Allen Ginsberg: Founding Fathers Of The Beat Generation
explanatory Essay
758 words
A rejection of normal social values, exploration of religions, rejection of materialism, explicit portrayals of humanity, experimentation with psychedelic drugs, and sexual liberation; this is none other than the beat generation. The beat generation was a literary movement started by a group of authors, including Allen Ginsberg, whose work influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War II era. This unusual movement was started by Allen Ginsberg and his friends William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac who he met while studying at Columbia university. These three were essential figures in the Beat Movement. Allen Ginsberg was one of the founding fathers of the Beat Generation, through this time he was a writer who advocated gay rights, anti-war movements, protested the Vietnam War and promoted "Flower Power", he ultimately helped shape this distinct generation and became recognized as one of America's premier writers and icons.
Allen Ginsberg grew up in Newark, New Jersey raised by both his father and unstable mother alongside his older brother Eugene. Childhood was rocky for Ginsberg, his
…show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the beat generation was a literary movement started by allen ginsberg and his friends william burroughs and jack kerouac who he met while studying at columbia university.
- Explains that allen ginsberg grew up in newark, new jersey, raised by his father and unstable mother alongside his older brother eugene. his mother, naomi, immigrated from russia and was an active member of the communist party.
- Narrates how ginsberg fell in with the wrong crowd at columbia university, including fellow students lucien carr and jack kerouac, and friends outside of school, william s. burroughs and neal cassady.
- Describes how ginsberg created a turning point for society by writing his first poem, "howl," in 1956.
- Explains that allen ginsberg and his friends were the founding fathers of the beat generation. they advocated gay rights, anti-war movements, protested the vietnam war, and promoted "flower power."
Allen Ginsberg and his friends were the founding fathers of the Beat Generation. They advocated gay rights, anti-war movements, protested the Vietnam War and promoted "Flower Power" to everyone. The beat poets, including Ginsberg, spread the need for widespread acceptance and love as well as creating a turning point for society that opened people's minds and allowed them to accept the less desired values in life. Ginsberg ultimately helped shape this distinct generation and became recognized as one of America's premier writers and artistic icons through his famous poem “Howl” and many others. This literary movement and the unique work that came out of it dramatically influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War II
Let Our AI Magic Supercharge Your Grades!
Related
- analytical
- opinion
- The American Counterculture Revolution, which lasted between 1956 to 1974, completely transformed both politics and culture. Among many revolutionary movements, the Antiwar Movement consisted of strong protest and outrage towards the Vietnam War and America’s military actions abroad. A countless amount of writers, musicians and even athletes participated in the movement and contributed to its success. Many activists contributed to this movement, such as writer, Allen Ginsberg and government official, Daniel Ellsberg. The movement gained popularity due to the growing American disapproval towards the Vietnam War and The Draft. This movement has also contributed to peace organizations, congressional laws, and has produced antiwar scholarship.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the american counterculture revolution, which lasted between 1956 to 1974, completely transformed both politics and culture. the antiwar movement consisted of strong protest and outrage towards the vietnam war and america's military actions abroad.
- Explains that the antiwar movement in america arose due to the disapproval that millions of americans possessed towards united states intervention in the vietnam war.
- Opines that the antiwar movement would have never achieved the success it did without many of its key activists.
- Analyzes how the antiwar movement affected the public perception of government, policy, decision makers, and foreign policy. the movement impacted presidents nixon and johnson towards adopting pacifist policies.
- Explains that the antiwar movement made a significant impact on politics and the role of government in wars. the movement has been adopted in every foreign policy and has influenced decision makers.
- Explains that the antiwar movement provided a foundation for peace seeking organizations and studies across the world and in america.
- Analyzes how the antiwar movement of the 1960s shifted the public perception on the american government and war at the time.
- Explains how the antiwar movement changed the public's perception of the government and war.
2123 wordsRead More - The Individual Versus Society in Kerouac and Ginsberganalytical essayOne theme that is prevalent throughout much of the literature we have covered so far is that it is very critical of the conformist values of late 1950s society. In an era of Levittowns and supermarkets and the omnipresent television, there was a call to leave the conformist suburban culture in search of something higher. Two major proponents of the individual as opposed to society were Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, two of the central figures in the Beat movement. Through their work one can gain a perspective on the anti-conformity spirit that was brewing under the surface in the Beat culture.
In this essay, the author
- Explains allen, donald, ed. the new american poetry 1945-1960. berkely, ca.
- Analyzes how jack kerouac and allen ginsberg's the dharma bums are critical of the conformist values of late 1950s society.
- Analyzes how kerouac values the individual persona over the "middle-class non-identity" characterized by the suburbs.
