"On every street in every city in this country, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody. He's a lonely forgotten man desperate to prove that he's alive."
Taxi Driver - Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
You talkin' to me?
— Travis Bickle
Context:
Travis is alone in his apartment, practicing with his newly acquired guns in front of a mirror. He imagines a confrontation, drawing his weapon and repeating the phrase with increasing intensity, rehearsing a scene of masculine bravado that only exists in his mind.
Meaning:
This iconic, improvised line encapsulates Travis's profound loneliness, paranoia, and simmering aggression. He is so isolated that he has to create his own confrontations. The quote signifies his complete detachment from reality and his descent into a violent fantasy world where he is the powerful protagonist.
Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets.
— Travis Bickle
Context:
Early in the film, this is part of Travis's voice-over narration as he drives his cab through the grimy, neon-lit streets at night, observing the pimps, prostitutes, and drug dealers that populate the city's underbelly.
Meaning:
This line, from Travis's diary, reveals his messianic complex and his deep-seated disgust with the moral decay of New York City. The "real rain" is a metaphor for a violent, apocalyptic cleansing that he believes is necessary to purify the world, a cleansing he eventually decides he must personally deliver.
Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man.
— Travis Bickle
Context:
Travis writes these words in his diary, reflecting on his failed attempts to connect with people and the pervasive sense of isolation that haunts him, no matter where he goes or what he does. It's a moment of raw, painful introspection.
Meaning:
This quote is the most direct expression of the film's central theme of alienation. It articulates the depth of Travis's despair and his feeling of being existentially alone. The phrase "God's lonely man" suggests a sense of destiny or a special kind of suffering, elevating his personal pain to a near-religious level, which helps justify his later actions in his own mind.
Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is a man who stood up.
— Travis Bickle
Context:
This is part of a letter Travis writes, presumably to his parents or as a final statement, as he prepares for his violent climax. He is narrating his own legacy, casting himself as a martyr who took a stand against corruption.
Meaning:
This quote, written in a letter before his planned assassination, marks the culmination of Travis's transformation into a self-styled vigilante. It is his manifesto, a declaration of war against the society he despises. It reveals his delusion of grandeur and his belief that his violent actions are a form of righteous rebellion.