In the 1920s, writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Gertrude Stein were known as a "lost generation," as their values were no longer relevant in post-WWI America. The young people caught in the midst of the Great Recession of the 21st century are also known as a "lost generation," unable to find employment or pay for student loans. So are the young men in Fight Club also part of a lost generation? They are dissatisfied with society and how society views them. Where they value personal achievement and strength, America values money, possessions, and power. But is there any way out? Can these men ever be satisfied?
Questions About Dissatisfaction
- Open up a blank Word document for this one: what exactly is our narrator dissatisfied with?
- All the men in Fight Club are dissatisfied about something. Are we living in a generation of dissatisfaction? How does dissatisfaction affect our perception of the world?
- If Project Mayhem succeeds, will everyone be satisfied? Who would be dissatisfied with this new world, and why?