- Analyzes how ginsberg uses "supermarket" to make a comparison between two americas, his and whitmans.
2207 wordsRead More - Essay On The Beat Generationanalytical essayThe Beat Generation was a subculture that arose from the post World War II Bohemian culture in the United States. Bohemians can be defined as persons, artists, who live an unconventional life, usually amongst others also practicing this lifestyle. Bohemianism, as such, has always had a strong affiliation with the development of avant-garde as movements within art; significantly, Bohemia has been called the “underworld of art.” The Bohemian culture itself “is characterized by an active, though perhaps, irregular communalism and group dyn...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the beat generation's literature has had a tremendous impact on the american literary canon.
- Analyzes how the beat generation broke the boundaries of american censorship and opened the doors to all art forms.
- Analyzes how the beat generation sought literary achievement, but contemporary fashion, entertainment, and opinion columnists granted them more notice than did literary critics.
- Analyzes how kerouac's on the road portrays sal as an italian american who wants to relate to minority cultures.
- Proposes that although the beat generation wanted to separate themselves from mainstream american society, they weren't so far from the period regarding their racist views.
- Explains that the beat generation arose from the post-world war ii bohemian culture in the united states.
- Analyzes how the beat generation's appropriation of african american culture is similar to that of the nineteenth-century romantic racialists.
1943 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Alle Allen Ginsberg's Howlanalytical essayGinsberg was born in Newark, New Jersey to Louis and Naomi Ginsberg and was the brother of Eugene. Louis Ginsberg was a high school teacher and poet and Naomi was a Marxist who suffered from mental illness (Ginsberg reads “Howl” for the first time). For years Eugene and Allen grew up in the shadows of their mother’s mental illness; Allen Ginsberg incorporates these experiences into his poem Howl and other poems. Ginsberg was greatly influenced by his father when it came to the poetry scene and grew up reciting famous
In this essay, the author
- Explains that mental illness is defined by mayo clinic as "disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior"
- Explains that allen ginsberg was an american poet with a unique way of thinking, so society marked him and his work as different.
- Explains that ginsberg attended columbia university with the intentions "to study law" but took a liking to language. while attending columbia, he met some "central figures" from the beat movement.
- Explains that the beats generation was a group of like-minded individuals who were marked different in the eyes of society.
- Analyzes how ginsberg resists isolation by surrounding himself with like-minded individuals; through howl, he invites readers to join him on this journey to see what it was like to live in a society post wwii.
- Analyzes how allen ginsberg expresses a sense of community in part iii and cries out, "carl solomon! i’m with you in rockland."
- Analyzes how allen ginsberg refused to let himself be marked and isolated without trying to do something about it. through howl he built a community of support.
1235 wordsRead More - Jack Kerouac: The King Of The Beats And The Beat Generationanalytical essayOne of the most famous of the generation was Jack Kerouac. Kerouac, a writer who was fascinated with jazz, drugs and philosophy embodied this counter culture lifestyle, even taking on the title, “king of the beats.” Wildly passionate for new experiences, Kerouac saw himself as a spy in someone else's body, an observer in/of the world recording through the keyhole of his eye living in such a way that he would eventually document and compose into his masterpiece. Kerouac opened the eyes...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that america was built on rebellion. the beat generation took americans in the 20th century, into a new way of life.
- Explains that jack kerouac, a writer who was fascinated with jazz, drugs and philosophy embodied this counter culture lifestyle, even taking on the title, "king of the beats."
- Explains that the beats were not rebelling against their fathers or their grandfathers but instead, their own generation. kerouac and many of his peers attended ivy league schools such as columbia.
- Explains that kerouac's writing style of spontaneous pros was inspired by jazz music in the 1940s. it broke literary structure and coincided with the energy of the new age topics.
- Analyzes how kerouac's "action writing" can be seen as being in an essentially oral tradition, spontaneous yet self-effacing, written down yet meant to be read allowed in a flurry.
- Explains that the beats felt stuck in the strict 1950's postwar society of the perfect conservative family with a traditional house, family, and white picket fence. they experimented through art, religious practices, sex or drugs.
605 wordsRead More - Allen Ginsberg's Views Of The Beat Movementopinion essayThe Beat Movement was an unconventional movement that originated in the 1950’s, after the Second -World -War. The Beat poets used the post Second -World- War era as a platform for the social and literary movement. The societal turmoil was the perfect atmosphere for the Beat movement, helping the movement thrive and circulating it across the United States. The Beat Movement, and its poets, challenged many societal norms such as drugs and sexuality, by advocating for self-illumination through means of alternative substances and experiences. The artists of the Beat Generation helped change society’s views on these contentious topics which at the time, were
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the quote proves that the poets liked the feeling of floating through cities, rejecting the notion of feeling tied down, and found inspiration and excitement through music, specifically jazz.
