Film & TV Reviews
Constructive Criticisms
Story Analyses
Articles
Storyforms
Develop and analyze stories with Dramatica Pro or the Writer's DreamKit Rating: Excellent. "The most versitile and dynamic program of its kind, Dramatica is a sophisticated and intuitive tool that can benefit both the novice and professional." —Writer's Digest Click here for more reviews

Storytelling Output Report

for

"Taxi Driver"

ANALYSIS INFORMATION:



General Storytelling:
Complete

Act Order Storytelling:
Complete

Character List:
Complete

Build Characters:
Partial




Author:

Paul Schrader

Analysis sources:

Film. Columbia Pictures, 1976. (Columbia Tristar Home Video, 1987.)
Schrader, Paul. Taxi Driver. Unpublished Screenplay dated February, 1975.
Schrader, Paul. In Brady, John. The Craft of the Screenwriter. Simon & Schuster. New York, NY. 1981.
Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. Harper Collins. New York, NY. 1980.

Genre:

Contemporary Western.

Setting:

New York City.

Period:

1976

Analysis by:

Kevin Hindley

Comments:

Source Material: SCREENWRITER INFLUENCES:

SCHRADER
It's just my feeling that Travis is a familiar character
in international literature. But if he were French he
would, like the character in "Le Feu Follet," put
the gun to his head and shoot himself. But in
America he acts out his personal drama on the
stage of other people's lives and forces other people
to go through what he is going through,
which is a very selfish and aggressive and
frontiersmanlike thing to do. Not very mature.
It's a reflection of the immaturity of the national
personality.
(Brady, p. 272)


BRADY
Why was the Mohawk haircut on Travis in
"Taxi?"

SCHRADER
That was a Vietnam thing. Marty Scorcese and
Bobby De Niro interviewed an ex-Green Beret
who told them if a Special Force member felt he
was going to die, he would shave his head into
a Mohawk as a warning to his fellow soldiers.
What he meant was "Don't fuck with me. I'm
going over the hill." It's part of the private Vietnam
language of the film. The film never mentions
Vietnam, but it's full of Vietnam language.

(Brady, p. 293)


BRADY
In the film Travis is not too smart, and yet his diary
has a rather literate tone.

SCHRADER
I think that's common. The diaries of psychopaths
often have a convoluted vocabulary that suggests
aspirations toward importance. They have learned
a number of words one would think they wouldn't
know. I wrote the script before Bremer's diary
came out, but Bremer's diary is full of those sorts
of things.

BRADY
The script was written in June of 1972, one month
after Bremer shot [Presidential candidate George]
Wallace. Did the Wallace shooting help the
screenplay's chances of selling:

SCHRADER
No. It had nothing to do with the sale.

BRADY
Was there any connection?

SCHRADER
Oh, yeah, it was one of the triggers to writing it,
obviously. But I didn't set out to write about Bremer.
He didn't particularly interest me.

(Brady, p. 300)

Brief Synopsis:

(Video blurb, Columbia Tristar Home Video, 1987.)

Objective Character Mini-Synopsis:

THE OBJECTIVE CHARACTERS:


Name: Travis Bickle
Gender: Male
Description:

"TRAVIS BICKLE, age 26, lean, hard, the consummate loner. On the surface he appears good-looking, even handsome; he has a quiet steady look and a disarming smile which flashes from nowhere, lighting up his whole face. But behind that smile, around his dark eyes, in his gaunt cheeks, one can see the ominous stains caused by a life of private fear, emptiness and lonliness [sic]. He seems to have wandered in from a land where it is always cold, a country where the inhabitants seldom speak. The head moves, the expression changes, but the eyes remain ever-fixed, unblinking, piercing empty space.

Travis is now drifting in and out of the New York City night life, a dark shadow among darker shadows. Not noticed, no reason to be noticed, Travis is one with his surroundings. He wears rider jeans, cowboy boots, a plaid western shirt and a worn beige Army jacket with a patch reading, "King Kong Company, 1968-70."

