The "Howl" of Despair

The poem "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg is a depressing and melancholy piece of literature that has many themes and elements to it. One of these themes is hopelessness. You can see this in every part of the poem and it talks about how Ginsberg felt that his generation had no hope and nothing to look forward to. He felt that their lives were nothing and that there was no point in continuing to follow the rules and regulations of society. To me, this makes the poem extremely depressing and not enjoyable to read at all.

Part one talks about the destitute and hopeless situation of those around him. Ginsberg talks about how he sees those around him wasting away, giving themselves over to drugs and sex. They begin to realize that they are not going to change the world around them. They are depressed and seek thrills and getting that next big rush, which leads them to heavily abuse drugs and waste their lives away. A good example of this is on page 1359 where Ginsberg writes "who cut their wrists three times unsuccessfully and, gave up and were forced to open antique stores where they thought they were growing old and cried".

The second part of the poem talks about the Canaanite god Moloch, to whom sacrifices were made. This talks about hopelessness in that it relates to the people of his generation. They felt that they needed to sacrifice so much in order to live normal lives and be accepted by society. Many of the people of this time were hiding feelings of depression, hopelessness, distrust or other issues just below the surface. This part of the poem does a good job of relating how there was much more to the seemingly pristine lives of Americans in the decades after WWII than most people think. This idea is capture well in the excerpt from page 1362 where Ginsberg writes, "Moloch! Moloch! Robot apartments! invisible suburbs! skeleton treasuries! blind capitals! demonic industries! spectral nations! invincible madhouses! granite cocks! monstrous bombs!". This passage shows what many thought of the seemingly pristine and perfect world at the time. That it was all just a sham and that darkness and despair lay just below the surface.

The third part of the poem talks about Rockland, an institution where one of the Ginsberg's friend was sent too. This displays the aspect of hopelessness because Ginsberg felt hopeless for his friend and felt compassion for him. He sympathized with the plight of his friend Carl Solomon and showed that many that thought outside the parameters or had ideas that were contrary to the normal thinking of the time were deemed insane and sent to asylums or not taken seriously. He expresses his hopelessness for these people and his overall hopeless, fearing that many will not be taken seriously or people care what they have to say. This is captured in the line on page 1362 "where you bang on catatonic piano the soul is innocent and immortal and should never die ungodly in and armed madhouse".

Overall, I found this poem to be extremely depressing and enjoyable. However, I do see the points that Ginsberg was trying to make and I can see why he picked this to be one of the themes of the poem. This theme is so transcendent and easy to connect with, and I feel this is one of the reasons that this poem is still popular to this day and that it was deemed as radical in a time when everyone was supposed to be happy-go-lucky and people did not want to reveal what was really going on underneath the surface of American culture.

“Southern Gothic Movement” Literary Context

The Southern Gothic movement played a role in many classic stories and works that people are familiar with, including those of William Faulkner, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Edgar Allen Poe, and Tennessee Williams. This literary movement began in the south in the late 19th century, and explores themes such as tragedy, repressed behaviors, love, sexuality, terror, social interaction, and human existence (Burns, 186). One story that combines many of the elements present in this movement is the story “Good Old Country People” by Flannery O’Connor.

The story is about a young woman that lives with her mother. The woman is a staunch atheist and has a prosthetic leg along with a heart condition, or so she says. This connects to the movement because many Southern Gothic works focus on grotesque or tragic images (Burns, 186). This young woman is taken advantage of by a man claiming to be a Bible salesmen, but in reality he is an evil and twisted person. He ends up luring her into a loft and reveals his true self. This is the part in the story I will examine most and show how it connects to the themes found present in the Southern Gothic movement.

The passage I will examine is found on page 1353 of the anthology where Pointer says ‘“I hope you don’t think, he said in a lofty indignant tone, “that I believe that crap! I may sell Bibles but I know which end is up and I wasn’t born yesterday and I know where I’m going!” This passage displays many of the characteristics of Southern Gothic literature. It is in this passage that Pointer’s true nature is revealed, and that he is shown to be a deceitful and cruel person. We clearly see that this person has a disturbed personality, a characteristic of the movement (wisegeek.org). Also evident by his obsession with prosthetics is that this man is a delusion and damaged character, also a defining characteristic of the genre (wisegeek.com). This man is clearly not who he says he is, and this passage in the text gets that point across. No longer are his strange tendencies hinted at or left to our imagination, as he comes right out and displays his true nature.

