How we cite our quotes: (Chapter. Paragraph)
Quote #1
Anything you're ever proud of will be thrown away. (2.10)
Our narrator isn't just dissatisfied at the realization that he will die; he's dealing with the fact that everyone else will die, too. And one day, all his possessions and accomplishments will be gone and forgotten. This train of thought can go from dissatisfaction to depression real fast.
Quote #2
Nothing is static. Even the Mona Lisa is falling apart. (6.21)
The Mona Lisa is a great example of something considered a timeless work of art. But it's still man-made, and nothing man-made is going to last forever. Except for Twinkies.
Quote #3
Ever since college, I make friends. They get married. I lose friends. (7.71)
Ah, the circle of social life. Friendships are born, burn bright, and fade away. Any twenty- or thirty-something can relate.
Quote #4
What Marla loves, she says, is all the things that people love intensely and then dump an hour or a day after. (8.50)
Whereas the narrator wants to rid himself of all these useless, transient possessions, Marla wants to show them a little bit more love, even if it is just prolonging the inevitable.
Quote #5
Marla's philosophy of life, she told me, is that she can die at any moment. The tragedy of her life is that she doesn't. (14.10)
Once again, Marla proves to be a foil for our protagonist. He's dealing with the disappointment that everyone dies. Marla is dealing with the disappointed that she just won't die. What do you think: are these two coping strategies just two sides of the same coin?
Quote #6
For thousands of years, human beings had screwed up and trashed and crapped on this planet, and now history expected me to clean up after everyone. (16.62)
Our narrator isn't happy having to clean up after his ancestors' mistakes. Who wants to be held accountable for a mess they didn't make?
Quote #7
"You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all part of the same compost pile." (17.92)
By making this speech, Tyler is turning the dissatisfaction of his generation into a mantra, transforming it from disappointment into empowerment.
Quote #8
I am nothing in the world compared to Tyler. I am helpless. I am stupid, and all I do is want and need things. (18.125-18.127)
Our narrator is frustrated and upset at his role in society as a consumer, but he can't stop. It's almost like an addiction he just can't kick. It's not easy to change something you're dissatisfied with when it's ingrained in you.
Quote #9
"I see the strongest and the smartest men who have ever lived [...] and these men are pumping gas and waiting tables." (19.12)
Tyler is disappointed to see how society has emasculated mankind. According to him, dissatisfaction and wasted potential go hand in hand.
Quote #10
"We are the middle children of history, raised by television to be believe that someday we'll be millionaires and movie stars and rock stars, but we won't. And we're just learning this fact [...] so don't f*** with us." (22.78)
All the dissatisfaction in the novel is building up to this point when it explodes into anger. All the dissatisfied and disillusioned men of the nation are uniting, and they're just not going to take it anymore.