He has the smell of sex about him: sick sex, repressed sex, lonely sex, but sex nonetheless. He is a raw male force, driving forward; toward what, one cannot tell. Then one looks closer and sees the evitable [sic]. The clock spring cannot be wound continually tighter. As the earth moves toward the sun, Travis Bickle moves toward violence."
(Schrader, p. 3)
Role: Taxi Driver
Characteristics:

Motivation: Pursuit; Logic; Control;
Methodology: Certainty; Proaction;
Evaluation: Non-Accurate; Ending;
Purpose: Chaos; Change; Perception; Ability; Speculation; Self Aware;


Name: Betsy
Gender: Female
Description:

"CAMERA FAVORS BETSY, about 25, an extremely attractive woman sitting at the reception desk between two phones and several stacks of papers. Her attractions, however, are more than skin deep. Beneath that Cover Girl facial there is a keen, though highly specialized, sensibility: her eyes scan every man who passes her desk as her mind computes his desirability: political, intellectual, sexual, emotional, material. Simple pose and status do not impress her; she seeks out the extraordinary qualities in men. She is, in other words, a star-fucker of the highest order. Betsy handles her job with confidence and ease. Whether answering phones, giving instructions or directing traffic, she remains the calm center of her hurly-burly world. Nothing threatens her."
(Schrader, p. 16)
Role: "Star-fucker"
Characteristics:

Motivation: Reconsider; Avoidance; Feeling;
Methodology: Potentiality; Nonacceptance; Reaction; Reevaluation;
Evaluation: Accurate;
Purpose: Knowledge; Desire;


Name: Andy
Gender: Male
Description:

"Andy is like the fast-talking, good-looking kid in college who was always making money on one scheme or another. In high school he sold lottery tickets, in college he scored dope, and now he's hustling hand guns."
(Schrader, p. 56)
Role: Gun salesman
Characteristics:

Motivation: Help;


Name: Charles Palantine
Gender: Male
Description:

"Palantine is not a Hubert Humphrey-type professional bullshitter, and Travis' intense reply stops him dead in his tracks. He is forced to fall back on a stock answer but he tries to give it some meaning."
(Schrader, p. 40)
Role: Presidential candidate
Characteristics:

Purpose: Order; Equity; Aware; Projection;


Name: Iris
Gender: Female
Description:

"Travis checks the back seat in the rear-view mirror: there sits a ragged-looking hippie prostitute. The girl is, at best, 14 or 15, although she has been made up to look older. She wears floppy, baggy Janis Joplin clothes. Her face is pallid, her eyes red. Her name, as we shall learn later, is IRIS."
(Schrader, p. 63)
Role: Teen prostitute
Characteristics:

Motivation: Disbelief; Uncontrolled;
Methodology: Acceptance; Inaction;
Purpose: Actuality; Inequity;


Name: Sport
Gender: Male
Description:

"Travis recognizes the voice of the man who threw the crumpled $20 bill on the front seat of his taxi. Looking closer, Travis sees the face of a thirty year-old greaser pimp dressed in a hippie scarecrow costume. He may be shooting drugs now, he may not; whichever the case, his face bears the marks of past use. He has a rash covering one hand."
(Schrader, p. 88)
Role: Greaser Pimp
Characteristics:

Motivation: Temptation; Hinder;
Methodology: Protection;
Evaluation: Unending;
Purpose: Inertia;


Name: Tom
Gender: Male
Description:

"Tom is pleasant and good-looking, but lacks those special qualities which interest Betsy. He gets nowhere with Betsy -- yet he keeps trying. Just another of those routine office flirtations which pass the hours and free the fantasies."
(Schrader, p.16)
Role: Campaign worker
Characteristics:

Motivation: Consider; Oppose;
Purpose: Thought;


Name: Wizard
Gender: Male
Description:

"WIZARD, a worn man about fifty"
(Schrader, p. 22)
Role: taxi driver
Characteristics:

Motivation: Faith; Support; Conscience;
Methodology: Evaluation;

AUDIENCE AND STORY DYNAMICS APPRECIATIONS:

Nature as it relates to Actual Dilemma:

Travis' change can be seen in his adapting himself to the environment. At story's beginning, he berates (in his diary) the criminal "scum" who need washing off the streets. At story's end, New York's streets remain as unclean as ever, but Travis, still driving his taxi around them, seems less bothered by that fact.

