Literature, as mentioned before , is a kind of lense through which we see the world around us and poetry is probably one of the more powerful lenses we have. In reading “Howl”, I’m sure you have a sense of the vision of America being presented to its readers. Considering the title, one can easily say that Ginsberg’s poem is a very pained and angry cry out.

In approaching this essay assignment, you’re thinking about the poem “Howl” as a vision of America, but one that’s not often seen or acknowledged. There’s the familiar platitude about history being written by the winners, and what this platitude implies is not just that there are a select few with power and influence who determine what we remember about the past, but that there are many thousands of voices who have no power or influence, and who are relegated to silence. This is where literature steps in and gives voice to those whom we don’t often hear from. So what does this poem, “Howl”, reveal about the United States of America?

To help in your thinking process, ask yourself the same question about Walt Whitman’s vision of America in his poem ‘Song of Myself’. Compare Whitman’s vision to Ginsberg’s vision in ‘Howl’. What similarities do they share and what are the differences?

Your goal with Essay #3 is to articulate what kind of ‘America’ Ginsberg presents us with through “Howl” and how it contrasts, and even clashes, with the vision of America that Whitman presented in his poem “Song of Myself”.