Allen Ginsberg's Views Of The Beat Movement
opinion Essay
1111 words
Eimear Lynch
Dr. Prestridge
English 1102 2:00 pm
November 13, 2017
The Beat Movement The 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
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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.
It also talks about how the poets found inspiration and excitement through music, specifically jazz. “The poets travelled to free their mind, and become more intune with their spirituality” (Beatdom, 1). Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” greatly impacted readers and American society. “Some Americans found the poem liberating, but the majority of people found it incredibly obscene and extremely controversial” (Kaplan, 1). Some Americans found the poem so offensive, in fact, that Ginsberg was arrested in San Francisco in the late 1950’s shortly after his poem was released. The poem opened the eyes of American citizens, showing them another way of viewing sexuality and other topics that were deemed explicit. (The importance of obscenity, 1). “Howl” painted an all too realistic picture of a society and its norms that exclusively benefitted the people who were willing to conform to its strict rules. (The importance of obscenity, 1). The Beat poets rebelled against society because they refused to change or hide who they were for the sole intent of societal acceptance. Wearing their individuality on their sleeves, the ideology of Beat poets demonstrated to people that straying from stereotypical archetypes was not only acceptable, but encouraged. Beat poets emphasized the importance of not tearing one another down because of something so benign as one’s …show more content…
• “The Beat Generation.” The Literature Network: Online Classic Literature, Poems, and Quotes. Essays & Summaries, www.online-literature.com/periods/beat.php.
• The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Beat Movement.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 17 Sept. 2013, www.britannica.com/art/Beat-movement.
• “Eileen Myles and Solmaz Sharif: A Conversation Across Generations.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, 9 Nov. 2016, www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-beat-poets.
• Kaplan, Fred. “How ‘Howl’ Changed the World.” Slate Magazine, 24 Sept. 2010, www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/life_and_art/2010/09/how_howl_changed_the_world.html.
• el34ax7, /. “The Importance of Obscenity in Allen Ginsberg's Poem.” Mild Musings from a Mediocre Man, 5 Dec. 2012, el34ax7.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/the-importance-of-obscenity-in-allen-ginsbergs-poem-howl/.
• says, Alfred K. LaMotte (Fred), and Sam Silva says. “The Intersection of Buddhism and the Beat Generation .” Empty Mirror, 20 Oct. 2017,
Related
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- Lunatics Taking Over the Asylum: Cultural Chaos in 1960s Americaanalytical essayFirstly, the group of friends and writers most commonly known as the Beats evolved dramatically in focal points such as Greenwich Village and Columbia University, and subsequently spread their political and cultural views to a wider audience. The three Beat figureheads William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac each perceived an agenda within American society to clamp down on those who were in some way different from the accepted ‘norm’, and in response deliberately flirted with the un-American practices of Buddhism, drug use, homosexuality and the avant-garde. Ginsberg courted danger by lending a voice to the homosexual subculture that had been marginalised by repressive social traditions and cultural patterns within the United States.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the hippies' political education was partly attributed to the beats, who tried to instil pacifist values into the lives of young people during the previous decade.
- Opines that even the best looking apple can contain a worm. the sixties were dead. they may never have lived.
- Analyzes how malcolm mclaren described the 1960s as a journey, but the fundamental flaw is that it must end at some point. hopper builds on jack kerouac's homespun philosophy of travelling the ‘open road’ in search of spiritual enlightenment.
- Opines that the tone of the film, "night of the living dead," came from the anger of times. it was 1968 and nobody was in a gleeful mood about the world going.
- Analyzes how george a. romero unleashed night of the living dead, the first instalment in a trilogy of horror movies.
- Opines that marijuana, cocaine, and lsd can open up the doors of perception, but they can quickly close them again too.
- Analyzes how hunter s. thompson's semi-autobiographical novel fear and loathing in las vegas is a scathing attack on the myopic hippie dream and the futility of the 1960s.
- Explains that the trunk of the car looked like a mobile police narcotics lab. they had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid,.
- Analyzes how the characters' appetite for self-destruction is evident from the very first paragraph of fear and loathing in las vegas.
- Analyzes how kesey's work is challenging, but it is a complicated process trying to deduce what exactly he is saying here.
- Cites dillard, r. w., and waller's american horrors essays.
- Explains evans, harold, the american century – people, power and politics, an illustrated history.
- Cites forbidden: george romero and the dawn of the dead, prod. nick freand jones, bbc broadcasting, 2 february 1997.
- Explains that harris, oliver, the letters of william s. burroughs 1945 to 1959, 1993.
- Analyzes holmes, john clellon, ‘this is the beat generation’, new york times magazine, 16 november, 1952.
- Explains lee, martin a., and shlain, acid dreams: the complete social history of lsd, the cia and the sixties and beyond, 1985.
- Analyzes tytell, john, 'the beat generation and the continuing american revolution' in the rolling stone book of the beats.
- Cites peter bate's film, ‘charles manson — the man who killed the sixties.