What I found most interesting about the subject during my research is that the movement does not span one era or time in history. The era started in the late 19th century and saw a revival again in the 1920’s. And then again in the 1950’s and 60’s (Surber). Overall, however, this genre has been present throughout many different eras of America and is still around and present today. While many forms of writing and storytelling have faded in and out of american literature, the Southern Gothic movement is one that has remained around since it’s inception.

I found the Southern Gothic movement to be one of the most fascinating and interesting literary movements in America. As a fan of Poe and his interesting yet disturbing stories, I found it interest to learn more about this movement and some of the other authors, themes, and ideas present in the movement. I feel that my knowledge gained will help me in further reading of works that fall into this category and help me to understand what the message behind the work really is.

Works Cited

Burns, Margie. "Southern Gothic Literature". Literature Criticism Online. Gale Cengage Learning,             n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015

Surber, Katie. "Southern Gothic Literature: Definition, Characteristics, & Authors". Study.com.                   Study.com. n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015

"What Is the Southern Gothic Movement in Literature?" WiseGEEK. Conjecture Corporation, n.d. Web.         17 Apr. 2015.

A Struggle of Wills

A theme that I found interesting in the play “A Streetcar Named Desire” is the power struggle between Blanche and Stanley. They are both headstrong and confident, and both know what they want. The real difference between them, I feel, is that they each have different ways of persuading people and getting what they want. Stanley is physical and aggressive and relies on his natural strength and intimidation to get what he wants. Blanche, on the other hand, has to be more subtle about the way she goes about things, and instead uses her charm and manipulative ways to get to people.

Stanley is seen as a force of brute strength and aggression, and this is evident throughout the play, but particularly in two parts. The first part is when he lashes out at Blanche and Stella for disrupting his poker game. “Stanley stalks fiercely through the portiers into the bedroom. He crosses to the small white radio and snatches it off the table. With a shouted oath, he tosses the instrument out the window.” (page 1137) Stanley then proceeds to hit Stella and takes his anger out on her. He has to be pinned down by the other men before he can come to his senses, but this is not the end of his violent escapades. His worst act is yet to come, when he rapes Blanche. “He springs toward her, overturning the table. She cries out and strikes at him with the bottle top but he catches her wrist….. She sinks to her knees:He picks up her inert figure and carries her to the bed.” (page 1171). This excerpt clearly indicates that Stanley is nothing more than a bully who uses his strength and physical prowess to get what he wants. This scene is particularly disturbing and gives the audience a sense of his brutal and animalistic nature.

Blanche is more subdued with her attempt to gain power, and indeed much of her manipulation and sway over people is sexual in nature, and she uses her natural good looks to get what she wants. This is evident in the scene where she reveals to Mitch that she was sleeping around with multiple men ever since her husband committed suicide, eventually ending up in trouble because she was caught with a student of hers. However, I think her most telling moment is in the beginning of the play, where she tries with all her might to persuade her sister to leave Stanley. “In this dark march towards whatever were approaching, don’t-- don’t hang back with the brutes!” (page 1144). Even though Blanche is unsuccessful at persuading her sister, I feel this scene is a good indicator of how she works. Doing it behind Stanley’s back, playing on Stella’s emotions and fears about Stanley, and using what had happened on the poker night as a fall back. Her manipulation is unsuccessful however, and the results are disastrous.

I feel that with these two types of personalities and ways of accumulating power butting heads throughout the play, I feel that William’s is making a broader generalization about society as a whole. I feel he is taking the worst stereotypes that exist in people’s minds about both genders and making them into two distinct characters, which I find fascinating. Williams was very clever with the numerous themes woven throughout the story, and I think the ending is fitting because both really do not get what they want in the end. Stanley and Blanche both have some redeeming qualities and some bad ones. Ultimately, the ending was realistic and the resolution of the play is shocking to say the least.