In his article «Capitalism and Heroism in Taxi Driver», published in 2013, Matthew J. Ianucci explores the distorted inner world and perception of Travis Bickle, the Vietnam War veteran, who, due to his sleep disorder, is working as a cab driver at night time. Obsessed with the idea to be a vigilant and recognized hero of society, he, ironically, is an outcast, striving to certify his masculinity through violent and reckless actions. In his article Ianucci comes to the conclusion that violence has never been and will never be the answer to the major social and economic problems that plague the country.
According to Ianucci, Taxi Driver defies the widespread American myth that a hero can bring salvation by ultimately killing and wiping out everything that confronts «normal» and «righteous» living. Ianucci in his article provides multiple evidences and explanations on why this approach will not work. Deeply analyzing the story and how it reveals the character of Robert De Niro’s hero, or, it is better to say antihero, the author concludes that the only motive for Travis to be a loner and to kill was his desire to assert himself. Aiming his anger at what he believes to be a crime, Travis is trying to justify his actions, but in the essence he does not differ from David Berkowitz, a serial killer, who was terrorizing people of New York in the seventies.
«In essence, his heroism, or more accurately, his antiheroic actions, stem from his need to impress and ultimately save two females: Betsy and Iris.»
Here Ianucci describes a reason for Travis acting so relentlessly. According to the author, the protagonist is trying to attract two women. Although they are absolutely different, Travis thinks that the way to win their hearts is to become a hero.
Here Ianucci implies that Travis is driven by a cliche that in order to win a woman’s heart he has to be masculine, and that the key factor of masculinity is being violent; although Travis is trying to act like a hero from the films he has seen, it does not work as planned, as the characters he tries to copy are not applicable to the New York reality of the seventies.
The quote represents the whole idea behind Travis’s quest for justice. It shows his true motives, which lie in self-reassurance, rather than in bringing peace to the city and fighting the crime. Travis desperately needs to feel confident, and he does what he does not because he has a strong feeling of justice, but because he is trying to establish his «self» in the place, where he thinks he belongs.
Searching for the explanation for Travis’s behavior, Ianucci is looking for the answer in his past. Having served in Vietnam, Travis is one of the many, who have returned home, but did not exactly find one. He wears his army jacket that can be a symbol for him, a symbol of what he did or did not do back in Vietnam, and what could shape his personality in such an odd manner.
Travis may be extrapolating his experience in Vietnam on the reality he is currently in. There were other laws, and although they were cruel, they were the only working rules that could be applied to the unfriendly environment. Having seen the efficiency of these rules, and how significantly they differ from their dysfunctional and obsolete analogues in America, Travis could have though that he found a cure and a solution to the criminal situation in the modern society.
The quote exposes Travis as a person who misunderstands the reality. As Ianucci concludes, Robert De Niro’s hero is suffering from a sense of dislocation due to having been removed from Vietnam before managing to become a hero there. Travis was driven by his purpose to such extent that he found no other way but to become a hero in New York. He confused and mixed two realities, but what is common and widely applied in one reality, makes you a criminal in the other.
«Ironically, Travis sees himself as a kind of white minority who is being absorbed by a growing criminal class of non-whites.»
The quote represents Travis’s feelings towards people of different nationalities. He gets under the control of the prejudices that the ethnic minorities are the cause of most criminal activities in the city, and he blames them for the unrest and decay that reign on the streets. Ultimately, he is afraid of the African Americans and sees them as a threat, even if they are amiable to him.
Although Travis is a racist, he is more afraid than aggressive. He is confident that mostly non-white people are guilty of committing crimes in New York, but he does not take into consideration the fact that crime in its nature is not something that depends on the nationality or ethnicity. That said, the crime will always remain crime, no matter who commits it, or what his or her motives are. With this applied to Travis’s actions, it is evident that committing a crime in the name of justice does not waive the responsibility for the consequences.
The quote unveils another side of Travis’s character: his ambiguity and double standards. While seeking for justice, he kills people, but blames others for being criminals. At the same time, though he does not realize that, he is also one of the criminals of the city; while hiding behind the heroic declarations, he is only looking for a way to establish his self-esteem. The quote also depicts how he sidesteps the responsibility in order to justify himself.
