Howling at America and All Who Inhabit It

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One of the reasons a lot of people found the poem so obscene and vulgar was Ginsberg’s mentions of drugs. “Ginsberg actually was inspired to write “Howl” while he was on a peyote trip in 1955, and had a vision of the “Moloch.” The form it took was imposing buildings that transform into an ancient Phoenician god representing society (Morgan).” Those who have critiqued “HOWL” had some dilemmas with Ginsberg and his poem because they disagreed with him stating that drugs was represented as a positive, for example when the speaker says “looking for an angry fix, “could be translated as someone who is just sick of facing the harsh reality in this world and they are just going to go do drugs just so they can go somewhere else for peace or enlightenment. As a reader, one is not saying that drugs should be someone’s escape when they can’t face their problems all the time, but as a reader one is saying they are not arguing against the reason behind the use of drugs especially in that time.

The morals that Ginsberg stand by and believes in with so much passion are what motivates a reader. All that Ginsberg showed his readers was plain truth because this entire poem tells of what he has experienced and what the people in his life have been through as well and how they all view society as a whole. If one finds his use of language explicit, his ideas about drugs and his howl of rebellion intimidating or obscene, then let it be. One, because Ginsberg howls the truth and no one else in that age did not have the nerve to stand up and howl how they feel to anyone, instead they continued to bend to society and took what they got. Secondly, everyone needed to hear such a howl; someone that uses his words as power in hope that it will make a change or motivate people. To show people that they can become better than those who are in control; that they can become better than the green that inhabits the pockets, wallets and banks in this world. Ginsberg howls to not only to rebel against those who belittle citizens, but he is howling at people and telling them to restore themselves with the hope that we will prosper as people. A howl from one man could possibly change this world and people as whole.

Works Cited Page

Ginsberg, Allen. Howl, and Other Poems. San Francisco: City Lights, 1996. Print.

Morgan, Bill. "Allen Ginsberg's Howl: A Chronology." Howl on Trial: The Battle for Free Expression. San Francisco: City Lights, 2006. 1. Print.

Rahn, John. "The Beat Generation." - Literature Periods & Movements. 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 3 May 2015. .

Railton, Stephen. "Ginsberg HomePage." Ginsberg HomePage. Np. Web. 3 May 2015. .

Y.B. "The 1950s." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 3 May 2015. .

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