Everything is holy and every man's an angel

          One of the questions brought up about Howl in class was whether the poem was happy or not. At first I wasn't sure. The poem definitely involves suffering, focusing much of its attention on the suffering Ginsberg and many of his peers endured in mid-20^th century America. Most are in poverty and can rarely afford to eat, and wear tattered clothing. His peers or “angelheaded hipsters” are kicked out of universities or choose to leave because they find their way of thinking scorned by so called intellectuals. The hipsters dwell deep into drugs and end up hysterical messes because they've been so disillusioned by society and want to find an ultimate meaning to it all. They’ll spend hours searching for it and the only comforts they can find are sex and jazz (which even then doesn't always work-homosexuality could land you in a mental hospital or jail).

                Part two of the poem adds to the already bleak outlook for the hipsters by introducing Moloch.  Moloch is said to be a “sphinx of cement and aluminum” that devours the hipsters’ creativity and imagination (similar to how the theological Moloch devours children), its blood to be “running money”, and is ultimately the “judger of men.” It becomes increasingly clear that Moloch is meant to represent America. Ginsberg views American society’s obsession with capitalist gain, tendency to quell or crush anything that extends outside conventional bounds, and love of war to be as frightening as others would find the demon Moloch. It destroys visionary ideas and replaces them with processed junk. America is depicted as a soulless machine, full of nothing but death, a lust for power, and superficiality.

                Despite all of this, I think the poem is ultimately hopeful and maybe even uplifting. If someone is experiencing the feelings of hopelessness and being “beat” like the hipsters, it means they have seen through the illusions and house of card like societal structures that America has put up. Moloch becomes less of a threat to those who are aware of it. The “madman, bum and angel” are all on the same level. Humanity can begin to question everything around them and learn to be free thinkers.

                The poem is an exaltation of those who are outside societal norms. With American culture, especially during that time, revering conformity and sameness, it’d be easy to sell out and quietly live a mediocre existence, never knowing true bliss or satisfaction. However, you could choose to let your freak flag fly and value your individualism, like the hipsters learned to do. There is no need to buy into a system of capitalism, greed, vapid consumerism, and hollow industries if they don’t work for you.

                Ginsberg valued unrestrained independence.  His own life was full of varying degrees of madness and unconventional behavior, including seeing apparitions of the poet Blake. The process and aftermath of disillusionment is undoubtedly not fun; the hipsters agonize over not being able to find meaning in anything and are often persecuted for their lifestyles or beliefs. However it is rewarding in the freedom you obtain.