Travis
Bickle's personality and point of view of reality are heavily twisted. His
disassociation with the norm and extreme mental states of mind depict the life
of a deranged, depraved, and lonely Vietnam veteran. His terrible social skills
are an apparent sign of mental illness and continue to drive Travis into deeper
levels of solidarity. This loneliness gradually fuels Travis into living a
miserable and misanthropic life. Travis's social ineptitude inevitably leads to
his isolation and distorted perception of himself and the rest of society. The film opens with Travis being interview and
accepting the job as a taxi driver. He explains his willingness to work lots of
extra hours and preference for night shifts is due to his inability to sleep.
It is revealed then that Travis suffers from insomnia. Although Insomnia is a
serious disease, Travis seems complacent and shows no interest in curing
himself. Even in the first scene of the film, it is already exposed that Travis
suffers from at least one mental disorder yet has no aspirations to improve
himself. Upon getting the job and exiting his place of work, he proceeds to
pull out a flask of what is perceived to be alcohol and starts drinking it in
the clear of day on the street. He displays no inclination that his actions are
not the acceptable social norm. After a long twelve-hour shift, Travis reflects
on how the city of Manhattan has become a dump for degenerate punks and
prostitutes. He perceives the New York nightlife he caters to and drives around
as garbage polluting his town. He himself then enters a dirty porn theater once
he's off-duty. He does not see the similarities between himself and the other
perverts and goons of New York City. He sees them as lowly scum that are
responsible for the dirtiness of the city, even though he is apart of the same
dreary world he despises. Travis is a deranged, psychotic animal.
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