In Chuck Palahniuk's “Fight Club,” materialism negatively affected the human population. An example of this is the Narrator's obsession with his material objects such as his apartment, Ikea furniture, clothes, etc. He works and travels every day for his mediocre office job in the hopes of one day being able to purchase everything he has ever wanted. He believes that when he acquires all these material possessions, he will finally be able to live his perfect life. However, we can see the consequences of perceiving these objects with such high importance when the Narrator's apartment violently catches fire, along with everything he owned. He feels completely empty after the destruction of his belongings because, at that time, they were the only things he loved. Another example of negative effects caused by materialism is explained by the Narrator's (Tyler Durden) alter ego. “The things we own end up owning us” is what Tyler told the Narrator shortly after his apartment was charred. Tyler elaborates on the idea that we are all slaves to what we buy. If you get too comfortable having all these things, they become necessities. Therefore, if one of these objects is lost, broken or ruined, you will now need to replace it. It becomes an endless cycle of buying and replacing material objects and the only way to fuel this cycle is with money. If we spend most of our time and effort making money only to spend it on items that will eventually break and require even more work/money, what makes us human in regards to the things we buy? What Chuck Palahniuk is trying to portray is that humans should not place so much importance on material possessions. When we make a lifelong commitment to buying cars and houses, trying to build the best life and achieve perfection, we quickly realize that perfection is an illusion. It seems obtainable from afar, but the closer you get, the further away it will seem. You become a slave not only to the thing you buy but also to the working class, who grind every day, anxiously waiting for the next paycheck to buy more “steps” towards the perfect life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Another recurring theme in “Fight Club” is the overlooked primal nature of the human psyche. The prime example of this is the rapidly growing popularity of The Narrator's Fight Club. Most of the members appear to be, but are not limited to, blue collar/middle class workers looking for an escape, which Fight Club offers. It allows these men to release stress and pent up aggression by letting go of all that they have in mind and fighting, man to man. It allows them to satisfy their primal and barbaric needs. The book shows that this is a very common need based on the fact that similar fight clubs have started popping up all over the United States. These fight clubs held fight nights Monday through Sunday, easily attracting 50-100 people each night at its peak. Secondly, Tyler's “Project Mayhem” is also an example of humans having a more primal nature. Project Mayhem is a group created by Tyler Durden (the narrator's alter ego) with the sole purpose of demolishing modern society. Potential members who want to join go through a difficult probationary period, in which they must wait on the porch of the Paper Street House without food or shelter for 3 days. They would also be berated with insults throughout the probationary period. Project Mayhem was responsible for numerous bombings and attacks, all of them.