Topic > Consumerism in Fight Club and Brave New World

Chuck Palahniuk and Aldous Huxley create an extremely fascinating portrait of the image of consumerism in their works. Miriam Webster, in her dictionary, defines consumerism as “the belief that it is good for people to spend a lot of money on goods and services”. Consumerism has more than one side. It can be materialistic, technological or self-consuming. The Industrial Revolution was basically the event that drove people towards consumerism. Both novels, indirectly, represent an image of the American capitalist community dominated by consumerism and perfection. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In Fight Club, characters are seen fighting each other. However, this is not entirely correct. Their true motives and what they are fighting for transcend the fact that they are just fighting. All the characters in the novel are persecuted by consumerism. Everyone adopts the idea of ​​Renewal in all its aspects. In reality, this mechanism results in transforming them into victims of their social customs, as if they were stuck in the unbridled movement of consumerism. Everyone tries to satisfy their desires in this way. They seek only joy and nothing more. However, they are not satisfied. Their appetite for buying and purchasing new things is always at a higher rate. “The things you own end up owning you” (Palahniuk, 1996) The novel describes another dimension of contemporary American growth which is the search for perfection. For them, perfection could be in the body of a human being or in anything else such as, for example, a house. “One minute of perfection was worth the effort. A moment was the most you could expect from perfection.” (Palahniuk, 1996). In the modern American community, the phrase "the perfect man" means a rich, elegant and adequate man. Also, a man who owns much of the luxury furniture; as a result, it influences surrounding people. America's infatuation with perfection and beauty and its fascination with consumerism are two sides of the same coin, as the novel suggests; the two are overwhelmed by the passion to be "perfect". In other words, the characters in the novel sell themselves in order to seek perfection. This devastated passion of the characters in the novel leads to them being transformed into "products", simply like a piece of furniture in an apartment. In Brave New World, there is a logo that says “Community, Identity, Stability”. The entire system of this world state is based on these elements. This system is conditional. Characters are conditioned and systematized to consume. They learn that when possessions break and need to be repaired, they must get rid of them. “Finishing is better than mending. The more points, the less riches” (Huxley 52). People in the World State are recognized as inferior and lesser beings if they do not possess the latest and greatest possessions. It is the same case in America the highest percentage of citizens view substantial property as things that can simply be disposed of and exchanged. One way to identify people is by what they own, i.e. the best goods and not the frivolous ones. The American community today shares many similarities, but they are different in one fundamental aspect, knowledge. The people in the novel are not in control of their actions. They are modified to never ask, but always consume. Citizens lack conscience and freedom of choice because they don't even know what independent individuality and freedom mean. On the contrary, this is not a regular case in America today. People are aware of what they do and essentially responsible for their actions and decisions./10484398)