Allen Ginsberg’s poetry not only allows us insight into his personal unrest, but also the unrest of the American political system. By looking at both America and Howl, Ginsberg’s disgust of the political system and the socio-cultural pull it has on Americans becomes ostentatiously clear. The tension that is sensed in Ginsberg’s poetry is often a personal struggle in dealing with the unruly American way and attempts at forcing people to conform, especially during life after WWII. These poems are simultaneously introductions to Ginsberg’s political views as well as blanketed representations of views he would retain for all his life.
The opening of America starts us off with an exhausted tone; as if Ginsberg is already tired of all the perils that America has put him, and even possibly his fellow Americans, through. By noting a specific amount of money, perhaps the amount of money in his pocket, he is likening himself to the poor members of society, the one that the American government has oppressed. This exhaustion quickly turns to intense anger, when Ginsberg tells America to “go fuck yourself with your atom bomb” (5). This is the initial line that shows how displeased Ginsberg is with America’s …show more content…
Moloch is a false idol, most commonly used to denote a power or force that demands great sacrifice. It seems as though Ginsberg is likening the government, or even simply being an American citizen, to Moloch. The government, then, is what is demanding great sacrifice. It demands that its people give up all opposing viewpoints or anything that does not completely coincide with the government’s ideals. This section is referencing part one, where Ginsberg says that he lost his friends to the madness; his friends had to sacrifice their sanity to Moloch in order to be in
The opening of America starts us off with an exhausted tone; as if Ginsberg is already tired of all the perils that America has put him, and even possibly his fellow Americans, through. By noting a specific amount of money, perhaps the amount of money in his pocket, he is likening himself to the poor members of society, the one that the American government has oppressed. This exhaustion quickly turns to intense anger, when Ginsberg tells America to “go fuck yourself with your atom bomb” (5). This is the initial line that shows how displeased Ginsberg is with America’s …show more content…
Moloch is a false idol, most commonly used to denote a power or force that demands great sacrifice. It seems as though Ginsberg is likening the government, or even simply being an American citizen, to Moloch. The government, then, is what is demanding great sacrifice. It demands that its people give up all opposing viewpoints or anything that does not completely coincide with the government’s ideals. This section is referencing part one, where Ginsberg says that he lost his friends to the madness; his friends had to sacrifice their sanity to Moloch in order to be in