Taxi Driver Dissatisfaction Quotes

How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Taxi Driver.

Quote #4

TRAVIS: I tried several times to call her, but after the first call, she wouldn't come to the phone any longer. I also sent flowers but with no luck. The smell of the flowers only made me sicker. The headaches got worse. I think I got stomach cancer. I shouldn't complain though. You're only as healthy, you're only as healthy as you feel. You're only as... healthy... as... you... feel.

Betsy's rejection pushes Travis over the edge. He probably doesn't have stomach cancer (maybe an ulcer). It's likely a psychosomatic ailment—his mind is making him feel physically terrible.

Quote #5

TRAVIS: June 29th. I gotta get in shape now. Too much sittin' is ruinin' my body. Too much abuse has gone on for too long. From now on, it will be fifty push-ups each morning, fifty pull-ups. There'll be no more pills, there'll be no more bad food, no more destroyers of my body. From now on, it will be total organization. Every muscle must be tight.

Travis takes arms against his feelings of malaise with an intense physical fitness regimen. Normally, this would be a good thing, but the fact that he's planning on making himself into a killing machine tends to dampen one's enthusiasm for the project.

Quote #6

TRAVIS: Goddamn it! Don't you want to get out of here? Can't you understand why I came here?
IRIS: I think I understand. I tried to get into your cab one night, and now you want to take me away. Is that it?
TRAVIS: Don't you want to go?
IRIS: I can leave anytime I want.

Iris claims she has free will, but she's unwilling to face how Sport mentally and emotionally controls her. (We see that happening in the scene where Sport sweet-talks her and pretends to be in love with her.)