Soap for Sartre
95
that fully commits you, one way or the other. [.. .] [T]he only thing that allows
[one] to live is action. Consequently, we are dealing with a morality of action
and commitment” (39^0). Where the support groups failed, due in large part to
a lack of the protagonist’s true self-commitment, Fight Club succeeds: “You
aren’t alive anywhere like you’re alive at fight club. [...] Fight club isn’t about
words” (51). Naturally, Fight Club is about action. The protagonist’s
commitment to Fight Club parallels that of another of Sartre’s protagonists,
Lucien, who appears in his short story “Childhood of a Leader.” Lucien, who
more closely resembles Fight Club's protagonist both in age and overall
demeanor, joins an ultra-conservative group of young men, filled with the idea
of revolutionizing France’s youth:
Lucien was captivated by the camaraderies of the young
camelots [.. .] He soon knew Lemordant’s “gang,” about 20
students almost all of whom wore velvet berets. [...]
Lemordan [\