A Postmodern Criticism of the Enlightenment: Anthropocene Disorder and Nihilistic Anti-humanism in Charles Bukowski’s Pulp
A Postmodern Criticism of the Enlightenment: Anthropocene Disorder and Nihilistic Anti-humanism in Charles Bukowski’s Pulp

Summary/Abstract: The anti-detective novel, Pulp, the last book Charles Bukowski wrote, is among his most significant works. This article illustrates Bukowski’s hostility towards the Enlightenment and modernism. Through a postmodern outlook, Bukowski parodies the rationality of the Enlightenment by depicting a world that is replete with irrationality and meaninglessness. The narrative involves a drunk detective who takes cases that are highly peculiar and irrational. Bukowski’s detective constantly finds himself in irrational and meaningless conversations and in the author’s attempt to portray the miserable condition of postmodern man. Moreover, from an ecocritical perspective, this article asserts that Bukowski is a nihilistic anti-humanist who fails to sympathize with humanity and finds no solution for the environmental collapse that is caused by the disorder in the Anthropocene. The only response to the parasitic nature of humanity is hatred and disgust for both himself and his species. As a result of his despair with the cause of humanity and anthropocentrism, Bukowski’s Detective Belane is enraged with humans and frequently causes violent scenes.

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