The Comparison of Sigmund Freud's Id, the Ego and the Superego to Chuck Palahniuk's Tyler, the Narrator, and society in the Novel Fight Club

Abstract

Psychoanalysis has been used for decades to explore the hidden motives and explanation of violent behavior of the characters in a novel. This paper analyses Chuck Palahniuk’s famous novel Fight Club using Freudian psychoanalysis. It explores the Freudian concepts of Id, Ego, and Super-ego as portrayed in the character of Tyler, the narrator, and the society in the novel. The research show how the characters of Tyler Durden with his violent behavior and the narrator with his passive lifestyle are a suitable representation of Freudian Id and Ego, respectively. The paper also throws light upon the role of society with its intricate web of rules and its influence on the behavior of the narrator and the violence of Tyler Durden