The Era of Madness and Confinement The 1950s was an era of civil conflict for the United States. Although it the post World War II era and the United States was the world’s strongest military, there was a war going on within its own society. (Ginsberg, 1) This generation dealt with civil rights movements and communism at the home. (“The 1950s”) But with all the pressure of all that is going on around this how did this generation turn out? It was during this time that author Allen Ginsberg wrote his poem “Howl,” which was broken up into three parts. In his poem Howl, Allen Ginsberg uses an outlandish writing style in order to demonstrate the madness and imprisonment felt by his generation. The first line of the poem sets the theme …show more content…
It was during the late 1940s and early 1950s that the Red Scare was known because of the communist in the United States. (“Red Scare”) Part one further refers to the madness of the people and actions that give off the impression that they have been driven mad. The poem as a whole is written in a way that strays from the norm. The lack of commas in certain lines gives off a tone of hysteria because the lack of a pause in between details. For example the line, “…destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked...” (Ginsberg, 1) The words “starving hysterical naked” would be said in a fast pace that would make the tone seem non-stop or hyper. Ginsberg also decides to save the period for the very last line, which would indicate that part one, is an extensive sentence. By doing so it also gives off a hysterical tone because he does not stop but simply takes short pauses in between each line. It gives off the impression that Ginsberg is so passionate in what he is talking about that he does not need to stop until he has said his whole piece. Part one also uses obscene language, which includes words such as “sex,” “f**king,” “semen,” and “a*s” which further indicates the bluntness of the situation. Ginsberg uses a symbolic language
The Red scare was a series of witch hunts for suspected communist sympathetic members of congress and public office holding Citizens who were supposedly “Red” this lasted from (1919-1920) started by the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. During the first war the Red Scared was represented the widespread concern that Americans had developed over the fear of communist subversion within society. The American people went into a mass hysteric frenzy over the news and many
The First and Second Red Scare of the United States paved the way for a long standing fear of communism and proved to be one of America’s largest periods of mass hysteria. Throughout the years authors and analysts have studied and formed expository albeit argumentative books and articles in an attempt to further understand this period of time; the mindset held during this period however is shown to be completely different compared to now.
The Red Scare represented the widespread concern that Americans had developed over the fear of communist subversion within society. Americans believed, especially during the Cold War, which was a period of tension between the United States and Soviet Union, that communism was attempting to infiltrate every aspect of their lives. While this is not necessarily the best analogy, you can relate the widespread fear of communism during the Cold War as being similar to the heightened alert Americans had toward terrorism and suspected terrorists during the beginning of the modern century.
Red Scare – Period of anticommunist hysteria that swept the United States after World War I
What is The Red Scare? The Red Scare is fear resulting from communists wanting to control citizens. From 1919 to 1921, The First Red Scare occurred in which Americans feared the Soviet Union’s idea of communism spreading to The United States. After this panic was resolved, there was another epidemic of fear called The Second Red Scare. This lasted from 1947 to 1957 and was driven by the panic of communism growing and spreading in The United States. The Second Red Scare was perpetuated by international events and dismay such as the Korean War and fear of the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapon capabilities. From this, the House Un-American Activities Committee was formed. The committee’s purpose was to investigate alleged communists and infiltrators within the government, subcommittees, and Hollywood. “Americans also felt the effects of the Red
The Red Scare took place in the late 1940’s and early 50’s during the Cold War and was an event that occurred in the U.S. The Red Scare was the episode of Americans being afraid of the spread of communism which led America to take desperate actions to stop it from spreading such as McCarthyism. One of the many things America did was make it mandatory for federal employees to be analyzed to tell if they were a communist. Another was the HUAC (House of Un-American Activities Committee)
The Red Scare, also known as, McCarthyism started in the early 1950’s. It got the name McCarthyism from Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy. McCarthy started The Red Scare. It was very similar to a witch hunt but, it wasn’t witches they were hunting for. They were searching for communist. The Red Scare was a horrible and cruel period during the early 1900’s.
The Red Scare is the rounding up and deportation of several hundred immigrates of radical political views by the federal government in 1919 and 1920. Certain causes that led up to this event was the fact that the United States feared the fact that certain immigrants embraced communist, socialist, and anarchist ideology. The Red Scare later led to the impact of the fear of communism. Today this event is remembered all over the world for is impact that it made on every person society.
The Second Red Scare was a period of heightened fears of the Soviet Union and the political ideology of Communism. The paranoia and hysteria inherent to this period led to discrimination of Communists. Joseph McCarthy was a main player in this Red Scare, which was sometimes called the “Witch-Hunts in Washington.” He was a Wisconsin senator who made claims against those whom he suspected of being Communists or Communist sympathizers.
Therefore, Ginsberg’s Howl convinces readers that the themes of suffering and isolation expose the corrupt values of American society. Howl focuses on the detrimental culture of mankind that the poet endured
In the poem Howl, Allen Ginsberg challenges the modernity of American culture, which enforces the “best minds” (1) to give up their freedom to conform to the desired sense of normality. Ginsberg states “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked/ dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix” (9). His expression of Moloch The angry fix is what all of these “best minds” look for after being stripped of their freedom to conform to the new American culture after World War II.
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.
Poet Allen Ginsberg composed "Howl" in 1955 and it was published by City Lights Books of San Francisco, CA the following year. He composed the poem in the middle of the 1950s, one of the greatest decades in history for mainstream America. It had been a decade since the American and Allied victory in the second world war. Numerous American men returned home to a country in much better shape than expected, with many women having entered the workforce to keep the economy and industry alive in their absence. The spoils of war were great and America saw a great era of prosperity and domestic, suburban bliss. More interstate highways were constructed. Many more cars were produced and bought. It was a classic era for mainstream American culture in the 1950s. Yet in the haze of the suburbs, expansion of television, growth of Hollywood, and cars, present here were the seeds of rebellion and counterculture that was more indicative of the following decade, 1960s. One such seed is the poem
The very title is quite explicit: howl, the loud, mournful cry of the wild beast. Published in (1956) by Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), this poem might certainly be one of the best known examples of the Beat Generation literature. Not only does it express all the symptomatic behaviours of this counter-culture movement, but also it gives us a fascinating insight into the various Beat Generation’s artists’ minds and experiences- at least, as reported by Allen Ginsberg. How does the author manage to translate the feeling of otherness and anxious protestations of an entire generation of artists ? We will first analyse the form of expression and identity of the individual described in the poem before focusing on the use of non-conforming behaviour
Howl, by Allen Ginsberg is an example of how a “turning loose of emotion” becomes not just an escape of emotion, but an expression for his critiques against the American Society in the 1950’s. Throughout the collection of poems, the minimal use of poetic conventions