- Opines that the beat movement made it possible for the lgbt community to stop living in fear of judgement deprived of the ability to express themselves.
- Describes the literature network's online classic literature, poems, and quotes, "the beat generation."
- Describes the editors of encyclopedia britannica's "beat movement."
- Explains that eileen myles and solmaz sharif: a conversation across generations.
- Explains the importance of obscenity in allen ginsberg's poem, mild musings from a mediocre man.
- Opines that the intersection of buddhism and the beat generation — empty mirror, 20 oct. 2017, www.emptymirrorbooks.com
- Explains that the beat movement was an unconventional movement that originated in the 1950's, after the second world war.
1111 wordsRead More - Allen Ginsberg: The Beat Generationanalytical essayAllen Ginsberg was born in Newark, New Jersey on June 2nd, 1926. He experienced a very troubled childhood. His mother, Naomi, suffered from multiple mental illnesses and was institutionalized several times. These problems left Ginsberg feeling emotionally distraught and confused. This is reflected in Ginsberg's later poems since the mother helped to determine his overall character and outlook in very important ways. In his adolescence, he began to feel an increased awareness of his homosexuality which he kept very private until his twenties. Ginsberg was first introduced to poetry by his father who was a high school teacher and a poet. However, it was not until Ginsberg’s affiliation with William Carlos Williams that he began to attain a severe interest in poetry. Williams became something of a mentor to the young Ginsberg. Ginsberg’s literary choice was further influenced by Lionel Trilling and Mark Van Doren, whom which he had made acquaintances with through classes at Columbia University. Columbia is actually where he established powerful friendships with writers William S. Burroughs, Neal Cassady, and Jack Kerouac. “This group, along with several West Coast writers that included Kenneth Rexroth and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, among others, would form the core of the Beat movement” (The Beat Generation vol 2: 363). To be understood, the Beat movement, also called the Beat Generation, was an American social and literary movement that originated in the 1950s. The members of this movement, including Ginsberg, were self-proclaimed as "beat", which was originally meant to describe them as weary, downtrodden individuals. This meaning later took on a more musical sense t...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that allen ginsberg was born in newark, new jersey on june 2nd, 1926. his mother, naomi, suffered from multiple mental illnesses and was institutionalized several times.
- Analyzes how ginsberg became a leading apostle of the so-called beat movement. he advocated free, unstructured composition, allowing him to write down and publish his thoughts and feelings without revision.
- Explains that ginsberg's personal and artistic development began after he began friendships with william burroughs and jack kerouac.
- Explains that allen ginsberg, gary snyder, jack kerouac, william burroughs, and lawrence ferlinghetti used their writing to convey their opposition to the cultural and aesthetic standards of previous generations.
- Illustrates how ginsberg's famous poem "howl" marked his artistic maturity and established him as a leading voice of the beat movement.
- Analyzes how ginsberg's connection with carl solomon in rockland mental hospital inspires him to a triumphant affirmation of spiritual solidarity and love.
- Explains that ginsberg began traveling frequently, visiting burroughs in tangier, spain, italy, vienna, munich, and paris, where he wrote much of "kaddish".
1459 wordsRead More - We're All on Drugsanalytical essayWhile the Beats experimented with drugs, they were more mild in their departure from the mainstream culture than the counterculture of the hippies and acid-heads . Tom Wolfe observed that, ““Kerouac was the old star. Kesey was the wild new comet form the West heading Christ knows where”” (Lytle, 4). Even though Kerouac was a major part of the Beat movement and experimented with drugs, he was not cut out for the world of LSD. When considering On the Road, Sal Paradise, does in the end return home to his mother just as Kerouac did when Neal Cassady tried to get him to join Kesey. In Howl, Allen Ginsberg laments over the deprivation of his generation. He addresses one of the roots of the problem, “Moloch whose mind is pure machinery!” (Part II, l.5). He blames the mechanization of the mind, prefer a more steeped in nature approach, drugs as bringing us closer to our own nature The ideas of the Beats echo in the ideas of the counter: a rejection of materialism, an embrace of experimentation with drugs, sexuality, and forms of expression, especially music. The change from the Beats to the Hippies was not so much a ra...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the counterculture of the 1960s set off a new wave of music and created an alternative lifestyle.
- Analyzes how the beats experimented with drugs, but were milder in their departure from mainstream culture than the counterculture of the hippies and acid-heads.
