Howl By Ginsberg Essay

In his poem “Howl “ Allen Ginsberg discusses the 1950s conservatism in America. Ginsberg, who was an integral part of the Beat movement, discusses what he sees surrounding him and how his fellow man becomes “destroyed by madness” (Ginsberg 415). In observing this madness surrounding him, he perpetuates this idea with his fellow Beats that being insane was the only sane thing a man could do during this oppressive time period. Within the works of Ginsberg and his fellow Beat members such as Jack Kerouac, we see commonality of their praise for the insane ones in society. Being insane is revered for the authors of the Beat movement. We see this worship of the notions of insanity throughout the texts of the movement such as “Howl” and ‘On the Road.”

Ginsberg references the cities he lives in and sees the madness exist in. He discusses the distrust for the government of the United States and their modes of communication by himself and the people who he observes struggling and exclaiming their opinions to anybody who walks by. Ginsberg writes “Who reappeared on the West Coast investigating the FBI in beards and shorts with big pacifist eyes sexy in their dark skin passing out incomprehensible leaflets, who burned cigarette holes in their arms protesting the narcotic tobacco haze of Capitalism,” (Ginsberg 417). The general uneasiness and idea that the mad people of this society are the ones who argue out against the oppressive Capitalist society can be seen throughout this quote. The notion that the people who are questioning the government are sexy, dark-skinned, pacifistic, and self-harm in protest is a prime example of his praise for people who would be deemed as insane by the larger society. We see this praise for the insane mentioned earlier in the poem when he discusses the societal institutions that people who are deemed mentally ill or insane would likely land

He describes the allure of insanity within his writing. Kerouac writes, “the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time… but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars” (Kerouac). In his description of the burning which these people do he calls them “fabulous yellow roman candles” showcasing his idea of their beauty. The act of being mad in a society where norms were upheld with an iron fist served as an act of rebellion. This rebellion was artfully done and upheld by the Beat generation authors. When writing about the poverty and desire to live through risks in his novel “On the Road,” Kerouac embodies the ideals of insanity and the desirability of it for the Beat movement. Reynolds describes the ideals of the Beat Generation in which Kerouac and Ginsberg take