Masculine Identity in Chuck Palahniuk's Early Novels

This MA thesis deals with the masculine identity of the three main male characters of Chuck Palahniuk's early novels Fight Club, Survivor and Choke. It consists of two parts. The first theoretical part briefly explores anthropological and sociological notions of masculinity, with the focus on the manhood in the contemporary USA. As such it serves as the theoretical basis for the second part of literary interpretation. There the masculine identity of the three main characters is discussed. As all the three characters experience the same development of masculine identity, the interpretation advances along this progress. Its stages are identity crisis, turning to the traditional male strategies, rejecting those strategies and searching the basis of one's identity in a personal relationship