Spark by Charles Bukowski
Spark
By Charles Bukowski Charles Bukowski is a deceased German aspired writer. His poem ‘Spark’ tells the story of a working man who feels like he’s been restricted by society’s boundaries. Falling in deep depression the man contemplates suicide; however a ‘spark’ inside of him potentially saves his life giving him hope to continue living. The poem ‘Spark’ is a reflection of Bukowski’s life as it tells of the same experiences the persona of the poem goes through compared to Bukowski. The man is familiar to “the worst kind of women, they killed what the job failed to kill” likewise with Bukowski. Bukowski also had to work in factories before emerging as a poet who is also reflected by the man and his journey from near suicide to freedom of expectations and boundaries of society. The challenges present in the poem are the problems of conformity which lead to depression and the loss of creativity as well as human self-expression.
The man has chosen to lead a regular life, where most of his days are spent trapped in the same four corners repeatedly doing the same thing. He describes it as “dull and senseless work” and metaphorically refers to it as “monotony” as it lacks interest and variety. He cannot withhold the challenge of just merely existing as he feels like he should be living life. Another challenge he faces is being witness to the other workers’ submission to the work. He states that “seeing them that way drove me almost as crazy” and “the work pounded them to nothingness”. The man bears witness to theft of individuality and the creative impulses as well as the independent thoughts of the workers and himself, aggravating him and plunging him into the depths of depression and towards thoughts of self-harm. These challenges are conveyed through the use of various techniques. The composer uses metaphors comparing the work to murder or a monotonic world. Bukowski also utilises the use of first person in order to captivate audiences and therefore
By Charles Bukowski Charles Bukowski is a deceased German aspired writer. His poem ‘Spark’ tells the story of a working man who feels like he’s been restricted by society’s boundaries. Falling in deep depression the man contemplates suicide; however a ‘spark’ inside of him potentially saves his life giving him hope to continue living. The poem ‘Spark’ is a reflection of Bukowski’s life as it tells of the same experiences the persona of the poem goes through compared to Bukowski. The man is familiar to “the worst kind of women, they killed what the job failed to kill” likewise with Bukowski. Bukowski also had to work in factories before emerging as a poet who is also reflected by the man and his journey from near suicide to freedom of expectations and boundaries of society. The challenges present in the poem are the problems of conformity which lead to depression and the loss of creativity as well as human self-expression.
The man has chosen to lead a regular life, where most of his days are spent trapped in the same four corners repeatedly doing the same thing. He describes it as “dull and senseless work” and metaphorically refers to it as “monotony” as it lacks interest and variety. He cannot withhold the challenge of just merely existing as he feels like he should be living life. Another challenge he faces is being witness to the other workers’ submission to the work. He states that “seeing them that way drove me almost as crazy” and “the work pounded them to nothingness”. The man bears witness to theft of individuality and the creative impulses as well as the independent thoughts of the workers and himself, aggravating him and plunging him into the depths of depression and towards thoughts of self-harm. These challenges are conveyed through the use of various techniques. The composer uses metaphors comparing the work to murder or a monotonic world. Bukowski also utilises the use of first person in order to captivate audiences and therefore