keeps a diary in which he consciously attempts to include aphorisms such as "you're only as healthy as you feel." He becomes disgusted with the crime and urban decay that he witnesses in Manhattan and dreams about ridding "the scum off the streets." Travis becomes infatuated with Betsy, a campaign volunteer for Senator and presidential candidate Charles Palantine. Travis enters the campaign office where she works and asks her out for coffee, to which she agrees. Betsy confesses that she feels a special connection to Travis and agrees to go on another date with him. During their date, Travis takes Betsy to a porn theater, which repulses her and causes her to leave. He attempts to reconcile with her, but to no avail. Enraged, he storms into the campaign office where she works and berates her before he is ordered to leave. Experiencing an existential crisis and seeing various acts of prostitution throughout the city, Travis confides in a fellow taxi driver nicknamed Wizard about his violent thoughts. However, Wizard dismisses them and assures him that he will be fine. In an attempt to find an outlet for his rage, Travis begins a program of intense physical training. A fellow taxi driver recommends him a black market gun dealer, Easy Andy, from whom Travis buys four handguns. At home, Travis practices drawing his weapons, and modifies one to allow him to hide and quickly deploy it from his sleeve. He also begins attending Palantine's rallies to scope out their security. One night, Travis shoots and kills a man attempting to rob a convenience store run by a friend of his. On his trips around the city, Travis regularly encounters Iris, a child prostitute. He solicits her and tries to persuade her to stop prostituting herself. Soon after, Travis cuts his hair into a mohawk and attends a public rally where he plans to assassinate Palantine. However, he is chased away by Secret Service agents, who see him unzipping his jacket and putting his hand inside. That evening, Travis drives to the brothel where Iris works, and shoots her pimp, Sport. He enters the building and engages in a shootout with Sport and one of Iris's clients, a mafioso. Travis is shot several times, but manages to kill the two men. He then brawls with the bouncer, whom he manages to stab through the hand with his knife located in his