Poem Analysis - My Father

Introduction: A Son's Rebellion

Charles Bukowski's "My Father" is a blunt and sardonic reflection on the speaker's relationship with his father and the societal values he represented. The poem's tone is initially laced with a kind of dark humor, bordering on affection, as the speaker recounts his father's eccentric behavior. However, it quickly shifts to bitterness and disillusionment, culminating in a sense of existential emptiness. The poem explores themes of class, rebellion, and the search for meaning in a world filled with perceived hypocrisies.

Historical and Social Undercurrents: The American Dream Deferred

The poem is steeped in the historical context of the Great Depression and its aftermath. Bukowski's father's staunch Republicanism and support for Herbert Hoover and Alf Landon, both of whom lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt, reflect a clinging to the traditional American Dream of wealth and upward mobility. Roosevelt's New Deal, which Bukowski's father decries as "that god damned Red," represented a shift towards social welfare and government intervention, seen as a threat to individual liberty and wealth accumulation by some at the time. The poem therefore becomes a microcosm of the larger societal clash between traditional values and the changing economic landscape.

The Theme of Rebellion: Rejecting a Father's Legacy

One of the central themes of the poem is the speaker's rebellion against his father's values. The line, "I think it was my father who made me decide to become a bum," encapsulates this rejection. The speaker sees his father's desperate desire to appear rich as a form of inauthenticity and a betrayal of their actual circumstances, living on "beans and mush and weenies." By deliberately choosing poverty, the speaker attempts to invert his father's values and forge his own path, even if that path leads to its own form of disillusionment. The act of becoming a "bum" is, therefore, an act of defiance against a perceived system of false pretenses.

The Illusion of Wealth: "Not Everybody Can Eat Like This"

The phrase, "Not everybody can eat like this," repeated by the father during meals of meager food, serves as a key symbol of delusion and the distorted pursuit of wealth. It highlights the father's desperate attempt to maintain an image of affluence despite their poverty. This phrase becomes ironic and poignant, emphasizing the vast chasm between the father's aspirations and their reality. It also underscores the societal pressure to conform to an idealized image of success, even when it's built on a foundation of falsehoods. The father's "pretend[ing] to be rich" is not just an individual quirk, but a symptom of a larger societal obsession with wealth and status.

The Bum as a False Prophet: Disillusionment in Poverty

The speaker's search for meaning among the bums reveals another layer of disillusionment. He initially believes that "maybe the bums knew something," suggesting a hope that those outside the mainstream societal pursuit of wealth had discovered some hidden truth or alternative way of life. However, he quickly realizes that "most of the bums wanted to be rich too," implying that even in poverty, the desire for wealth persists as a dominant force. This realization deepens the speaker's sense of isolation and reinforces the idea that true escape from societal pressures is elusive. The bums, therefore, become a symbol of failed aspirations and the pervasive nature of the desire for material success.

Conclusion: An Oddity of the Earth

In conclusion, "My Father" is a powerful exploration of the complexities of family relationships, societal expectations, and the search for meaning. The poem uses vivid imagery and sardonic humor to paint a portrait of a man driven by the illusion of wealth and a son who rebels against that illusion, only to find himself equally lost. The final image of the father "buried...like an oddity of the earth" suggests a sense of alienation and the ultimate insignificance of his pursuit of wealth. The poem's final lines emphasize the universality of this experience, suggesting that the father's "wasted" life is not unique but rather one among "millions of other oddities," prompting the reader to consider the true value of a life lived in pursuit of material wealth over genuine connection and purpose.