Essence as it relates to Negative Feel:

Taxi Driver has a negative feel due to Travis Bickle's moving towards the improper choice of violence as an answer to his problems -- part of his focus on the unending immoral and criminal activities he witnesses daily from his taxicab.

Tendency as it relates to Unwilling:

Travis doesn't so much want to be a taxi driver; he just doesn't know what else to do with his time:

PERSONNEL OFFICER
So why do you want to be a taxi-driver?

TRAVIS
I can't sleep nights.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
There's porno theaters for that.

TRAVIS
I know. I tried that.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
So whatja do now?

TRAVIS
I ride around nights mostly. Subways, buses.
See things. Figur'd I might as well get paid for it.

(Schrader, p. 5)

Reach as it relates to Both:

Women will tend to empathize with Travis Bickle due to his limited options, while men will identify with him as a male main character. While it may seem hard to identify with a psychopathic loner, Travis is the moral center of the story, the only character who truly stands up for what he believes in. As an antihero, his point of view may be different from the rest of society, but he has a strong sense of values and a code of ethics that he lives by -- which is more than many of us can say.

Resolve as it relates to Change:

Travis achieves some catharsis through the purging of criminals' blood in the climactic slaughter scene. Though he remains a loner with psychopathic tendencies, he's no longer obsessed with the details of the immoral activities on the street, and he's able to interact with Betsy without stalking her. Whereas earlier he complains:

TRAVIS V.O.
Twelve hours of work and I still cannot sleep.

At story's end, he tells Betsy:

TRAVIS
I just sleep more, that's all.

His infamy has changed him from a misfit into a media darling and hero.

Approach as it relates to Do-er:

When he can't sleep nights, Travis goes out and gets a job driving taxis; attracted to Betsy, he walks into her office and volunteers in order to be near her; seeing a stick-up man holding up the deli, he shoots him; feeling down, he goes to Wizard for advice; etc.

Direction as it relates to Stop:

Travis needs to stop being God's policeman -- obsessing over the kind of people he dislikes doing their thing, on the streets of New York City or in the back seat of his cab -- and get a life of his own.

Mental Sex as it relates to Male:

When Travis decides to act on the idea of "True Force" that's been building up in his brain, he gets "organezized" and breaks the job down into steps: he buys an arsenal of guns; he does physical exercise; he practices at the shooting range; he clips articles on Palantine; he practices drawing his weapons; he cuts his hair into a Mohawk; etc.

Outcome as it relates to Success:

Travis succeeds in making progress in his mission to clean up the streets by killing Sport and his cohorts, and by getting Iris out of prostitution and back to her parents in Pittsburgh. As the Screenwriter notes: "The slaughter is the moment Travis has been heading for all his life, and where this screenplay has been heading for over 100 pages. It is the release of all that cumulative pressure; it is a reality unto itself. It is the psychopath's Second Coming."

(Schrader, p. 117)

Judgment as it relates to Good:

While Travis is still a lonely guy, and one with psychopathic tendencies, at story's end he is a more relaxed taxi driver. He's no longer writing dangerous thoughts in a diary, has elevated status amongst his peers, and is a hero to the media. He's even able to accept Betsy for what she is, "a star-fucker of the highest order," and no longer has the desire to stalk her. But his last desperate glance at her in the rearview mirror begs the question -- for how long?

Work as it relates to Decision:

Travis' decision to become a taxi driver, especially one who will work anywhere, exposes him to lowlife "scum":

PERSONNEL OFFICER
We don't need any misfits around here, son.

TRAVIS
You kiddin? Who else would hack through
Bed-Sty or Harlem at night?

PERSONNEL OFFICER
You want to work uptown nights?

TRAVIS
I'll work anywhere, anytime. I know I can't
be choosy.