- Argues that the 1960s formed one of the most culturally complex periods in america's history, and the analysis of this era is just as problematic.
- Argues that ginsberg's contribution to the development of the counterculture during this period was vital.
- Analyzes how ginsberg portrays american politicians as monosyllabic neanderthals who are eager to wage war at any opportunity.
- Opines that spiritual fulfilment is an elusive goal, if not one that is impossible to attain. kerouac dismisses the beat generation as a fad.
- Analyzes how romero reworked the paranoid cinema that was popular in american drive-ins during the 1950s and encapsulated the dark mood of 1960s society spinning out of control.
- Analyzes how thompson channeled this anger into works such as fear and loathing on the campaign trail '72, in which he unmasks american politicians to be corrupt fraudsters.
- Analyzes how ken kesey's novel, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest, employs the setting of a claustrophobic psychiatric ward monitored by oppressive staff
- Concludes that most of the texts mentioned in this piece close with the death of one or all of its protagonists.
- Cites carroll, e. jean, cavaney, graham, the priest they called him: the life and legacy of william s. burroughs.
- Cites galloway, david g., gilmore, mikal, and george-warren's the rolling stone book of the beats.
- Cites hoskyns, barney, howard, gerald, and howard in the sixties: art, politics and media of our most explosive decade.
- Cites ruland, richard, and malcolm bradbury, from puritanism to postmodernism: a history of american literature. thompson, hunter s., fear and loathing in las vegas.
7167 wordsRead More - Essay On The Beat Generationanalytical essayRacist Depictions of Latinos/as in Beat Generation Literature Studies regarding the Beat Generation have pulsated over the years since the movement itself was at its peak, but what has endured throughout the fifty years since their emergence is Beat literature’s popularity with the general public. To further add to the Beat’s influence, their literature has also had a tremendous impact on the American literary canon. During the past two decades, primary source materials of the Beat movement continue to be published. Major film adaptations are also being produced from some of their most influential works and their personal lives. The Beat Generation’s literature has been looked at through many different perspectives ranging from anthropological to sociological.
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 - Jack Kerouac and The Beat Generationanalytical essayBorn to die The Beat Generation, made up of writers, artists and misfits, was forged not long after the end of World War II. People wanted change, the old ways and traditions were slowly being neglected and social rules of that time were put into question. The Beat Generation were the ones leading the way in questioning the old rules and regulations not because they wanted to but because America wanted it. The Beat Generation was a bohemian hipster like movement that got its drive and inspiration from sexuality, drugs, booze, crazy people and situations and religions like Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism. The Beat Generation embraced creativity untouched by culture.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the beat generation was a bohemian hipster like movement that embraced creativity untouched by culture. jack kerouac's writing was deliberate and spontaneous.
- Analyzes how jack kerouac was inspired to write spontaneously in mexico because of tristessa's junk addiction and how she embraces death even though her life is miserable.
- Analyzes how jack kerouac's novella, tristessa, is based on drug abuse. he believes in equality and respect of all humans and creatures.
- Analyzes how jack kerouac is inspired to write spontaneous prose while on an adventure in mexico with tristessa and her drug addiction.
- Analyzes how jack kerouac's metaphor about tristessa’s dove eyes is a reminder to americans to stop worrying about the pursuit of happiness.
1170 wordsRead More - "The Ultimate Beatnik." Ed. Boytinck, Paul. Anthony Burgess, An Annotated Bibliography and Reference Guide. New York: Garland Publishing, 1985.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the protagonist and narrator of anthony burgess' a clockwork orange, alex, is an intriguing study from start to finish.
- Analyzes how alex, as a 15-year-old arrogant hooligan, is depicted as being violent and sadistically evil simply for the experience of it.
- Analyzes how alex is portrayed as immature and irresponsible. he's arrogant, self-absorbed, autocratic, and convinced of his superiority over everyone he encounters.
- Cites petix, esther, and boytinck, paul, in critical essays on anthony burgess.
1393 wordsRead More - Tytell, John. Naked Angels: the Lives and Literature of the Beat Generation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the impact of dean on sal in jack kerouac's on the road. he sleeps all day and awakes in time to witness the setting sun.
- Analyzes how kerouac relates his feelings to the dark, soothing atmosphere of the room, which lulls the reader into contemplation concerning their own identity.
- Analyzes how sal adapts his personality to that of dean in part two of the novel. he picks and chooses who and what he wants to follow.
- Analyzes how kerouac throws in phrase after phrase, completely describing the mental state of sal using symbolic images without directly stating anything.
- Argues that sal's loss and change of identity stems directly from kerouac’s natural tendency to switch personalities. his childhood molded him into a schizophrenic.
- Analyzes how the kerouac family lived in lowell, massachusetts for most of jack's young years. they were constantly moving around the city, keeping him from becoming accustomed to one specific location.
- Analyzes how kerouac's brother died from a heart condition when jack was four. the events leading up to the death terrified and overwhelmed him with confusion for years.
