Social Pressures Reflected in Ginsberg's Howl Essay

Similar to Marx, Ginsberg is against the idea of a small fraction of the people having significant control and power. Even though the poem is harsh on America, the goal of the author is not to shun or shame the country but try to better it. He is an extremely critical patriot trying to correct America’s flaws.

Ginsberg addressed the inner workings of his complicated mind through his poetry, but he also inspired his readers to do so as well. Ginsberg was notorious for representing a variety of controversial issues, but he was also a part of the drug scene as a means of expanding personal exploration towards questioning the human condition. In his travels alongside his partner, Peter Orlovsky, Ginsberg was inspired by a variety of psychedelic drugs and the peaceful acceptance of Eastern religions to develop a “global consciousness” that challenged his native society (Schumacher). In the same way rock music of the counterculture combined different types of music, Ginsberg's poetry uniquely combined styles of poetry, religious influences, and drug-induced creative thought processes to question his reality living in a Christian-dominated society. One passage of “Howl” in particular reads, “I’m with

Century apart, Allen Ginsberg and Walt Whitman share similar cultural, political and moral values, which they express in their literary work. Whitman’s writing is considered controversial for the eighteen hundreds. He sets the stage for generations to come breaking way from the strict Victorian poetic tradition by writing in free verse. Ginsberg follows his footsteps when composing his poem “Howl” by writing in long lines almost resembling prose and subdividing the poem into several parts. Likewise, he uses numerous repetitions to achieve rhythmicity of his verse. Ginsberg’s poem is heavily influenced by Whitman’s philosophy. The works “Song of myself” and “Howl” are similar in ideas, structure and underling themes. The two authors protest against old traditions imposed on the individual by corrupt society, stand against conformity and put emphasis on the need for change. They identify with their generation and dwell on themes such as sexuality, religion and the state of American society.

With reference to Ginsberg's emulation of Walt Whitman's content, the Norton Anthology, Postmodern American Poetry, states that, "Ginsberg proposed a return to the immediacy, egalitarianism and visionary ambitions of Blake and Whitman." (130). His poem "America" caters toward themes of democracy, something Whitman's poetry also does. Yet unlike Whitman, Ginsberg takes a more questioning stance on America and does not use his poem to praise the nation.

American culture after World War II changed the idea of what people should desire for in life. The shift to looking for normalcy is what left the “best minds” looking for something more. The battle of politics left some people dishonestly worshipping Capitalism, or others resisting Communism. The ones “who burned cigarette holes in their arms protesting the narcotic tabacco haze of Capitalism” (13) says Ginsberg were just falling in to the consumerism that Capitalism aspired to, regardless that they claimed to be resisting it. The politics of America left those “who distributed Supercommunist pamphlets in Union/

Carl Solomon was a close friend of Ginsberg and served as a representation for friendship. In this part, Ginsberg recognizes the importance of his friendship with Carl Solomon and tries to express sympathy and support for him. He tells Solomon that “his madness basically is rebellion against Moloch” (Ginsberg HomePage par 1) demonstrating that his expression of anger and frustration is his way of coping with the problems that Moloch places in front of him. Ginsberg also tries to show Solomon that he is a form of support. By repeating the term “I’m with you in Rockland” he allows Solomon to understand that he doesn’t have to face the madness unaccompanied.

The poem Howl written by Allen Ginsberg contains opinions of a speaker, based on witnessed occurrences and observations during a progressive time in a society. It explains of how the “best minds of a generation”(Ginsberg 1), refused to surrender their creative freethinking mindsets for means of conformity. The Moloch character in the poem serves as a symbol to convey internalized feelings of outrage and displease the speaker felt with the government and the domino effect of changes it brought fourth, upon observing the destruction of a generation. Moloch is made out to be a negative unwanted and unwelcomed entity, used to describe the control and rulings of a government. The part of the passage that states, “Robot apartments!

In Howl Allen Ginsberg uses a series of scenes and numerous images of confusion, disorder, and violence to show the Beat Generation’s life and thoughts. The best minds of the Beat Generation respect Moloch. Moloch is a symbol to represent the power of the society and controls material possessions. However, Moloch oppresses them and they bear the spiritual starving, which express Ginsberg’s criticism about social suppression and pursuit of material possessions. For them, the actual life is hopeless and only drugs, alcohol, and sex can make them forget sadness and affliction. They also choose to suicide to release: “jumping down the stoops off fire escapes off windowsills off Empire State” and “cut their wrists three times”. These varied scenes

“Howl” by Allen Ginsberg can be labeled as a prose poem, but it does not seem to fit any one category in literature. One could argue that “Howl” can not be confined by categorization because of how different in style and form that it is. This version of the poem was published in 1956 and has three parts. It can be viewed as a stream of consciousness with many random comma placements and few chances to take a breath while reading it. The poem is constantly building upon itself giving the reader little time to pause. The long stretched out lines help add to this effect of, what Ginsberg called, “a big long clanky statement” (492). By stretching out the sentences Ginsberg adds to the overall lengthy feeling that the poem has.

In his second question, “America when will you be angelic?” the speaker asks America to be like an angel. The reference to angels can also be taken as a religious symbol or a symbol of peace and purity. This question is posed because the speaker believes that America is not pure and has no religious values or beliefs and therefore, needs to become pure and pious, hence angelic. Ginsberg’s diction in this verse also demonstrates the speaker’s frustration as if he has been waiting for America to “be angelic” and has been disappointed. Disappointment seems to be the cause of anger displayed by the speaker throughout the poem.

Ginsberg’s work often represents a struggle for spiritual survival in a dehumanized, repressive society. This can be seen in his writing of “Howl”:

Allen Ginsberg in his work, “Howl” tries to present a social commentary and a revolution. Allen presents the struggle of the time when social pressures were quickly building up, and a revolution was necessary which would free people from all forms of oppression. Allen presents his experiences which is an encounter with his friend whom he met in a mental institution. Allen uses several literary techniques to present the insanities in life and how people continue to struggle with it in life which ends up in tragedies and cries.

Firstly, Ginsberg uses allusions of important figures to communicate his views and understandings to how citizens lived very emotionless lives. The definition of an allusion is “a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.” (Allusion Definition). An example of this is seen in the following

Allen Ginsberg’s revolutionary poem, Howl, is a powerful portrayal of life degraded. It represents the harsh life of the beat generation and chronicles the struggles of the repressed. Howl is a poem of destruction. Destruction of mind, body, and soul through the oppression of the individual. Using powerful diction, Allen Ginsberg describes this abolition of life and its implications through our human understanding of abstractions like Time, Eternity, and self. The poem’s jumbled phrasing and drastic emotion seems to correspond with the minds of the people it describes. Ginsberg uses surprisingly precise and purposeful writing to weave the complex

Allen Ginsberg, a Poet and activist was born on June 3, 1926 in Newark New Jersey and grew up in the Paterson city. He was raised by his parent Noami and Louis who were Russian immigrants who later became poets and teachers. At a young age Ginsberg began writing journals and later developed an interest in poetry in high school. He later attended Columbia University where he developed to be a literacy icon by participating in revolutionary culture movements against society. In 1959, Ginsberg legendary book “Howl” was published striking society of all it’s injustices towards our culture and how we need to fight for more equality.