(Schrader, p. 5)

Travis' decision to pursue Betsy leads him to volunteer; Betsy's decision to go to a porno movie with Travis makes her reject him, which in turn ramps up his alienation; Iris' choosing of Travis' taxi to seek refuge in brings her and Sport to Travis' attention; Sport's decision to pay Travis with the "dirty" $20 bill leads Travis to pay back the "wages of sin" with death; etc.

Limit as it relates to Optionlock:

Travis first seeks fulfillment in a woman, Betsy. When that fails, he goes to Wizard for counseling. When he has no answer, Travis can't take it any more and seeks an outlet in violence, trying to kill Palantine. This option fails and he wreaks mayhem on those in the pimp business, finally running out of options when surrounded by police.

THE OBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

Throughline Synopsis:


(Video blurb, Columbia Tristar Home Video, 1987.)

Backstory:


(Zinn, p. 529-30)

Domain as it relates to Universe:

All the characters are concerned with the level of crime and corruption on the streets of America's cities: Travis wants to flush the streets of "filth and scum, scum and filth;" Wizard and the other drivers are worried about attacks on cabbies; Sport and Iris depend on the unchanging situation for their lifestyle; Tom wants to push the issues that will change society, while Betsy wants to push the man -- Palantine, who offers only empty promises in order to get elected:

PALANTINE
I know what you mean, Travis, and it's
not going to be easy. We're going to have
radical changes all throughout city and
municipal government.

(Schrader, p. 40)

Concern as it relates to Progress:

Betsy and Tom are involved in drumming up more and more support for Palantine as the election approaches; like Travis, they are concerned with improving society; the sign in the campaign HQ window reads "Only 4 More Days Until Arrival of CHARLES PALANTINE"; Travis develops in stages toward becoming an assassin; etc.

Range as it relates to Security:

A sign in the taxi garage reads:

BE ALERT!! THE SANE DRIVER IS
ALWAYS READY FOR THE UNEXPECTED.

Fellow taxi drivers ask Travis if he has a gun:

DOUGH-BOY
You carry a rod? You need one? [...]

WIZARD
I never use mine. But it's a good thing to
have around the house.

(Schrader, p. 25-26)

Travis assures Betsy she'll be safe going for coffee and pie with him:

TRAVIS
It's just to the corner, mam. In broad daytime.
Nothing can happen. I'll be there to protect you.

(Schrader, p. 30)

Palantine surrounds himself with Secret Service Men; Sport provides protection for Iris; etc.

Counterpoint as it relates to Threat:

Betsy feels sexually threatened by Travis' choice of a porno movie for their date; afraid of Sport, Iris tries to escape in Travis' cab; the Secret Service Man senses danger in Travis, takes his address and tries to get his photo; Sport perceives danger in Travis, figuring him for a cop; etc.

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Security vs. Threat:

Betsy finds Travis too dangerous and stops seeing him, which launches him in attack mode. Though he's no match for the Secret Service Men protecting Palantine, Travis is able to carry out his threat on Sport and his cohorts. As American history has proven, there's no protection from a crazed loner with a gun.

Problem as it relates to Process:

The process of government is failing to keep the streets safe and clean, perhaps because the efforts of Palantine and supporters like Tom and Betsy go into the process of getting him elected. Travis comes up with his own alternative process -- killing the offenders. Sport has his own seductive process for keeping Iris content in prostitution, slow dancing with her and telling her how much he needs her.

Solution as it relates to Result:

Palantine's winning the Primary allows him, Tom, and Betsy to move on to the Presidential election; Travis' putting an end to Sport's operation "saves" Iris from being exploited.

Focus as it relates to Cause:

Betsy's standing out from the crowd in her white dress causes Travis to become infatuated with her; Travis sees Palantine as a factor in Betsy's dumping him and starts to stalk him; Travis believes Sport to be the reason Iris can't escape prostitution; etc.

Direction as it relates to Effect:

Travis somehow believes that effecting the death of Palantine and/or Sport will result in an inner peace for him; he mistakenly believes that removing another glib candidate from the Presidential race, and some pimps from the street, will make a significant change in society; Palantine and his supporters, Betsy and Tom, believe his winning the elections will result in a better society; the young man in the taxi with a problem with "The Pussy and the .44" expects his wife's violent death will make him happier; etc.

