Violence and Vice

In the 20th century, by deflating traditional ideals and values, the era of modernization left in its wake a society of disillusioned and alienated individuals. Especially in America, the stark contrast between the hopeful ideology of an “American Dream” and the bleak reality of a life consumed by monotony and drudgery produced a cultural fabric from which Charles Bukowski desperately tried to break away. To emancipate himself from this flawed society, he adopts a radical lifestyle. Foul imagery, graphic content and coarse language are the signature tools of Charles Bukowski’s writing. While it is easy to dismiss his vulgar style as nothing more than provocative drivel, his gruesome depictions essentially serve as expressions of liberation from a society to whose cultural convictions people like Bukwoski could no longer relate. The protagonists of his stories and poems lead lives of quiet desperation, of violence and vice. In this dissertation it will be argued that behind the façade of escapism lurks a deliberate longing towards liberation that utilizes living at the fringes of society in order to break away from the oppressive status quo.