The Incognito Lounge Sparknotes

425 Words1 Page

When examining the content of Johnson's The Incognito Lounge in accordance with the historical timeframe in which it was published, there are a multitude of reasons why critics comment on his ability to capture the zeitgeist of his time. In his interview, Johnson states, "The person who really can't say anything about himself is often the one who fascinates me" (Hull and Wojahn 38). believe the character he described in The Incognito Lounge were directly related to the those who felt the effects of the Reagan-era the greatest. These would be the poor who were becoming poorer and those who had been incarcerated as a result of the "war on drugs." Individuals such as these were the ones who no longer had a voice because of the bills and initiatives implemented during the Reagan-era. …show more content…

This is made clear in the fourth stanza of his first poem when he negates happiness from the common phrase, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It is possible that Johnson left happiness out because he no longer believed that happiness was obtainable in that day in age. Another example of Johnson revealing the truth about American life can be seen in the poem, White, White Collar, in which he insinuates that the American dream is not a great as it seems through the eyes of an unhappy white collar worker. Even though the white collar worker is not the typical marginalized individual, Johnson makes him marginalized by showing the inner conflict the worker faces with his inability to express his ideas and passion due to the confinements of his white collar job. An important section of this poem is where Johnson describes the absence of goodness in the world at the hand of the government. To me, this is seen as a direct slight on the Reagan

Open Document