Howl

In the first section I feel like Ginsberg is talking about a select group in society who were intelligent and sophisticated but are doing other things to compromise there gifts. "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed," pg 1 line 1 "dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn," pg 1 line 3 He talks about all the different ways they are losing themselves and ruining themselves with different drugs and other things of that nature. I feel like society as a whole has improved itself away from drugs. There are way more ad campaigns to stop the use of drugs, rehab is always improving and doctors know how to treat addicts. People are told early on about the dangers of drugs and that they will not survive in society as a successful individual by doing drugs so more people are aware of them and are less likely to do them.

In the second section I think Ginsberg is talking about the city when he says Moloch. "they broke their backs lifting Moloch to heaven! Pavements, trees, radios, tons, lifting the city to heaven." I was not sure if I was correct so I looked the word up. According to wikipedia Moloch means "In modern English usage, "Moloch" can refer derivatively to any person or thing which demands or requires costly sacrifices." So it would fit that Ginsberg meant the city because during the whole section two he talks about how bad it is and slams it.

In the third section Ginsberg seems to be talking with Carl Solomon about his staying in a crazy house. "I'm with you in Rockland where you are madder than I am." He talks about the things they might be doing to him and how awful it must be. I do not know why Ginsberg would right about this it seems kind of pointless. Maybe it is to make people aware of some cruelty going on in insane asylums.

Footnote to Howl seems to make the point that in his world back in the fifties everything is made out to be holy by different people, I feel like he is making fun of the church and people's own personal philosophies making out non holy things to be very holy. A supermarket in California seems like a dream to me Ginsberg talks about seeing Walt Whitman in a supermarket and just walking with him and doing outlandish things that would not be acceptable in a supermarket. Ginsberg's writing seems to be beyond me maybe because I am not living in the 1950's and don't know about current issues or I am not a strong reader I just do not get why he put such writing in this order.