One might assume Hamlet and Fight Club appear, on the surface, to be radically different from one another; and they would be correct in many ways. The two texts could not differ more when it comes to their portrayals of religion and the role of parental figures, for instance. However, it is possible to find both similarities and differences in the ways that each author chose to portray a concept such as (self-inflicted) death. Death and suicide are themes featured in both stories, however, the protagonists have different reasons for contemplating them. While Hamlet seeks to escape the woes of life and find peace in his own death, the unnamed protagonist of Fight Club feels indifferent to life and lacks purpose in it. This causes them both to undervalue their own respective lives and takes a toll on their mental health.
The narrator of Fight Club is hyper aware of the inevitability of death, and his own mortality, causing him to develop a “nothing matters” mindset. This is part of what makes him so susceptible to Tyler’s manipulation, driven by consumerism, and willing to put himself in dangerous situations. “This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.” (Palahniuk, 29) Similar to the mentions of “near life experiences,” the dangerous activities the men of fight club partake in are meant to take away from their lack of purpose and meaning. Although their search for individuality and authenticity ironically leads them all to conforming to a cult-like group led by Tyler (the protagonist’s alter ego), their initial motivation for joining in the first place is due to their own internal struggles with their identities. This reflects the lack of meaning in the narrator’s own life and helps readers understand how his battle with his identity leads to other events and conflicts within the story.
It’s like they’re all energy, shaking so fast they blur around the edges, these guys in recovery from something. As if the only choice they have left is how they’re going to die and they want to die in a fight. (Palahniuk, 139)
The hyperbole “… Shaking so fast they blur around the edges…” is used to describe how quickly the men in fight club move while attacking each other. This shows how vigorous and intense the fights get, which demonstrates how little these men value their lives and well-being. By describing the angry, adrenaline-fueled fights that these men willingly partake in shows readers the kind of environment the narrator exists in and helps them understand him better. Essentially, it makes one wonder what seemingly mentally healthy person would participate in such risky activities, if they are not at least indifferent to the idea of their own death. In an essay published by the Department of Philosophy at the Catholic University of Portugal, William Irwin states the following:
What about people who have simply realized that the life they have been living is a meaningless lie? Where can they go? Quite fortuitously, Jack goes to a cancer survivors meeting at his doctors jesting suggestion, and he finds that he gets relief. Jack experiences catharsis vicariously […] Really, he needs a cure for what ails him personally, a meaningless life of consumerism and conformism. And so, with his alter ego, Tyler, Jack ups the ante by putting himself in the conflict, by experiencing conflict and struggle firsthand in the form of the fight. (Irwin, 677)
This desire to act upon one’s violent urges, coupled with the narrator’s history of attending various support groups, reflects his mental health struggles and lack of purpose. His struggle to feel catharsis and emotional vulnerability is what leads him to fight club, which foreshadows his more extreme actions with Project Mayhem later in the novel. For example, the events of the eighteenth chapter, in which the mechanic practices extremely reckless driving with the narrator in the car, and he appears to feel a sense of freedom and detachment from his everyday responsibilities. “The headlights are flashing high and low and high in your face, and you will never have to go to work again.” (Palahniuk, 144) The fact that he doesn’t care whether he lives or dies, as long as he experiences even a sliver of temporary catharsis, is what ultimately leads the protagonist to end up in these risky situations. Furthermore, the first person narration style allows readers to witness his true thoughts and feelings, which are essential to understanding his internal conflicts and how they influence his decisions. It is mostly during long descriptions of the narrator’s inner monologue that readers truly see how the character feels about death and the ways he copes with these feelings. Palahniuk’s background in journalism makes him dedicated to writing real stories about real people and issues. In an interview published by award-winning literary magazine Hazlitt, he provides aspiring writers with the following advice:
Go to where the rawest stories occur. In Alcoholics Anonymous, I'm always blown away by the most unlikely people inventing a phrase or sharing an anecdote so tragic that it makes the listeners laugh. (Nash, 'Go to Where the Rawest Stories Occur': An Interview with Chuck Palahniuk)
He also has experience working with hospice patients, meaning he has likely witnessed many deaths and mortality-related fears, and his father witnessed the murder of his own mother, by Palahniuk’s grandfather. Having seen these struggles firsthand, it is clear why the author wanted to portray a character that deals with similar experiences and emotions, and why the narrator’s struggles feel so real and, perhaps even relatable to some readers.
Hamlet views death as a solution to his problems, and possibly the only way he can escape the difficult situation he has found himself in since the death of his father. Still grieving this loss, Hamlet feels trapped and helpless in his despair and contemplates the ethics of taking his own life as a result of his mental health struggles. “To take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them. To die, to sleep.” (3, 1, 60) Despite the existence of various contradicting interpretations of this scene, most agree that this line, from the iconic “To be, or not to be” soliloquy, shows Hamlet considering the moral implications of taking his own life. In an essay featured in The Shakespeare Association Bulletin (now known as Shakespeare Quarterly) and published by Oxford University Press, N. B. Allen writes:
According to dissenting critics, Hamlet is wondering whether it is nobler to combat misfortunes or to give in to them; but if this is his meaning, the answer to the problem is so obvious that the problem itself is not worth proposing. Not only Hamlet but everyone else would assume without question that taking arms in this sense is nobler than suffering. If we accept the suicide interpretation, however, the question has point. For there is some dignity in suffering when suicide is the only way out, and suicide, too, is sometimes thought to be noble… (Allen, 198)
Therefore, Hamlet ponders the possibility of self-inflicted death as a moral dilemma, approaching it from a religious perspective. During Shakespeare’s lifetime, it was widely believed that suicide was sinful, and people who took their own lives were typically denied a traditional Christian burial (which is made clear in the opening line of Act 5, when the gravedigger says of Ophelia: “Is she to be buried in Christian burial when she willfully seeks her own salvation?” (5, 1, 1)) In her thesis for the Bachelor of Arts degree with honours at the University of Michigan, Kate Heinz claims:
In the Elizabethan era, church officials were convinced suicide was instigated by the Devil, and self-slaughter was “ungodly and diabolical.” Self-murder was understood as an expression of despair, and "the devil was the literal symbol of despair.” (Heinz, 25)
These views about suicide are the main cause for Hamlet’s hesitation. He feels torn, trying to decide between giving in to his own mental health struggles and doing what he believes is “right.” By describing his struggles as “a sea of troubles,” Hamlet paints a picture of a vast and endless sadness from which escape is impossible. This illustrates how trapped he feels and desperate to end his sorrow, no matter how drastic his actions may be. The fact that this is confessed in a soliloquy indicates that these are his true feelings without the pressure of putting on a performance for other characters. Although Hamlet chooses to act mad for much of the play, including behaving strangely and speaking to others in ways that don’t make sense, a soliloquy often indicates a level of honesty, vulnerability, and authenticity that the audience doesn’t get to see in other parts of the play. When he isn’t in the presence of other characters, Hamlet has the freedom to admit what he is considering doing, which provides the audience with the necessary context to understand his internal conflict and the extent to which his grief has affected him.
