A Rescue Impulse Becomes Violent

Taxi Driver

This thread examines the changing conflict between Travis and Sport, from an aborted intervention to a deadly return presented by Travis as rescue.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Twenty Dollar Bribe The Twenty Dollar Bribe from "Taxi Driver". The Twenty Dollar Bribe Intervention refused Sport removes Iris from Travis’s cab and leaves money behind.

The Twenty Dollar Bribe from "Taxi Driver". The Twenty Dollar Bribe Intervention refused Sport removes Iris from Travis’s cab and leaves money behind.

The Twenty Dollar Bribe Intervention refused Sport removes Iris from Travis’s cab and leaves money behind. Travis feels his weapon against his leg but drives away. The first fracture The encounter makes his passivity unbearable to remember. His later involvement begins with guilt, not with a clear understanding of what Iris wants.

The Paid Confrontation The Paid Confrontation from "Taxi Driver". The Paid Confrontation Meeting Sport again Travis pays Sport to enter Iris’s room, then tells her he wants her to leave.

The Paid Confrontation from "Taxi Driver". The Paid Confrontation Meeting Sport again Travis pays Sport to enter Iris’s room, then tells her he wants her to leave.

The Paid Confrontation Meeting Sport again Travis pays Sport to enter Iris’s room, then tells her he wants her to leave. The older guard has already taken Travis’s .38 Special. The conflict stays verbal Iris does not accept Travis’s account that she must be rescued. His anger rises, but he leaves without taking her or fighting the men in the building.

A Promise Deferred A Promise Deferred from "Taxi Driver". A Promise Deferred Negotiating an escape Travis urges Iris toward her parents or a community, and she says she does not want to go alone.

A Promise Deferred from "Taxi Driver". A Promise Deferred Negotiating an escape Travis urges Iris toward her parents or a community, and she says she does not want to go alone.

A Promise Deferred Negotiating an escape Travis urges Iris toward her parents or a community, and she says she does not want to go alone. He offers money and promises to return. Time against intention Travis’s offer is humane in its stated purpose, but he soon leaves to pursue another plan. The delay gives his own crisis priority over Iris’s immediate choice.

The Final Confrontation The Final Confrontation from "Taxi Driver". The Final Confrontation A new target Travis returns to Sport’s building and shoots him. He then moves upstairs, where the guard and another man confront him.

The Final Confrontation from "Taxi Driver". The Final Confrontation A new target Travis returns to Sport’s building and shoots him. He then moves upstairs, where the guard and another man confront him.

The Final Confrontation A new target Travis returns to Sport’s building and shoots him. He then moves upstairs, where the guard and another man confront him. Chaos overtakes intention The fight spreads beyond any controlled rescue plan. Iris hides, Travis is wounded, and the people in the building become participants in a lethal struggle.

Conflicting Accounts Conflicting Accounts from "Taxi Driver". Conflicting Accounts A public rescue story The press and Iris’s parents frame Travis as the man who saved her from exploitation.

Conflicting Accounts from "Taxi Driver". Conflicting Accounts A public rescue story The press and Iris’s parents frame Travis as the man who saved her from exploitation.

Conflicting Accounts A public rescue story The press and Iris’s parents frame Travis as the man who saved her from exploitation. Her parents say she has returned home. A more troubled record Travis’s own account includes confusion, rage, and a failed attempt to kill himself. The celebrated outcome cannot erase the disorder through which it came about.

Late one night near Tompkins Square

After Travis returns to find Iris

During breakfast on the afternoon after the visit

After Travis abandons the attempt on Palantine

After the hospital coverage begins