Ginsberg's "Howl"

Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” is a haunting and beautiful poem that is written in multiple parts and deals with many facets of society and the human condition there in. However, in this analysis I would like to deal with part Two of the poem exclusively. This part of the poem deals with the idea of “Moloch” (Pg. 21). It means curse, and has a wonderful ambiguity in the way Ginsberg portrays it. The “Moloch” is that which we as a society have created, and that which we continue to create that poisons our inherent humanity. The production of droves of identical soldiers, machinery, buildings, factories, and pavement cover up the uniqueness and humanity of the world. Ginsberg portrays the Moloch as a paradoxical entity. It is subtly human in some ways, yet cold and inhuman at a closer look. This points out to the reader that the Moloch is our making, has gone out of control and taken on a life of its own. It is a curse against humanity, a curse humanity made against itself, and a curse that Ginsberg spits back.

Part Two begins with a short and symbolic description of the “Moloch” as a “sphinx of cement and aluminum...” (Pg. 21) that “bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination” (Pg. 21). This use of “their” refers to most of society, but probably excludes poets for they are blessed/tortured with the ability to see the “Moloch” hard at work all around them. “Cement and aluminum” are symbolic of the mass-produced and faceless objects and institutions the “Moloch” consists of. Just in this short description the reader is already shown that the “Moloch” is a seemingly living and conscious being.

It is very interesting to note how Ginsberg paints a picture of the “Moloch” as seemingly human, but in actuality not human at all. Part Two refers to the “Moloch” as having “fingers” (Pg.21), “ears” (Pg.21), a “mind” (Pg.21), “judgment” (Pg.21), “blood” (Pg.21), a “breast” (Pg.21), “eyes” (Pg.21), and “love” (Pg.22). However, all of these things end up being in relation to completely non-human attributes. The “mind” of “Moloch” is that of “pure machinery” (Pg.21) not a compassionate reasoning mind, but instead a cold, calculating and inhuman mind. “Moloch[‘s]” “blood is running money” (Pg 21), “eyes are a thousand blind windows” (Pg 21), and “love” is “oil and stone” (Pg 22). Money instead of “blood” flows through its veins. This conveys how the unblinking and heartless effects of capitalism are a core aspect of “Moloch”, and how it hurts our society. The eyes are often seen in poetic terms as the windows to the soul, but for “Moloch” they are “blind”, showing perhaps the lack of a soul. The fact that there are a thousand windows points once again to a faceless and indistinguishable monster. The “love” “Moloch” has is only that which is hard and cold (rock) or that which can be used for one’s own betterment (“oil”). This flies in the face of any normal definition of love and therefore fits perfectly with the inhumanity of the monster. “Moloch” is something made from humanity that contains no humanity at all.

I suppose the best way to fight the inhumane creations of humanity is to create something utterly humane. That is what “Howl” is; it is the emotional and turbulent ride through the many dimensions of humanity as it defies with an animalistic scream the inhumanity of “Moloch”. Ginsberg’s incredible use of contrast puts a kind of face on the shadowy monster. He puts our(societies) face on the monster. He is our making. He is our curse.

Ferlinghetti Response

Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poems on San Francisco tell the unique stories of a city of multiplicity. A town who's differing and separate creeds, classes, races, opinions, and outlooks add up to a bittersweet portrayal of San Francisco as an ambivalent city on the edge of the western world.

Ferlinghetti utilizes juxtaposition and imagery to convey the vast contrast and complexity of San Francisco. the most powerful use of these devices is in "Yachts In Sun", a poem about the vast difference in classes, as seen in a view of the San Francisco bay. The power of this poem is in the way the "white yachts" with their "white sails" filled with pushing wind are shown to "freely pass" over the bones of "an Alcatraz con", "imprisoned" "fifty fathoms below" "the glass of the sea". The beautiful and cold imagery of the water as a burial place is contrasted to the pristine white boats in the warm sun. These white boats represent the well-off people in the city, who's expensive toys allow them glide almost insultingly over the tomb of someone of a lower class. In this sense, to the rich the ocean is a relaxing travel destination, but to a lower class criminal it is a treacherous, tormenting, and icy resting spot. The duality of the situation and the town, and the contrast of the two class figure's situations brings home the image of a town so mixed and jumbled with differences that there is no easy way to portray it other than to show those differences in action.

This bitter-sweet (mostly bitter) treatment of the conflicting classes of San Francisco and the eerily picturesque image symbolic of that dynamic works very well to portray the great multiplicities of San Francisco.