Ham on Rye

Henry Chinaski is the fictional alter-ego of the author, Charles Bukowski. Ham on Rye charts Henry Chinaski’s early life and frames him as the protagonist, though not necessarily the hero of the novel. Henry’s life is tragic, traumatizing, and alienated. It is anything but heroic. During the period detailed in the novel, Henry never does anything great or even particularly good, yet he is the key figure in the narrative. He is able to occupy this role by earning the audience’s sympathies. Henry’s earliest memory is one of Social Alienation Caused by Poverty. He remembers himself stuck beneath a kitchen table as his parents fight. This is a defining moment for Henry in a symbolic sense. The traumatizing effect of witnessing his parents scream at each other leaves him with a lifelong mistrust of all close relationships. Over the course of the novel, he does not forge a single lasting friendship. He is traumatized by his parents’ fighting, and, as he withdrew beneath the table, he withdraws from society. The image of the young boy hiding under the table, forced to bear witness to the ugliness of human interaction, becomes the model for Henry’s life.