Ideology and Subjectivity in the Poems of Allen Ginsberg

This paper analyzes how Allen Ginsberg shows subjectivity and ideology in his poems America and Howl. It examines how he expresses negative opinions about the political, social and cultural ideology of America and reveals injustices within society. The paper also discusses how Ginsberg uses his writing to rebel against American consumerism and capitalism.

Ideology and subjectivity
0 | P a g e

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Ideology and subjectivity in the poem America..........................................................................................2
Ideology and subjectivity in the poem Howl...............................................................................................4
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................8
1 | P a g e

Introduction
Ideology is defined as a certain set of ideals, principles of a person which influences the thinking
and actions of a person. It is defined as the imaginary relationship between individuals and their
surroundings. Subjectivity is defined as how the judgment of a person is influenced by their
opinions and feelings. The purpose of this paper is to focus on how Ginsberg shows subjectivity
and ideology in his poems. To further analyze these concepts, the poems Howl and America by
Ginsberg are chosen.
Ideology and subjectivity in the poem America
In his poem America, Ginsberg exposes tensions and conflicts happening within the nation and
national identity1. He expresses his views against the country, as he feels it is betraying their own
ideology. In this poem, he indulges in a conversation with a personified image of his country. He
expresses negative opinions about an environment of censorship and oppression within America,
and a feeling of hopeless about his life and work in this environment. He also expresses anti-war
and anti-militarism mentality in this poem. It rejects all political, social and cultural ideology of
the nation and criticizes contemporary American society. He also reveals injustices within
society and speaks for oppressed people of the country2. During that time there was a strong
anti-communist mentality among Americans and the poet expresses his views about this
mentality. He openly says he is a communist in this poem. He also discusses about issues like
drugs, madness, homosexuality, which are considered as taboo at that time are also stated. In the
poem, he combines the challenges related to his personal identity to political identity of the
country. America is identified in this poem as his lost lover, who have prompted him to become
a saint. He tries to find something common, in his personal ideology as well as the ideology of
America. In this poem, he struggles to relate his ideology of freedom, justice and acceptance
1 Stewart I. Donaldson, Maren Dollwet and Meghana A. Rao, "Happiness, Excellence, And Optimal
Human Functioning Revisited: Examining The Peer-Reviewed Literature Linked To Positive
Psychology", The Journal Of Positive Psychology 10, no. 3 (2015): 185-195,
doi:10.1080/17439760.2014.943801.
2 Graham B. Slater, "Education As Recovery: Neoliberalism, School Reform, And The Politics Of Crisis", Journal Of
Education Policy 30, no. 1 (2015): 1-20, doi:10.1080/02680939.2014.904930.
2 | P a g e

with the cultural and political ideology of America3. Role of media is also criticized by him
along with its effects on the emotional life of fellow Americans.
Walt Whitman has a significant influence on the political ideology of Ginsberg. He agreed with
his idea of equality and individuality, despite having a different view about the country. Using
the style of controversial writing expresses negative opinions about the social and political
beliefs of his contemporary American society4. He wishes to change the perspective of his fellow
Americans with the help of his writing. He expresses his views about the rise of xenophobia
within the country, especially the fear of Russia and Asia. It also makes a reference to his
connections to the Eastern culture and traditions. Ideology is defined to play a significant factor
in the development of the personality of an individual and it also plays a significant role in
literature. The poem also expresses views about the struggles he has been facing, regarding his
relationships with his family, and realizing and accepting his homosexuality. There is a direct
relationship between the ideology and subjectivity in this poem. Both of these issues are not
considered to be a stable, both of the differences in personal values and beliefs with reality5. In
this case, he is not happy with the political state of the country and he is confused about his place
in the country. He questions the concepts of capitalism, consumerism and liberal democracy in
all of his poems, including America. In one line he also states, that he has given everything to his
beloved country and he is left with nothing.
The poet does not have an easy relationship with the contemporary authority and their rules and
regulations. His ideology does not match with the reality of the contemporary American society,
and he expressed strong opinions against it. It expresses his sentiments towards the Wobblies, a
Leftist group of workers. He also states that his sentiments towards this group because of his
mother, and he is not ashamed of this fact. It exposes his struggle to validate his feelings and
feelings, with the help of modern psychology6. In this poem, he tries to justify his lifestyle of
shirking responsibility. However, later in the poem, he took responsibility for his actions and
3 Paris Aslanidis, "Is Populism An Ideology? A Refutation And A New Perspective", Political Studies64, no. 1 (2016):
88-104, doi:10.1111/1467-9248.12224.
4 María C. Ledesma and Dolores Calderón, "Critical Race Theory In Education", Qualitative Inquiry21, no.
3 (2015): 206-222, doi:10.1177/1077800414557825.
5 Salman Türken et al., "Making Sense Of Neoliberal Subjectivity: A Discourse Analysis Of Media Language On Self-
Development", Globalizations 13, no. 1 (2016): 32-46, doi:10.1080/14747731.2015.1033247.
6 Shane Gunster, "This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs The Climate", Environmental
Communication 11, no. 1 (2017): 136-138, doi:10.1080/17524032.2016.1196534.
3 | P a g e