Both texts explore the theme of death, but do so in very different ways. The narrator of Fight Club views death as a performance, act of rebellion, and necessary step on the path to self-discovery, freedom, and individuality, while Hamlet ponders death and its moral implications from a Christian perspective. Still, there are some parallels between the characters’ points of view; they each see death, to some extent, in a positive way, as some sort of escape. The narrator spends much of the book dwelling on everything wrong with modern life and his corporate job, turning to consumerism as a source of satisfaction, only to discover its inability to bring him true happiness. He then begins to attend support groups for various illnesses that he does not suffer from, and relies on this as a coping mechanism. “This was freedom. Losing all hope was freedom…” (Palahniuk, 22) The narrator feels that losing one’s will to live and accepting the inevitability of death is synonymous with freedom, and it is this revelation that brings him his much desired emotional release. Later in the novel, his views on the positive aspects of death shift slightly, after he sees the way the other men in Project Mayhem react to the death of Big Bob (or Robert Paulson). “Only in death will we have our own names since only in death are we no longer part of the effort. In death we become heroes.” (Palahniuk, 178) At this point, he begins to believe that the only way to achieve glory and form an individual identity instead of existing solely as part of the collective is to die. In contrast, during Hamlet’s soliloquy, he implies that death is simply a peaceful slumber that puts an end to one’s troubles in this life. This makes it known to the audience his motives for contemplating self-slaughter and gives some insight into how he views death.
To die, to sleep—
No more—and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to—'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished! (3, 1, 61)
Like the narrator of Fight Club, he seeks to escape the struggles he currently faces in his own life, however, Hamlet’s contemplation of suicide does not take into account glory, recognition, or identity. The hyperbole Hamlet uses when describing the “thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to…” and his description of “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” (3, 1, 59) demonstrates the frustration and despair he feels towards the unpredictability of life, and the potential for tragedy to occur. Having lost his father only two months prior, and managing familial conflict ever since, it is understandable why he would use exaggerations or strong language to make a point about the unfairness and injustice that comes with being alive. This also gives the audience a better sense of why he is considering taking his life in the first place. The narrator of Fight Club similarly uses figurative language to prove a related point when he says “This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time,” (Palahniuk, 29) implying that life is spent simply waiting for it to end. This further proves his disappointment in the monotony and meaninglessness of his life, and how little he cares for it. Hamlet’s soliloquy provides a structured, intellectual description of his thoughts and emotions while he weighs the benefit and cost of suicide; the fragmented, chaotic, non-chronological nature of the stream-of-consciousness narration style used in Fight Club reflects the narrator’s nihilistic, self-destructive inner monologue. This stark distinction in structure clearly highlights the contrast between the characters’ respective thought processes. While one seeks to be relieved of his apparently insurmountable emotional pain and grief, the other wants to die by self-sacrifice, be seen as a hero, and fill a void in his life.
All things considered, Hamlet and Fight Club, despite their differences, both depict protagonists that struggle with some form of suicidal ideation as a result of external factors and their own life experiences. The narrator of Fight Club is missing a sense of purpose and fulfilment, which shapes his outlook on life and ultimately inspires him to put himself in dangerous situations, where his life is at risk. Hamlet, on the other hand, is so consumed by grief after his father’s death that he feels suicide would be the only solution for his problems. It is his religious beliefs about self-inflicted death that prevent him from carrying out this possibility. No matter how different these two characters may be, each of their experiences dealing with thoughts of suicide contribute to a greater dialogue around mental health and the potential consequences of not taking it seriously.
Works Cited
Allen, N. B. “HAMLET’S ‘TO BE OR NOT TO BE’ SOLILOQUY.” The Shakespeare Association Bulletin, vol. 13, no. 4, 1938, pp. 195–207. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23675828. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
Heinz, Kate. The Space for Will: Suicide and the Reformation in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. 2018. University of Michigan, Undergraduate thesis
Irwin, William. “‘Fight Club’, Self-Definition, and the Fragility of Authenticity.” Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia, vol. 69, no. 3/4, 2013, pp. 673–84. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23785885. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
Nash, Elle. “'Go to Where the Rawest Stories Occur': An Interview with Chuck Palahniuk.” Hazlitt, 10 January 2020, https://hazlitt.net/feature/go-where-rawest-stories-occur-interview-chuck- palahniuk. Accessed 22 January 2025.
Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club: A Novel. WW Norton, 2018.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Spark Publishing, 2003.
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