Stipulation as it relates to The Future:

Palantine's speech mongering promises solutions to society's problems, as his election gets closer and closer; Travis at first believes that:

TRAVIS
Someday a real rain will come and wash all
this scum off the streets.

Later, he gets another notion of how things will go:

TRAVIS
An idea had been growing in my head for some
time. True Force. All the king's men cannot put
it back together again.

After he gets "organezized," Travis looks forward to assassinating Palantine:

TRAVIS (V.O.)
June 11. Eight rallies in six more days. The time
is coming.

(Schrader, p. 80)

Catalyst as it relates to Fact:

While Travis insists that "Swedish Marriage Manual" is a respectable movie, Betsy breaks off with him when she witnesses the lurid truth; Travis is encouraged by the truth he recognizes in Palantine's statement:

PALANTINE
I know what you mean, Travis, but it's not going
to be easy. We're going to have to have radical
changes.

TRAVIS
Damn straight.

Inhibitor as it relates to Worth:

Travis' appraisal of Betsy diverts his attention away from the crime on the streets:

TRAVIS
She appeared like an angel out of this open sewer.
Out of this filthy mass. She is alone: they cannot
touch her.

(Schrader, p. 21)

Doughboy tries to get Travis to occupy his time with selling a treasured memento of Errol Flynn's bathtub; Travis' respect for Wizard's opinion lead him to seek his help for his problems; Travis tries to shoot himself after the slaughter, due to low self-esteem; etc.

Goal as it relates to Progress:

Making progress in the goal of cleaning up the city streets and removing crime from them concerns everyone in Taxi Driver. Betsy and Tom achieve it through Palantine's reform efforts; Sport and Iris make efforts not to be entrapped by cops, which would curtail their livelihood; Wizard, Doughboy, and Andy own guns in readiness; Palantine represents the civilized, sane approach, while Travis takes direct vigilante action.

Consequence as it relates to The Preconscious:

If the "scum and filth" is not washed away -- by a righteous rain of vengeance or otherwise -- city residents may become inured to the crime and corruption all around them, and accept it as normal. This may lead to exploitation of more "Irises" by other "Sports."

Cost as it relates to Being:

Tom must endure the humiliation of not being taken seriously by Betsy, and acts macho to win points with her; Palantine must tell the voters what he thinks they want to hear; Travis suffer the indignities of being a taxi-driver:

TRAVIS
Each night when I return the cab to the garage I
have to clean the come off the back seat. Some
nights I clean off the blood.

Travis has to act like a "john" to get to see Iris, and must endure her professional sexual advances.

Dividend as it relates to Doing:

Tom takes satisfaction in physically asserting himself against Travis; Palantine's speechifying to the people pays off in his Primary victory; Andy benefits financially from selling guns to Travis; vigilantism pays off in a fitter body and more sleep for Travis; etc.

Requirements as it relates to The Future:

Travis needs to get fit, disciplined, and armed in order to perform as an assassin; Palantine must win the confidence of voters to win the Primary, and win that before the Presidential election; the Secret Service Men must be able to identify potential assassins in order to protect Palantine; etc.

Prerequisites as it relates to The Subconscious:

Travis must develop a taste for killing in order to perform as an assassin; he must convince Sport that he wants some "action" with Iris in order to lower his guard, while suppressing his disgust; the Secret Service Men must be ready to sacrifice themselves for their charge.

Preconditions as it relates to Becoming:

Travis is transformed from disgusted loner to optimistic suitor and back, fueling his rage and bloodlust; his hope dies along with the returned flowers; he must turn his body into a killing machine.

Forewarnings as it relates to Obtaining:

Travis' acquisition of an arsenal of guns indicates his intent and capability of killing; his getting a Mohawk haircut warns that he's not to be messed with, he's going over the top and is preparing to die; buying a card for his parents indicates a final goodbye; the effortless taking of a robber's life demonstrates ruthlessness; etc.