- Analyzes how even if the road was in sal's blood, he still needed the character and energy of dean to trigger it.
1030 wordsRead More - Essay on the Failure of Language in Malcolm and On the Roadanalytical essayHolmes, John C. "The Philosophy of the Beat Generation." On the Road. Text and Criticism. By Jack Kerouac. Ed. Scott Donaldson. New York: Penguin, 1979. 367-79.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how malcolm's language fails to perform its basic function of the medium of intercourse.
- Analyzes how malcolm and on the road expose inadequacy of words in relation to the experience of their central characters, but the philosophical premises behind these failures are different.
- Explains holmes, john c., "the philosophy of the beat generation." on the road. text and criticism.
- Analyzes how john clellon holmes characterized his young contemporaries as deeply spiritual; the eccentricity of the fifties was an attempt to assert one's individuality in the atmosphere of conformity.
- Analyzes how malcolm is unable to take the advice of professor cox and associate with the parts he is forced to play most likely because there is nothing to give up in the first place.
- Explains krupat, arnold, and lorch, thomas m., "dean moriarty as saintly hero."
1697 wordsRead More - Beats as a countercultureanalytical essayThe Beats As A Counterculture Many of the Beat writers wrote in a style known as spontaneous prose. Allen Ginsberg often writes in this style. He does so in the poem “Howl” in which he rants and raves about society via his friends – Jack Kerouac, Willaim S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlingetti, and Neil Cassidy to name a few, live. He discusses their poverty, civil disobedience, the ways that they fight society, and his personal fight against industrialization; he uses many images in order to allow the reader to understand his lifestyle, the lifestyle of his friends and points of view, specifically their rejection of society. Ginsberg depicts the deprived environment in which he chooses to live in through imagery.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how allen ginsberg writes in a style known as spontaneous prose. he rants and raves about society via his friends, jack kerouac, willaim s. burroughs, lawrence ferlingetti, and neil cassidy.
- Analyzes how ginsberg depicts the deprived environment in which he chooses to live in through imagery.
- Analyzes how the beats were connected to the reality of poverty. they chose this poverty stricken lifestyle to further reject society.
- Analyzes how the beats were strong willed and opinionated and were not afraid to get arrested for a cause.
- Analyzes how the beats threw their watches off the roof to cast their ballot for eternity outside of time, and alarm clocks fell on their heads every day for the next decade. the ultimate act of anti-society is suicide.
- Analyzes ginsberg's anti-industrialization views in section ii of "howl." "moloch" is used as a word that symbolizes industrialization.
- Analyzes how ginsberg reinforces the second section with the first and third sections by showing the reader that he is anti-society.
- Analyzes how allen ginsberg complains about his life and society. he explains his points using amazing imagery that allows the reader to see exactly what he/she is writing about.
1057 wordsRead More - Jack Kerouac: The King Of The Beats And The Beat Generationanalytical essayAmerica was built on rebellion. This was no different for the Beat Generation whom took Americans in the 20th century, into a new way of life. Middle class free spirited people who questioned the practices of everyday lifestyle and mainstream culture, the beats lived in disillusionment with society. The fifties being a time of conservative family morals encouraged the bohemian nature of the beats for their want to experience more. The nature of this rejection is expected but, why? And how does such rebellion begin to take place, what forms does it take, and does such rebellion provide a lasting change?
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 - The Inner Landscape Of Beaty Analysisanalytical essayO’Donohue, John. “The Inner Landscape of Beaty.” Host Krista Tippett. OnBeing. American Public Media, 30 April 2009. MP3 file. 15 October 2016.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes john o'donohue's interview with krista tippett on "the inner landscape of beaty." he uses "glamour and beauty" to explain the connection between interior lives and exterior appearance with respect culture.
227 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Howl By Allen Ginsberganalytical essay“Howl” by Allen Ginsberg: the poem that changed America. Utilizing parataxis, Ginsberg composed the poem in a breath-length form; the poem itself broken up into three parts: the first of which is described by Ginsberg as “a lament for the Lamb in America with instances of remarkable lamb-like youths”, the second which “names the monster of mental consciousness that preys on the Lamb”, and the third, “a litany of affirmation of the Lamb in its glory”. This poem consists of many of Ginsberg’s own biographical references and allusions, empowering the emotion behind the written words. Though seemingly sporadic and desultory, the poem is notably organized and detailed with each “part” of the poem focusing on one core subject and seeming to resemble elongated run-on sentences.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how allen ginsberg's "howl" is the poem that changed america. the poem is organized and detailed with each "part" focusing on one core subject.
- Analyzes how "howl" sets up madness as a central theme. the current generation had been "destroyed" by the dominating and militant american government.
- Analyzes how location becomes an integral piece of "howl." ginsberg uses phrases metaphorically and symbolically to note his social and political points.
- Analyzes how parts ii and iii of the poem play a complementary role. both have differences in theme, tone, and structure from part i.
594 wordsRead More