depicting a human hand. The Narrator says this after watching Tyler assemble his shadow sculpture on the beach. A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection.' Palahniuk, p. 'One minute was enough, Tyler said, a person had to work hard for it, but a minute of perfection was worth the effort. His identity becomes threatened, something that could be completely overtaken by Tyler's persona. While he is successful in doing this, he also loses control of his own life. How well do we know ourselves? Do we really know who we are? Who we want to be? The Narrator creates the persona of Tyler Durden to solve the problems in his life and to pursue Marla Singer. However, the question also deals centrally with the issue of identity. The Narrator states this at several times in the book, foreshadowing the book's central revelation: that the Narrator and Tyler Durden are the same person. 'If I could wake up in a different place, at a different time, could I wake up as a different person?' Palahniuk, p. While conveniently also re-affirming his own worldview, it also prevents him from moving out of this mindset. This attitude also suggests that the Narrator has fallen into a cycle of self-pity. In the Narrator's worldview, we are all destined to die and there is nothing any of us can do about it. Only by letting go of any hope can he rest. In order to sleep at night, he needs to cry and lose himself in his despair. This quote, from the Narrator, betrays his nihilistic view of life. On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone will drop to zero.' Palahniuk, p.17 'It's easy to cry when you realize that everyone you love will reject you or die.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk