Analysis of “A Supermarket in California”

The poem “A Supermarket in California” gives a synopsis of Ginsberg’s character as both a writer and a human being. As a writer, Ginsberg was known for being particularly outright and radical, speaking out against many of the traditions of American society in 1950s. But this poem also gives a view as Ginsberg as a normal person, literally depicting his trip to the grocery store. Throughout the piece, it goes inside Ginsberg’s admiration for Whitman as his role model, and how he wants to learn everything about him, and also touches on Ginsberg’s stance on homosexuality in those times.

A major component in all of Ginsberg’s pieces, including this one, was his outright stance on homosexuality. Aside from the fact that Walt Whitman was considered to be one of Ginsberg’s poetic models, he was also known to be homosexual. The same was suspected of Garcia Lorca, who, aside from Whitman, is the only other person referenced in this piece. By having called on several people of the same stance, it makes it appear as if homosexuality were to be common, or more normal, in those times. Ginsberg openly acknowledged his sexuality as he and Whitman are freely “eyeing the grocery boys” and the husbands in the aisles.

Walt Whitman was seen as very obscene and controversial poet for his time, which makes him fit to be Ginsberg’s poetic model. Ginsberg even referenced his adoration for Whitman when he admitted that he dreamt of Whitman just by touching his book. The whole poem is seen through the eyes of Ginsberg as he admiringly followed Whitman through the supermarket, doing all the same things that Whitman did. As he followed, Ginsberg played “detective” and tried to gain Whitman’s insight on every situation. While his adoration is understood, it borderlined inappropriate at times. For example, it was uncomfortable when Ginsberg offered to follow Whitman all night throughout the streets and back to their houses. It invites a closer view on Ginsberg’s inner workings, but sometimes went too far.

As radical as Ginsberg was in his poetry, he was not characterized as such in this piece. While he tried to make subtle stabs at capitalist America, such as going to the supermarket to “shop for images”, he and Whitman seemed more mundane than usual as they hardly stood out in this scene. They quietly milled throughout the grocery store, tasting foods and looking at whomever they please, but never spoke out like they do in their poetry. The rest of the poem remains the same as they went back to their quiet and lonely cottages, or walked through the solitary streets alone. The distinction between how Ginsberg acted in real life and how he did on paper is surprising, but can expected in the conformist times of 1950’s America.

Overall, “A Supermarket in California” invites readers to gain insight on Ginsberg’s actual life, apart from his life as a writer. It showed some of his thoughts and adorations for those wiser than him, but also stayed true to his radical stance on homosexuality and capitalist America.

-M.H.

The Diction of Moloch

Moloch depicts both the demon and the lover in Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. To be honest, the diction surrounding this section of Moloch originally confused me to no end. After completing some research, I decided to leave Moloch as an accent of art in the poem. Moloch depicts the best and the worst, and the unset definition of it changes from person to person or situation to situation.

Moloch may be thought of as a demon in one religious but as a divinity in others, but where to the draw the line is something Ginsberg draws our attention to. Ginsberg groups stanzas of Moloch in contrasts of emotions, such as: endless love contrasted against having an electric soul. I think endless love sounds beautiful and an electric soul sounds wonderful, but at the same time the diction of different words provide a more inappropriate explanation for the time.

Ginsberg addresses his homosexuality as he writes “cocksucker in Moloch! Lacklove and manless in Moloch” (Ginsberg II). Howl was originally published by Ginsberg in 1956 during an era in which homosexuality was not commonly accepted. The language he uses was completely shocking to the public at this time, and might still shock people today. Literary critics and the population alike frowned upon homosexuality, but still Ginsberg decided to ring attention to his writing through the concept of Moloch. Moloch strung across the concepts of demons and Ginsberg even goes as far as to pair this with homosexuality during a period of lost generations.

Moloch astounds readers even towards the end of the second section, “Visions! omens! hallucinations! miracles! estacies! gone down the American River!” (Ginsberg II). I detect a sense of irony in the diction of this stanza. The visions, omens, hallucinations, miracles, and ecstacies all went down the American river due to the general census of the American population. Many were overly conservative just as the hippie movement was about to take place, yet there were people such as Ginsberg who had visions of free love and eternity. Ginsberg was the first to write with this diction, and although it caused a large amount of turmoil, it is one of the most highly regarded poems of all time.