The novel "Humboldt's Gift" reveals the dilemma of two intelligentsia in the modern society where consumerism and materialism further aggravates the alienation among people and the culture is degraded into a capital form and is commercialized, so the dignity and even the survival of poets are threatened by this material-centered society. The thesis intends to discuss the destructive force of culture commercialization on the life of writers through Humboldt's failure life, and further analyze 3 stages Citrine takes to overcome his life crisis and be a defender of humanism in the absurd world.