It is being speculated that In Fight Club, the narrator and Tyler are actually adult Calvin and Hobbes from the popular American comic by Bill Watterson. The comic spanned over the period of November 1985 to December 1995. The comic revolves around the humorous antics of Calvin and Hobbes (Hobbes being Calvin’s stuffed Tiger). But like in every comic, the Tiger is anthropomorphic.
Fight Club was based on Chuck Palahniuk’s 1996 novel of the same title. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton star in a feature helmed by David Fincher. The Narrator of the story is bored from his life and his executive job. One fine day he meets Tyle Durden the soap maker along with whom they form the “Fight Club”. As the fight club begins to prosper, the thing starts to turn wild.
Coming back to the theory! It goes like this- Calvin grows up to be the narrator and Hobbes becomes Tyler Durden but now he is fully human. The theory speculates that the bullying Calvin is subjected to in seventh grade makes him unimage Hobbes. But Hobbes’perception still remains unaltered somewhere in the deep corners of Calvin’s mind. Hobbes is not around Calvin but may have been waiting for him to free him. When Calvin grows up he eventually brings Hobbes back as Tyler Durden.
What is the basis for this speculation?
This may sound like we are only trying to find reasons to believe the theory. The hypothesis stems from the belief that Hobbes and Tyler Durden are not real but only an image in their respective stories.
Let us see why this theory makes no sense:
- What made Calvin change his name? Also, The Narrators’ name in Fight Club may have been revealed in one particular scene as Jack. So the hypothesis that Calvin is the narrator cannot be effectively proved.
- Why did Calvin bring back Hobbes as an aggressive personality? It is possible that our hardships as humans tend to make us want to channel the rage we feel inside through some means. But id Calvin did have a hard life, a more calm and sensible version of Hobbes was a practical answer.
- Calvin and Hobbes and The Narrator and Tyler both have their own clubs. GROSS (Get rid of Slimy Girls) is the club that Calvin and Hobbes started. The Narrator and Tyler are the Fight Club. But we cannot ignore the fact that both these clubs are completely different.
- And the most significant difference between Hobbes and Tyler is their personalities. Hobbes is a very sensible and composed tiger. Tyler Durden, however, harbors an offbeat personality who loses his calm on many occasions.
All the above evidence points towards the fact that this theory does not hold a practical explanation. Although it does account for an interesting story. What do you think?
