Insanity Driven by Tradition

In the poem, "Howl," Allen Ginsberg discusses the various life experiences of the Beat Period. Although, I am sure that this poem was quite radical for its time in the conventional 1950's America, one cannot help but view Part I of the poem as examples of what drugs can do to people. I can appreciate that the poem is different and reflects a time when people were beginning to defy the commonalities of tradition by standing up for what they viewed the world should be, but I cannot ignore that some of the occurrences described were glorified in the poem when they should have been viewed as tragedies. Part II digs deeper into what the underground beliefs of the Beat Period were. Ginsberg talks of Moloch throughout this section which is noted in the bible as a god that children were sacrificed to. He states, "Moloch whose mind is pure machinery! Moloch whose blood is running/ money!..." this as well as the entire section describes that American with its industry and capitalism is what is destroying our futures and killing children because they as well as us are the future (83). Part III is the most reflective in that it describes how Ginsberg although free and writing still feels a strong connection with Carl Solomon, whom the poem is dedicated to, and is still locked away struggling to keep himself in the mental hospital