Cat+Moore

Catherine Catherine Moore Eng101-sect. 8 Prof. Kingsley  __ A Beatnik in Mainstream AMERICA __ Allen Ginsberg was a notorious rebel and conveyed this through his poetry and literature. A huge advocate of freedom of speech, gay rights, anti-war, communism, and even the demystification of drugs, Ginsberg managed to always incorporate and address these values in different aspects of his work. This work consisted of poetry, writings and performance pieces. To many these things go completely against the “American” way of life or to the unfamiliar, a white picket fence with a stay at home mom in a perfect suburbia world. Well, Allen Ginsberg simply did not care. As a member of the “beat generation”(A group of writers that came around in the 1950’s that began to experiment with drugs, sexuality, spirituality, and a basic disregard for main stream American values at the time.) other writers such as Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, joined Ginsberg in the transformation of what we see poetry and writing as today. In his well-known works of //Howl// and //America//, I will examine how he truly illustrates theses passions through his pen. A great example of the values Ginsberg stood for were displayed in his poem, //Howl.// Originally written as a performance piece, Howl is a prime example of a product conceived from the beat generation. It was to inspire free and spontaneous thought that had no conformity or rules. This was very much a huge message that Ginsberg conveyed; freedom. “… who threw their watches off the roof to cast their ballot for Eternity outside of Time, & alarm clocks fell on their heads every day for the next decade, who cut their wrists three times successively unsuccess- fully, gave up and were forced to open antique stores where they thought they were growing old and cried,” In these lines Ginsberg seems to be giving two examples that are sending the same message. Abandoning time and order is significant in growth followed by those who become unsuccessful in accomplishing their dreams and settle into a life of an overwhelming fear of growing old. He really is advocating in not only these lines but also the entirety of the poem, the power of free will. In another piece, Ginsberg is addressing a similar message once again, however this time, it is questioning the source of where this conformity comes from. America, written in the mid 1950’s, was another great source of controversy. In this poem, Ginsberg is point a finger and really putting the American ay of life on trial. “I won't say the Lord's Prayer. I have mystical visions and cosmic vibrations. America I still haven't told you what you did to Uncle Max after he came over  from Russia.” He is essentially taking a stand in these lines. Not giving into religion as a way of life and suggesting the cruel and traumatizing environment of war. For such a religious country (especially in this time period) why do we think war is an appropriate fix to dispute. I do not think it was an accident Ginsberg placed the line regarding religion and war next to each other. While he addresses different messages and perspectives in his work, I believe Allen Ginsberg has a very clear and strong over arching theme to his work. He does not only convey his beliefs of gay rights, freedom of speech, communism, anti-war, and other stand points, but he truly tries to show the effect one can make when your values become your religion. An alternative to what society has bestowed upon us for generation.

