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Quote 5

Betsy:   "'He's a prophet and a pusher, partly truth, partly fiction. A walking contradiction.'"

During her date with Travis, Betsy quotes lyrics from a Kris Kristofferson song to describe Travis. The song is "The Pilgrim: Chapter 33" from the 1971 album The Silver Tongued Devil and I. Betsy quotes the lyrics to the song correctly but leaves some words out, and she mixes up their order, so that the "walking contradiction" phrase, which is most important to her, comes last. At first it appears that Betsy does not really understand or appreciate Travis. Earlier in the conversation she underestimates his intelligence by believing that he really thinks "organized" is spelled "organizized." Here, Betsy seems to understand Travis perfectly, and her understanding, as this lyric suggests, is out of character. One might suspect that Schrader, the screenwriter, wanted this line to explain Travis to the audience.

Travis is a walking contradiction. He is disgusted by sex and by prostitutes, yet he surrounds himself with pornography and takes prostitutes around in his cab. He wants to be good to his body, yet he constantly takes pills and pours schnapps on his breakfast. Betsy, of course, knows nothing about these quirks. She knows Travis only from the limited and awkward conversation they've had at the diner. Perhaps she is reminded of the song because of its first two lines, which she does not quote: "See him wasted on the sidewalk in his jacket and his jeans, wearin' yesterday's misfortunes like a smile." These lyrics describe Travis's physical appearance perfectly. The Kristofferson lyrics provide an unusual glimpse into Travis's character, though Betsy is not even aware of the elements in Travis's life that make them particularly true.

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