Travis Bickle sees Betsy as an angel-goddess—but takes her to a porn movie. When she (wisely) rejects him after this, he says he thinks she's cold and unforgiving along with all other women. He also sees Iris as a symbol of wounded innocence, which is probably more accurate, given that Iris is a child who's been forced into prostitution.
The point is that he can't see them plainly, as people—they have to represent something else for him. At the same time, Travis own ideas of how he should behave are pretty intensely macho—they're parodies of normal masculinity. Instead of continuing to try to solve his problems by seeking help or through conversation, he uses extreme violence, which, ironically, works out pretty well for him by the end of Taxi Driver
Questions about Gender
- What does Travis need to do to adjust his perception of women?
- How should society deal with people like Sport, who exploit young girls? What would be a way of preventing this kind of exploitation?
- Do you think society has taught Travis that men deal with their problems through violence? Could it have sent a better or different message?
Chew on This
Travis acts violent because society has taught him that men should solve their problems through violence.
Travis acts violent because he's naturally aggressive, and he hasn't been socialized into being less aggressive. He represents the failure of socialization to reign in biological male aggression.