You Get So Alone ... is clearly written by a man entering his autumn years. How does the author reconcile his current life with the mad affairs of his youth? Does he apologize either for his destructive days or his current domesticity?

Discuss the American Dream. Does Chinaski believe that it actually exists? If he does, does he think it is available to all people? Compare Chinaski's idea of success to his father's.

Chinaski has excised many vices of his youth from his middle age. He makes it clear throughout the collection that he will always be a drinker. What does drinking do for him? How has it become an inextricable part of his art?

Bukowski is rightly considered a misogynist in his writing. Discuss his attitude toward women in this collection. Are there any to whom he shows respect?

Charles Bukowski clearly draws a...