angry, pessimistic about the future, confused about their sexuality, and not knowing what their place in life really was. After he was released from the merchant marines, he went back to the Bay Area. These young men began to hold meetings where they would read poems and share ideas. They also formed a sense of friendship, because they were all that they really had.“Howl” is a three part poem written in 1955 to his friend Carl Solomon. In it he talk about the “best minds of my generation destroyed by madness” “It destructively catalogues evils of our time from physical deprivation to madness” (Eberhart, Page 25). The first part of “Howl” is a list of the atrocities that have allegedly been endured by Ginsberg and his friends. These atrocities accumulate to form a desperate critique of a civilization that has set up a power structure that determines everything people do. This power structure is dictated by the conservative society of America. The theme of the poem is given in the first part: it is one of question, seeing the things going on and hoping things get better. By “burning their money in wastebaskets” he shows that anyone who does not fit into societies mold is made to feel that life is hopeless. The imagery used here is very well placed- dark “Negro” streets give a picture of gloominess, “angry fix” deals with the consumption of drugs. He really blames society for his friends going “mad” when in fact they are not, they are just different. So much pain and pressure is put on them that they are “demanding instantaneous lobotomy” Ginsberg is also aware of the fact that these atrocities are not just occurring in San Francisco and New York but in all of America, big and small. He mentions Houston, Chicago, Denver, North Carolina, etc. No one is excluded from the changes that are happening. The allusion in the first part of t...