THE SUBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

Throughline Synopsis:

The alienated Travis sees beautiful Betsy as an angel sent from heaven: together, they won't be lonely and he'll have someone to spend his money on. He volunteers to work for her, and convinces her to go for coffee with him. She's intrigued enough to go on a movie date with him. But he chooses a porno movie, alienating her from him.

Backstory:

Both Travis and Betsy have impossibly high expectations in a potential mate. Betsy's: [...] eyes scan every man who passes her desk as her mind computes his desirability: political, intellectual, sexual, emotional, material. Simple poise and status do not impress her; she seeks out the extraordinary qualities in men. She is, in other words, a star-fucker of the highest order.

(Schrader, p. 16)

Travis looks for his ideal woman to give him a sense of direction:

TRAVIS
I do not believe one should devote his life to
morbid self-attention, but should become a person
like other people. [...] I first saw her at Palantine
Campaign Headquarters at 58th and Broadway.
She was wearing a yellow dress, answering the
phone at her desk.

Suddenly, out of the congested human mass, IN SLOWING MOTION, appears the slender figure of Betsy in a stylish yellow dress. The crowd parts like the Red Sea, and there she is: walking all alone, untouched by the crowd, suspended in space and time.

TRAVIS
She appeared like an angel out of this open sewer.

(Schrader, p. 20-21)

Domain as it relates to Mind:

Betsy's a believer in law and order, and change through electoral process -- committed enough to be organizing canvassing efforts -- and believes society will be better once Palantine is President. Travis doesn't follow political issues much. He believes that a President should clean up and flush out the mess in the city, and even prefers vigilantism -- taking the law into his own hands. He believes porno movies are relaxing; she has a hard time looking at them.

Concern as it relates to The Preconscious:

Betsy's immediate response to Travis' taking her to a porno movie is shock, which in turn triggers confusion in him:

BETSY
But these are dirty movies.

TRAVIS
No, these are the kind that couples go to. They're
not like some others. All kinds of couples go.
All the time.

(Schrader, p. 44)

These differing points of view escalate to Betsy's impulsive response:

BETSY
Taking me to a place like this is about as exciting as
saying "Let's fuck!"


Range as it relates to Confidence:

"Betsy handles her job with confidence and ease. Whether answering phones, giving instructions or directing traffic, she remains the calm center of her hurly-burly world. Nothing threatens her."

(Schrader, p. 16)

Her confidence is, however, shaken a little by the strange Travis, who reminds her of:

BETSY
That song by Kris Kristoferson, where it says,
"he's a prophet and a pusher, partly truth, partly
fiction, a walking contradiction."

(Schrader, p. 34)

Travis approaches Betsy confident that she, like him, is a lonely person who needs a friend.

Counterpoint as it relates to Worry:

Betsy's worried enough to wonder about Travis:

BETSY
Why has that taxi-driver been sitting across the street
without moving, staring at us?

(Schrader, p. 18)

Travis diffuses Betsy's concern about going for coffee with him by offering to protect her; Betsy's apprehension about Travis' choice of movie proves to be well-founded.

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Confidence vs. Worry:


Betsy's confidence that Travis has the extraordinary qualities she desires in a man causes her to ignore her concerns brought about by Travis' assumptions:

TRAVIS
I thought maybe you could play it for me on
your player.

Betsy's face backtracks a bit. This is the first indication she has had that she may be getting in a little too deep with this fellow she does not know.

(Schrader, p. 43)

Letting her confidence take the upper hand over her worries gets her into trouble at the movies.

Problem as it relates to Unproven:

Betsy's fascinated by Travis without being sure why: Betsy doesn't quite know what to make of Travis. She is curious, intrigued, tantalized. Like a moth, she draws closer to the flame:

(Schrader, p. 29)

BETSY
Travis, I have never met anybody like you
before.

He expects to go to her place, to play the record, on their first date:

TRAVIS
I thought maybe you could play it for me on
your player.

Betsy accepts Travis' assurances that the movies are not dirty:

TRAVIS
No, these are the kind that couples go to. They're
not like some others. All kinds of couples go.
All the time.

Solution as it relates to Proven:

If Betsy listened to Travis' answers to her questions, she would realize earlier that:

BETSY
We're just two very different kinds of people,
that's all.

