The Narrator is a fictional character and the primary antagonist appearing as the central figure of the 1996 Chuck Palahniuk novel ''

Fight Club ''Fight Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays the unnamed narrator, who is d ...

'', its 1999 film adaptation of the same name, and the comic books '' Fight Club 2'' and '' Fight Club 3''. The character is an

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

c with a

split personality Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

, and is depicted as an unnamed

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

(credited in the film as "the Narrator") during the day, who becomes the chaotic and charismatic Tyler Durden at night during periods of insomnia. In 2008, Tyler was selected by ''Empire'' magazine as the greatest movie character of all time, shortly after ''Fight Club'' was voted by ''Empire'' readers as the tenth greatest film of all time.

Appearances

Novels

''Pursuit of Happiness'' (1995)

The Narrator first appeared in a seven-page short story in the 1995 compilation ''Pursuit of Happiness''. This story later became chapter six of the novel ''

'', which Palahniuk published in 1996.

''Fight Club'' (1996)

In the 1996 novel, the Narrator is depicted as an average middle-class man employed at an unnamed automobile company, wherein he inspects car accidents to determine if an automobile model should be recalled. Suffering from insomnia and depression, he begins visiting support groups for people with illnesses that he is not afflicted with himself. This induces

catharsis Catharsis (from Greek , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions through dramatic art, or it may be any extreme emotional state that results in renewal and restoration. In its lite ...

within him, enabling him to sleep. When an impostor named Marla Singer begins to appear at the groups, his euphoria is broken and his insomnia returns. The Narrator meets a man named Tyler Durden while alone on an airplane, and begins living with him after his condominium explodes due to unknown causes. The duo establish a weekly meeting known as "fight club", in which they and other men can engage in bare-knuckle fistfights. After Marla calls their residence, threatening suicide, she and Tyler begin an affair that confounds the Narrator. Tyler initiates a cult-like organisation known as Project Mayhem in order to aggressively promote his

anti-consumerist Anti-consumerism is a sociopolitical ideology that is opposed to consumerism, the continual buying and consuming of material possessions. Anti-consumerism is concerned with the private actions of business corporations in pursuit of financial and ...

ideals, but the Narrator becomes increasingly uneasy with the group as its activities become more destructive. The Narrator learns that he and Tyler are, in fact, the same person, as the Narrator's mind formed a new personality that was able to escape from the issues that plagued his life. With the help of Project Mayhem, Tyler plans to destroy a skyscraper and a national museum using homemade explosives. Tyler plans to die alongside the Narrator as a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

during the event. Attempting to stop Tyler's plan, the Narrator ascends to the roof of the building, where Tyler holds him at gunpoint. When Marla arrives on the roof with one of the support groups, Tyler vanishes, as Tyler "was his hallucination, not hers."Palahniuk, ''Fight Club'', 1999, p. 195. With Tyler gone, the Narrator waits for the explosives to kill him. However, the bomb malfunctions, as Tyler mixed paraffin into the explosives. Still alive and holding Tyler's pistol, the Narrator makes the choice to shoot himself. Later, he regains consciousness in a mental hospital, believing he is in Heaven, and imagines an argument with God over human nature. The novel ends with the Narrator being approached by hospital employees who are actually members of Project Mayhem. The Narrator does not have a name in the novel, yet is often referred to as "Joe," due to his quotes such as "I am Joe's lank. These quotes refer to the Narrator's reading old ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

'' articles in which human organs write about themselves in

first-person perspective A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...

''Fight Club 2'' (2015)

In the comic book sequel '' Fight Club 2'', the Narrator goes by the name of Sebastian.Fight Club 2 #1, Chuck Palahniuk & Cameron Stewart,

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

, May 2015 Set ten years after the original novel, the Narrator is depicted as working for a

private military contractor A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military ...

, while he and Marla are married and have a nine-year-old son named Junior. After Junior is killed in a house fire, it is revealed that the Narrator's mother and father both died in two other separate fires. Unlike in the film, Tyler's appearance is based on a personal friend of the author, depicted as having "shoulder-length-

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

blond hair." His temper is somewhat kept under control through the Narrator's medication. ''Fight Club 2'' provides a new, drastically different explanation for Tyler: the Narrator discovers that Tyler is not merely his own split personality, but essentially, a sort of meme who can spread from one person to another. The current host of the "Tyler Durden" personality damages the life of a younger child with the express purpose of causing the stress factors that will give rise to a new "Tyler Durden" personality in them when they grow up, thus allowing "Tyler Durden" to achieve a sort of functional immortality. The Narrator's therapist has pieced this together through hypnosis sessions, explaining to him that the Narrator's own father and grandfather were hosts, and that "Tyler" was involved in shaping Marla's life as well—"breeding them like cattle" for generations, so the Narrator and Marla could in turn produce a son, who would be Tyler's host in the next generation. Junior only faked his death in the fire, as he is slowly being taken over by his Tyler Durden just as his father was. The Narrator has to race to stop "Tyler", even though he cannot truly kill him without killing both his son and himself.

''Fight Club 3'' (2019)

Film

In the 1999 film ''

'', based on the Palahniuk novel and directed by David Fincher, the Narrator is portrayed by

Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations. Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised ...

while Tyler is played by Brad Pitt. The actors began preparation for their roles by taking lessons in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling ...

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

, and

soapmaking Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used a ...

. Pitt made the decision to visit a dentist to have pieces of his front teeth chipped off so that the character of Tyler would have imperfect teeth. The pieces were restored after the film's production concluded. The film's portrayal of the Narrator and Tyler is similar to that of the novel, with some differences. Unlike the novel, the two meet during a plane flight rather than on a nude beach, and the cinematic incarnation of Tyler does not murder anyone, unlike the literary version. Furthermore, while the novel ends with the Narrator in a mental hospital, the film concludes with the Narrator and Marla in a skyscraper, overlooking the skyline that is detonating due to Project Mayhem's explosives. Like in the novel, the Narrator does not have a name, though the script refers to him as "Jack".Uhls, Jim; ''Fight Club'' screenplay; http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Fight-Club.html While the novel features the Narrator referring to himself as "Joe" from ''Reader's Digest'' articles, the film adaptation replaces "Joe" with "Jack".

Video games

In the 2004 video game ''

'', developed by

Genuine Games Genuine Games was a British computer game development company based in Scotland. Its biggest title was 50 Cent: Bulletproof, which sold over 2 million units. Genuine Games was founded in early 1998 by David Broadhurst, Steven Batiste, and Rus ...

and released by

Vivendi Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...

, the Narrator is voiced by

Dave Wittenberg Dave Wittenberg, sometimes credited as Dave Lelyveld, is a South African-born American voice actor and scriptwriter. Early life Wittenberg was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was raised in the Los Angeles area. Career Wittenberg voices ...

while Tyler is voiced by

Joshua Leonard Joshua Granville Leonard (born June 17, 1975) is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his role in ''The Blair Witch Project'' (1999). He has since starred in films such as '' Madhouse'' (2004), '' The Shaggy Dog'' (2006), '' Higher G ...

Reception

In 2008, Tyler was selected by ''Empire'' magazine as the greatest movie character of all time. When the list was redone in 2015, he placed at number eight.

References

External links

The Narrator
on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Narrator Film characters introduced in 1995 Fictional activists Fictional characters with alter egos Fictional characters with dissociative identity disorder Fight Club Male literary villains Fictional mercenaries Fictional nihilists Fictional insomniacs Fictional private military members Male characters in literature Male characters in film Fictional terrorists Fictional cult leaders Male characters in comics