What is the meaning of the penguin in Fight Club?

Question

When the Narrator goes into his cave he encounters a penguin that says, "Slide." What is the meaning of sliding, and why is there a penguin?

Answer 1

The cave and the penguin are result of therapy where the female voice tells the whole group how to "meditate".Every person has their own interpretation of the cave and an animal that is inside(which represents them),in narrator's case he sees himself as a penguin.

He probably interpreted himself as penguin to show himself inability to let go of his depressing lifestyle,since penguins can't fly away from their "problems" they can merely slide away.Which is what he did he slided to the "new life".

In movie there is also another quote that references to the "sliding" :

• Narrator: You had to give it to him: he had a plan. And it started to make sense, in a Tyler sort of way. No fear. No distractions. The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide.

Answer 2

The penguin was the Narrator's "power animal." As Arremer, it told the Narrator to slide to mean "relax and let go." Further, I think the choice of a penguin was based on it being black-and-white to hint at the duality building within the main character.