How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Taxi Driver.
Quote #1
PERSONNEL OFFICER: What do you want to hack for, Bickle?
TRAVIS: I can't sleep nights.
PERSONNEL OFFICER: There's porno theaters for that.
TRAVIS: I know. I tried that.
PERSONNEL OFFICER: What do you do now?
TRAVIS: Ride around nights mostly. Subways, busses. Figure if I'm gonna do that, I might as well get paid for it.
When the movie begins, Travis is already in a state of isolation, thanks to his insomnia. Ironically, his attempt to be productive and become a taxi driver ends up making that situation even worse, compounding his isolation with actual craziness.
Quote #2
TRAVIS: All my life needed was a sense of someplace to go. I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention. I believe that someone should become a person like other people.
Travis is totally sincere about this and his attempts to become "like other people." However, he's so ill-equipped that he doesn't understand that taking someone to a porno movie on a first date is not something a normal person would do. His attempts to dig himself out just dig him in deeper.
Quote #3
TRAVIS: Loneliness has followed me my whole life. Everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man.
Travis is "God's lonely man" because he personally crystallizes the whole idea of loneliness—he's an archetype of the lonely person.
Quote #4
TRAVIS: I think you're a lonely person. I drive by this place a lot and I see you here. I see a lot of people around you. And I see all these phones and all this stuff on your desk. It means nothing. Then when I came inside and I met you, I saw in your eyes and I saw the way you carried yourself that you're not a happy person. And I think you need something. And if you want to call it a friend, you can call it a friend.
Travis is lonely and in his desire for Betsy to save him, he imagines she's lonely too. Maybe she is. His whole speech here is pretty intense—yet, somehow, it doesn't really turn Betsy off. She thinks he's sensitive, but she misses the lack of social skills, the obliviousness.
Quote #5
BETSY: You know what you remind me of?
TRAVIS: What?
BETSY: That song by Kris Kristofferson
TRAVIS: Who's that?
BETSY: A songwriter. "He's a prophet... he's a prophet and a pusher, partly truth, partly fiction. A walking contradiction."
TRAVIS: You sayin' that about me?
BETSY: Who else would I be talkin' about?
TRAVIS: I'm no pusher. I never have pushed.
BETSY: No, no. Just the part about the contradictions. You are that.
This is an example of miscommunication: Betsy is trying to muse on Travis' personality and bond over music, but Travis totally misses the point of what she's saying and gets hung up on the bit about being a "pusher." They're both misreading each other from the beginning.
Quote #6
TRAVIS: Dear Father and Mother:
July is the month I remember which brings not only your wedding anniversary but also Father's Day and Mother's birthday. I'm sorry I can't remember the exact dates, but I hope this card will take care of them all. I'm sorry again I cannot send you my address like I promised to last year. But the sensitive nature of my work for the government demands utmost secrecy. I know you will understand. I am healthy and well and making lots of money. I have been going with a girl for several months and I know you would be proud if you could see her. Her name is Betsy but I can tell you no more than that...I hope this card finds you all well as it does me. I hope no one has died. Don't worry about me. One day, they'll be a knock on the door and it'll be me.
Love, Travis.
At this point, we see how crazy his isolation has really made Travis. He tells his parents a bunch of pleasant lies, and botches the date for Father's Day in the process. It goes to show that he's disconnected from his family in a profound way, despite his apparent love for them. His state of isolation is total.