Ham On Rye - Protagonist

Protagonist

Like his previous autobiographical novels, Ham on Rye centers on the life of Henry Chinaski, this time during his childhood and teenage years. Throughout the course of the novel, Bukowski develops his misanthropic anti-hero character that is seen in his other works like Post Office and Hollywood. Chinaski, growing up poor in Los Angeles during the Great Depression, is shown growing into a sarcastic loner. This stems in large part from his home life, in which he is beaten frequently (often for no reason) by his father. He becomes alienated from the children at school, first by his inability to play sports, then by disfiguring acne.

Chinaski has been compared to both Frankenstein's monster and Kafka's Gregor Samsa, because of his alienation and outcast resulting from his "monstrous" appearance. He often resorts to violence when confronted with those who alienate him, giving him a tough guy image to his peers. However, he rarely is completely confident with his own abilities and often second-guesses whether he can win.