He doesn't know the person or politics of Palantine, the man he's volunteering to help; Travis agrees with his stand on welfare, whatever it is; he claims his stereo is broke; etc.

Focus as it relates to Cause:

Travis thinks that buying Betsy gifts and flowers will endear her to him; that getting her into a porno theater will somehow turn Betsy on to him; that physically holding her back will prevent her from leaving in a taxi, etc.

Direction as it relates to Effect:

Travis thinks that being with Betsy will end loneliness and bring happiness to both of them; that giving her an unopened record will result in being invited to hear it at her place; that sending her flowers will result in her changing her mind about him; etc.

Stipulation as it relates to The Subconscious:

When Travis first sees Betsy, he's moved down to his righteous roots, comparing her to an angel; he successfully appeals to the basic drives of companionship and happiness in an effort to woo her; Betsy's desire to be with a "star" leads her to date the enigmatic Travis; his libido runs rampant, prompting him to take her to a "dirty movie;" she responds, ending Travis' dating career, by lashing out with crude language herself.

Catalyst as it relates to Value:

Travis feels that while Tom's energies are in the wrong place, his own are not, making him worthy to approach Betsy; he thinks he has something to offer to Palantine's campaign; when their relationship's over, he downplays the value of his vigilantism:

TRAVIS
Oh, I got over that. It was nothing, really. The
papers always blow those things up.

Inhibitor as it relates to Fantasy:

Travis has a fantasy image of Betsy as an untouchable angel, which disappoints him when it later proves true in his case; he believes exposing Betsy to instructional sex movies will bring her closer to him, but it ends their relationship; he buys into Betsy's story about being ill, not wanting to believe it's over.

Travis Bickle's THROUGHLINE:

Role:

Taxi Driver

Description:

(Schrader, p. 3)

Throughline Synopsis:

Leading an empty life as a taxi driver and disgusted by the city's lowlifes, Travis Bickle tries to relate to a woman -- but fails. Driven by a sense of religious righteousness, he attempts political assassination -- but fails. Desperate to clean up the city, he succeeds in murdering some pimps and rescues a teen prostitute -- but fails at suicide. Recovering from his injuries, he's hailed by society as a hero.

Backstory:

Travis has a spotless record, as far as fitting into society goes:

PERSONNEL OFFICER
How's your driving record?

TRAVIS
Clean. Real clean. As clean as my conscience.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
Listen, son, you gonna wise crack, you can
leave right now.

TRAVIS
Sorry, sir. I didn't mean that.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
Physical? Criminal?

TRAVIS
Also clean.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
Age?

TRAVIS
Twenty-six.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
Education?

TRAVIS
Some. Here and there.

(Schrader, p. 5-6)

Domain as it relates to Physics:

Travis endlessly drives his taxi, anywhere, anytime:

TRAVIS
I work a single, which means there['s] no
replacement -- no second man on the cab. Six to
six, sometimes eight. 72 hours a week. [...]
Sometimes 76 or 80. Sometimes I squeeze a few
more hours in the morning. Eighty miles a day,
a hundred miles at night.

(Schrader, p. 34)

He finds purpose in his life in his endeavor to clean the streets of crime.

Concern as it relates to Doing:

Travis wants to get organized, but to no particular effect; he passes the time by going to porno movies he has no interest in; he takes long work shifts to keep busy; he lacks a sense of purpose in his life.

Range as it relates to Enlightenment:


Travis sees himself as the true savior, gifted with insight from God; he tells the Secret Service Man he'd make a good agent, able to discern suspicious looking people; he has a special comprehension of girls:

TRAVIS
Well, Iris, I look at it this way. A lot of girls
come into my cab, some of them very beautiful.
And I figure all day long men have been after them:
trying to touch them, talk to them, ask them out.
And they hate it. So I figure the best I can do for
them is not to bother them at all. So I don't say a
thing. I pretend I'm not even there. I figure they'll
understand that and appreciate me for it.

It takes Iris a moment to digest this pure example of negative thinking: I am loved to the extent I do not exist.