- Analyzes how the ken kesey and his merry pranksters broke boundaries with the drugs they were taking as well as racial boundaries. they believed that using lsd was not just about feeling, but thinking differently.
- Analyzes how the rolling stones' song "mother's little helper" criticized mainstream culture’s dislike of drugs by pointing to accepted forms of drug use.
- Analyzes how drug use among american soldiers in vietnam was not limited to marijuana as many turned to opiates as a retreat from their own miserable situation.
- Explains that drug culture was not limited to one group of individuals; different subgroups had their drug of choice. alcohol, tobacco, and tranquilizers were socially acceptable forms of drugs, so the demonization of lsd, marijuana, psilocybin, etc.
- Analyzes how the fear of psychedelic and psychoactive drugs is contradictory. the media skewed information in order to portray them as an absolute bad.
1197 wordsRead More - Influences of Allen Ginsberg's Workanalytical essayAllen Ginsberg was a Jewish American poet, who was born in June 3 1929, he’s poetry vigorously opposed such topics as militarism, economic materialism and sexual- repression. Ginsberg is best known for his epic poem "Howl", in which he denounced what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that allen ginsberg was a jewish american poet who vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism, and sexual-repression. he is best known for his epic poem "howl".
- Narrates how allen was born into a jewish family in newark, new jersey. his father, louis ginsberg, was published poet and high school teacher.
- Explains that ginsberg's mother often made up bedtime stories with strong communist ideas like: "the good king rode forth from his castle and saw the suffering workers and healed them."
- Explains that allen continued to write poetry, but not as strong as his older work, until 1948 after he graduated from columbia university. ginsberg pleaded insanity, spending time in the university's mental health facilities.
- Describes how allen moved to san francisco in 1954, where he met peter orlovsky, and began work on his epic poem "howl", which became a key part of beat generation.
- Analyzes how howl was deemed too obscene and allen was tried for blasphemy, though he was vindicated once the judge ruled the work had merit.
- Describes how allen coined the term "flower power" to describe the anti-war demonstrations he took part in during the 1960's hippie movement.
536 wordsRead More - Howl by Allen Ginsberganalytical essayWhen Allen Ginsberg sat down at a secondhand typewriter in 1955 and began the first of his many subsequent drafts of "Howl," he had no idea of the controversy it would cause. I fact, he didn't even set out to write a formal poem and especially not one that he would consider publishing. Instead, what the 29 year old began would materialize into his most famous literary work and the cause of a much publicized trial debating the first amendment right to freedom of speech. The events of Ginsberg's life and the events going on in the world around him inspired and prepared him to write "Howl," but perhaps one of the most important factors contributing to the poem and the author's fame was the surge in interest in writing, reading, and listening to poetry, which came to be known as the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that allen ginsberg didn't set out to write a formal poem, but the events of his life and the world around him inspired and prepared him for "howl."
- Explains that the poem that caused the controversy over obscenity in literature is a four part series of separate works, written mostly at different times, that complete an idea, which judge clayton horn considered to have socially redeeming value.
- Analyzes how the poem affirms individual experience of god, sex, drugs, and absurdity. part i deals sympathetically with individual cases, while part ii describes and rejects the moloch of society.
- Narrates how ginsberg's life was characterized by a lot of activity and emotions during the time period prior to and during which he wrote howl.
- Narrates how allen was living with his lover and partner peter orlovsky, who had been going through hard times despite their vows to each other. he was left alone to be with himself and write.
- Analyzes how ginsberg expressed his dissatisfaction with life around his twenty-ninth birthday in june 1955. he was having trouble with money, living on unemployment, and he thought no one was interested in reading poetry.
- Narrates how allen had a dream of meeting joan vollmer, who was killed by burroughs in 1951, and writing the opening line for "howl". the plight of solomon dredged up allen's feelings about his mother, naomi.
- Analyzes how allen wrote "howl" for his own enjoyment, playing around with his form and experimenting with the long line, always thinking that it couldn't be published because of his word choices and the "queer content"
- Analyzes how ginsberg composed part i and part iii, which was dedicated specifically to solomon, who had been "destroyed by madness".
- Narrates how allen wrote two sections of "howl" after peter and lafcadio returned to san francisco. they walked to the sir francis drake hotel with peyote-enhanced vision.
- Analyzes how ginsberg had recently been contemplating the fate of america, with its nuclear weapons, the korean war, and the coming of the cold war. the realistic possibility of parents sacrificing their children to the american version of moloch seemed terrifying.
- Explains that ginsberg decided to take out a portion which didn't seem to fit, which was later published as "the names" (cherkovski 100).
