Bukowski: Dirty Realism
Bukowski is known for depicting violent and
sexual imagery in his hard-edged prose. Explain why
(or why not) this graphic usage should remove
Bukowski from academic discourse and dismiss
Bukowski’s work as superficial and misogynist in
nature.
ANSWER
Bukowski: Dirty Realism
Dirty realism is a literary movement of the 20th century in which the authors in the movement used clear descriptions of the dark parts of reality. Bukowski’s work is open to interpretation; while some of his work represents women in a demeaning manner, there are some of his novels where women are represented intellectually. Politics of gender representation are the main reason feminists and scholars are quick to shun his work and refer to him as a misogynist (Achami 2). Looking closely at Bukowski’s work, his is not a misogynist point of view; instead, it is a heterogeneous representation of women. It is a representation of what happens in a society where men have endless privileges while women suffer under the privileged men. Bukowski’s work should thus, not be taken out of the academic discourse because it is open to interpretation, and while some might interpret his work as misogynistic, others view it as a reflection of the heterogeneous world and the pain it causes women; academic work is open to interpretation and further research and thus, instead of taking his work out of the academic discourse, his work should be studied deeply to understand his point of view.
Dirty realism is an essential part of literature that should not be removed from the academic discourse. This is because, unlike the other forms of literary works, dirty realism, like the one depicted in the works of Bukowski, has minimal literary devices (Hemmingson 1). There are no extended metaphors or internal monologues. There is no idealism like the one that is seen in the other literary works by other authors. The authors of dirty realism, like Bukowski, describe life as t is without removing the filth that is in life or without sugarcoating and creating an ideal world where there is a perfect ending. In dirty realism, the characters experience suffering; there are mundane jobs, people dealing with addictions, and all other types of adversity. Like in real life, most of these people do not get help, and those who get help are few.
Accusing Bukowski of misogyny is a rash and unfair judgment of his work. Sure he uses bold language and is not afraid to use brave language, which is rarely used in literary works. Sure he describes the sex scenes in his novels, but going through his literary works, one can see that women torture men emotionally as much as men torture them physically (Achami 2). True, the men treat the women in the book unfairly, but Bukowski gives them power. They have the power to destroy men emotionally. This is seen in his novels hustler and women. Society constructs the meaning of masculinity. Society builds masculinity such that most think it is about insecurity, tension, and anxiety. This is all Bukowski knew about masculinity. This view of masculinity can lead to triads of violence against women and even against men. This means that while writing his books, Bukowski was not aiming at attacking women or their femininity. He was merely pointing out the reality of things.
According to feminist theories, misogyny is the hatred, contempt, or prejudice against women. Misogyny comes in many forms, including patriarchy, sexual harassment, violence against women, sexual objectification, and discrimination (Vijfhuize). This concept has existed for centuries since the Greek mythologies. The irrational hatred towards women still exists today. None of the Greek mythologies that perpetrated sexism and misogyny have been taken out of the academic discourse. Some are still being studied and examined. The great philosophers like Nietzsche and Aristotle were misogynistic, and their works are still in the academic discourse. Taking Bukowski’s works out of the academic discourse would be pretentious, as this was the style of writing that many authors adopted in the past. The deep-seated hatred for women is still in the world today, and misogyny is still hidden within society. If Bukowski’s work is taken from the academic discourse, so should the Greek mythologies and other misogynistic philosophical works.
Many will agree that Bukowski’s humor was cruel, his imagery grotesque, but the question of whether he was a misogynist is a matter of personal opinion. It all depends on the lens from which a person views his work. His work was dirty realist, which means he captured life as it was. One could even assume that it captured his life. However, in all the bravado and callousness that he depicted, he had some idealism (Dobozy). His writings were those of a hurt man trying to look for the meaning of life from his art. He created masterpieces by expressing the cruelties of real life in the most grotesque and vivid manner. These types of works are not common among contemporary writers because they are scared of depicting the world in the realism that Bukowski did. It is thus, not sensible to take such works away from the academic discourse. The upcoming literary artists need to see literature from a different point of view from the view that Bukowski viewed his and to be able to make a decision on the kind of writers they want to become.
Bukowski’s artistry is crass, and it is unnecessary in most of his poems and novels. However, for one to appreciate Bukowski’s work, one must not view his prose as individual verbal artifacts but as ongoing installments of the tale of his true adventures. If one views his work from the view of Bukowski’s story, they will see less of the crass and see the talent and brevity behind his prose (Brosseau). Through his writing, Bukowski developed a new genre. A genre where one is not scared to talk about the tales of his life, the suffering that most humans go through, and the struggles with mental health while still keeping it together. In the poem then and now, he wrote about his life and the terror of his lifestyle. All it takes for one to appreciate Bukowski’s work is to look beyond the filth, and one will get to appreciate the artistry and the honesty with which he wrote. He also did not write to please or save. He wrote because he wanted to write, and he was true to his craft.
Before deciding that Bukowski’s work should be academically shunned, it is essential first to explore his work. It is important to explore his work from different points of view, and it is also important to drop the bravado and realize that all of the things that Bukowski wrote were happening. When he wrote about the violence against the women characters in his books, it was not because he was perpetuating violence against women but because it was what was happening. Instead of blaming Bukowski for writing what is real and the reality of life, it is important to consider changing the social constructs of masculinity and femininity so that both genders can find a place where they are not hostile to each other.
Works Cited
Achim, Chaymae. “The Politics of Gender Representation in Charles Bukowski’s Poetry: Between Ambivalence and Misogyny.” Journal of Gender, Culture and Society 1.1 (2021): 33-44.
Brosseau, Marc. “Street-Level Writing: Los Angeles in the Works of Charles Bukowski.” Literary Geographies 6.1 (2020): 77-95.
Dobozy, Tamas. “In the country of contradiction, the hypocrite is king: Defining dirty realism in Charles Bukowski’s Factotum.” MFS Modern Fiction Studies 47.1 (2001): 43-68.
Hemmingson, Michael. The Dirty Realism Duo: Charles Bukowski and Raymond Carver on the Aesthetics of the Ugly. Vol. 70. Wildside Press LLC, 2008.
Vijfhuize, Wouter, and T. Jelfs. “Politics of the Dirty Old Man A Poetics of Gendered Embodiment in Charles Bukowski‟ s Autobiographical Novels.” (2016).