(Schrader, p. 102)

Counterpoint as it relates to Wisdom:

Travis seeks wisdom from the experienced Wizard, but gets only a trite answer about fitting in:

TRAVIS
That's just about the dumbest thing I ever heard,
Wizard.

WIZARD
What do ya expect, Bertrand Russell? I been a
cabbie all my life, what do I know? I don't even
know what you're talking about.

(Schrader, p. 75)

Iris tells Travis she understands her situation and options as a prostitute completely, but that's not an acceptable answer to him.

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Enlightenment vs. Wisdom:

Unable to make sense of the world surrounding him, Travis tries to tap into the experience of others around him, but gets no help. From the worldly Palantine, he seems to get confirmation of what he believes God wants him to do: effect radical change. The special insight afforded by an insane mind dominates in the absence of any wisdom.

Problem as it relates to Process:

Travis feels pulled toward the very sickness and violence he professes to abhor; he gets organized, working toward becoming a killing machine:

TRAVIS
May 29, 1972. I must get in shape. Too much
sitting has ruined my body. Twenty-five push-ups
each morning, one hundred sit-ups, one-hundred
knee-bends. Total organization is necessary.
Every muscle must be tight.

(Schrader, p. 60)

Solution as it relates to Result:

Travis feels that the impact created by his killing Palantine will somehow satisfy him:

TRAVIS
The idea had been growing in my brain for some
time. True Force. All the king's men cannot put it
back together again.

(Schrader, p. 66)

Focus as it relates to Unending:

Travis can get no peace from his body:

TRAVIS
Twelve hours of work and I still cannot sleep.
The days dwindle on forever and do not end.

(Schrader, p. 15)

He seeks solace in the all-night porno theaters; he keeps sending Betsy flowers, even though they come back, unable to accept that life with Betsy is over.

Direction as it relates to Ending:

Travis' efforts are funneled into ending the lives of the deli robber, Palantine, Sport (thus ending Iris' life of prostitution), and finally, himself.

Stipulation as it relates to Obtaining:

Once he's failed to get the girl of his dreams by buying her records and flowers, Travis moves into acquisition mode as part of his plan as God's lonely man: he obtains a cache of weapons from Andy, he struggles to achieve control over his body, he collect info on Palantine's activities, and finally takes some lives.

Unique Ability as it relates to Wisdom:

A genius in his own mind, Travis tries to get Iris off the streets by impressing upon her his version of her reality:

TRAVIS
But you can't live like this. It's hell. If you ain't
sick now, you'll soon get hooked or die or
something or another. Girls need protection.

--and:

TRAVIS
That fellow "Sport" looks like a killer to me.

(Schrader, p. 98)

Travis gives Palantine the benefit of his peculiar wisdom regarding street cleaning, but the "We are the People" candidate doesn't take him up on it.

Critical Flaw as it relates to Thought:

Travis can't keep his thoughts to himself at Palantine's first rally, alerting the Secret Service Man to his suspicious demeanor:

TRAVIS
Is it hard to get to be a Secret Service Man?

SECRET SERVICE MAN
Why?

TRAVIS
I kinda thought I might make a good one.
I'm very observant.

(Schrader, p. 79)

His thinking that Betsy would play the record for him on her player gives her cause for pause.

Betsy's THROUGHLINE:

Role:

"Star-fucker"

Description:


(Schrader, p. 16)

Throughline Synopsis:

Betsy, a powerful woman working in a lowly assistant's job, prefers powerful men like Palantine to her amusing but dull colleague, Tom. When Travis shows her he's a go-getter, she's strangely intrigued by him -- until he shows the sophistication of a 15-year-old when it comes to dating. She retreats behind the protection of good old Tom, and concentrates on the campaign.



Backstory:
Betsy comes from a background of: America's chosen youth: healthy, energetic, well-groomed, attractive, all recruited from the bucolic fields of Massachusetts and Connecticut.

(Schrader, p. 16)

Domain as it relates to Psychology:

Betsy has co-worker Tom twisted around her little finger, toying with his affections; she puts Travis on the spot, inquiring about his view (or lack thereof) of P