- Describes how ginsberg met and befriended rexroth after he came to san francisco from san jose. he was introduced to kenneth patchen, thomas parkinson, chris macclaine, gerd stein, jack spicer, gary snyder, and philip whalen.
- Narrates how ginsberg turned to his elder, rexroth, for advice. he sent out postcards and posted handbills publicizing the event at the six gallery.
- Analyzes how ginsberg read only the first part of "howl" since the other parts were not completed. the audience was enthusiastic and kerouac began shouting "go!" at the end of each line.
- Explains that the six gallery reading did not spawn the san francisco poetry renaissance, but it certainly cemented its creation with all of the enthusiasm for poetry it stirred up among the literaries.
- Narrates how ferlinghetti changed his mind about publishing howl and other poems after he wrote a telegram to ginsberg asking for the manuscript, which led to one of the most celebrated trials of censorship since joyce's ulysses.
- Explains how the obscenity trial, like many others, was a springboard for success of howl and other poems and for city lights.
- Argues that if ginsberg had written the poem in another city at the same time, it would not have experienced such fame.
- Analyzes how the trial clinched ginsberg's fame and helped him succeed in publishing the poem.
- Cites cassady, carolyn, cherkovski, neeli, eberhart, richard, and allen ginsberg.
2886 wordsRead More - Getting Hep to the Beatanalytical essayIn the mid 1940’s a movement began, a generation of writers and poets would emerge; they were called the ‘Beat Generation’. The term was first used by Jack Kerouac while talking to fellow writer John C. Holmes, in 1948, Kerouac said to him, “So I guess you might say we’re the beat generation” (What’s Beat). The ‘Beat Generation’ was a movement that influenced the next generation of young rebellious minds of the 1950’s and ‘60’s through poets and writers who did not follow the rules of society. Growing up I have always liked the poets and writers of that time, the smooth cool way they talked, the slang they used, the goat-tees and black berets they wore and their cool and casual demeanor. The writers and poets of that generation were so passionate in what they wrote, and in their resistance to conformity. Not caring to be like everyone else, instead, they sought to be the individuals that they were, not bowing to what mainstream society thought they should be. Freedom of individuality was their passion. Although it wasn’t until I was older that I really understood what they meant and stood for, the movement had a deeper meaning; to be yourself.
In this essay, the author
- Describes how the 'beat generation' was a movement that influenced the next generation of young rebellious minds of the 1950s and 1960s through poets who did not follow the rules of society.
- Analyzes how the crowded bars were filled with people who were in some way influenced by writers such as jack kerouac, allan ginsberg, neil cassady, and william burroughs.
- Explains that the counter-culture of the 1960's embraced self expression and open form poetry, emotion, explored sexuality and drugs openly, and were spontaneous in their art. ginsberg’s “howl” and burroughs’ “naked lunch” influenced what could and could not be published in the us.
- Explains that beat writers and poets were influenced by both the korean and vietnam wars, which divided our nation into two distinct groups.
- Opines that jack kerouac was instrumental in founding the beat movement, but he wanted nothing to do with the new counter culture.
- Analyzes how the beat generation's non-conformity and counter culture hippie movement changed the way young americans thought and acted. kerouac inspired future generations to exercise their right to freedom of expression.
910 wordsRead More - Cultural Shift through the Eyes of Ginsberg and Kerouacanalytical essayBrothers of the San Francisco Beat scene, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg lived in the midst of a consumer cultural revolution, patriots of a forgotten mindset. While the regional characters of the nation were quickly being homogenized by television, Kerouac and Ginsberg wrote poetry and prose that both captured and contemplated the moment. They were contemporaries, sharing the same circle of friends and drawing from the same influences but produced works seeking divergent means to the same conceptual end. Kerouac wrote with an enlightened nostalgia, fascinated with preserving a form of the pioneer spirit of individuals and tall tales in the midst of cultural change, while Ginsberg's poetry directly criticized the shortcomings and decay of society; neither author completing the picture or the message, leaving something for the other.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jack kerouac and allen ginsberg lived in the midst of a consumer cultural revolution, while the regional characters of the nation were quickly being homogenized by television.
- Analyzes how kerouac and ginsberg's works depict a rich, variant culture homogenized and sterilized by dial television ads and the saturday evening post.
- Analyzes how kerouac and ginsberg's writings reflect the glory that once was. rugged individualism became a virtue forgotten by society, but remembered by the writers on its fringe.
- Analyzes how ginsberg's "kaddish" sarcastically comforts ailing america. kerouac was accepting, almost daoist.
- Analyzes how kerouac and ginsberg use images and sounds, visions and memories to pen works which lay on the edge of an era.
1316 wordsRead More