Charles Bukowski

Who in the Hell Is Tom Jones?

Who in the Hell Is Tom Jones? - meaning Summary

Jealousy and Chaotic Violence

The poem recounts a drunken, first-person episode in which the speaker’s middle-aged partner confronts a younger woman, erupting into a feral, public fight. Chaos escalates—injury, soiling, police and a helicopter—while the narrator watches with a wry, almost celebratory detachment. It compresses physical violence, embarrassment and voyeuristic pleasure into a brief, raw anecdote that foregrounds aging, desire, rivalry and the grim humor of human spectacle.

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I was shacked with a 24 year old girl from New York City for two weeks- about the time of the garbage strike out there, and one night my 34 year old woman arrived and she said, "I want to see my rival." she did and then she said, "o, you're a cute little thing!" next I knew there was a screech of wildcats- such screaming and scratch- ing, wounded animal moans, blood and piss. . . I was drunk and in my shorts. I tried to seperate them and fell, wrenched my knee. then they were through the screen door and down the walk and out into the street. squadcars full of cops arrived. a police heli- coptor circled overhead. I stood in the bathroom and grinned in the mirror. it's not often at the age of 55 that such splendid things occur. better than the Watts riots. the 34 year old came back in. she had pissed all over her- self and her clothing was torn and she was followed by 2 cops who wanted to know why. pulling up my shorts I tried to explain.

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