opinions. He uses the colloquial language to ridicule the ignorance of his fellow Americans. The
writer suddenly realizes that his own willingness to accept the roles of a career in the context of
America allows him to be a part of the country itself. The personified image of America is
accused by him to be in a silly mood, and it is preventing him to write about the faults of
American society. This is how he relates the concepts of subjectivity and ideology in his poems.
Ideology and subjectivity in the poem Howl
Ideology is considered as an imaginary relationship between individuals and the real conditions
of their existence7. In literature, it plays a significant role in the generation of subjectivity in the
works of the writers. In Howl, Ginsberg expresses the struggles of the people who were
oppressed in his time. This poem can be defined as a destructive poem, as it expresses his
opinions about madness, oppression, capitalism, and exploitation. It expresses hatred for
everything which is considered normal at the time by the contemporary American society. In the
first part, he rejected the idea of American capitalism along with its social and religious values.
The poet himself is struggling to find his identity in this society, as his ideology does not match
with the ideology of the society8. He also has strong views about censorship and cultural
oppression, and he also provides a voice to the oppressed. He is inspired by the political views of
Whitman and believes in freedom of speech and emotional expression. The author along with
others are silenced and forced to hear what the dominant culture has to say. A writer does not
have the freedom to just express their views, they are bounded by their political and social
conditions while producing their work. Similarly, Ginsberg is also constrained by the political,
social and religious conditions. According to him, the madness suffered by his friends is a result
of captivity and the feeling of being outcasts of the society. These individuals are constantly
battling with the social and religious uniformity.
In this poem, Ginsberg views himself as an outcast too, and he laments that many of his
generations are suffering from madness. He uses his writing to speak as a counterculture insider
7 Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle, An Introduction To Literature, Criticism, And Theory (Taylor and
Francis, 2016).
8 Hyunjung Shin and Joseph Sung-Yul Park, "Researching Language And Neoliberalism", Journal Of
Multilingual And Multicultural Development 37, no. 5 (2016): 443-452,
doi:10.1080/01434632.2015.1071823.
4 | P a g e

to engage with the American public and their issues9. He fears that he too can suffer from
madness and is struggling to cope with the idea. It expresses his anger at the contemporary
society and the ideologies associated with it. Here the military, industrial and nationalist
complex of fellow Americans is targeted by him. This complex plays a significant role in
developing a certain kind of mentality among them, which is described by him as unthinking
patriotism. The second part focuses on Moloch, which symbolizes the effects of American
capitalism10. During this time, the country started developing atom bombs, which have the
capacity to destroy the entire world. It examines the ideology of the country for which the best
and capable minds of America was sacrificed. Here he refers to Moloch as an ideological
apparatus, capable enough to frighten him out of his happiness and natural ecstasy. it criticizes
the ideology of industrial modernity and its effects on the society. He describes the Government
as the reason of sorrows and bad news for the citizens of the country. He has always faced the
challenge to fit right into the society. He asks questions about his living in his poems, and he is
uncertain of his own identity.
The writer refers to madness as the rebellion against the effects of American consumerism and
capitalism. He did not have a good relationship with government and authority in his entire life,
which is reflected well in his writings. His personality is shaped with the help of his ideology,
which is justice and equality11. It also raises a voice against state institutions and asylums
designed to control non-conformism with the main culture among Americans. His uncertainty
regarding his identity is clearly expressed in his poems. He considers himself different from
society, he is able to observe his actions along with others. He faces a dilemma in his life, which
influences his writing to a significant extent. In the footnotes of the poem, he celebrates holy
cleansing, which is able to remove the effects of consumerism and capitalism12. The third part of
the poem represents the post-war counterculture, which rebels against the mainstream culture of
9 Muhammad A. Khalifa, Mark Anthony Gooden and James Earl Davis, "Culturally Responsive School
Leadership", Review Of Educational Research 86, no. 4 (2016): 1272-1311,
doi:10.3102/0034654316630383.
10 David I. Hanauer, "Measuring Voice In Poetry Written By Second Language Learners", Written Communication
32, no. 1 (2015): 66-86, doi:10.1177/0741088314563023.
11 Radstone Susannah, and Katharine Hodgkin. "Introduction: contested pasts." In Memory, History, Nation, pp. 1-
22. (Routledge, 2017)
12 Strickland, Ronald. "The western Marxist concept of ideology critique." VNU Journal of Science: (Social
Sciences and Humanities 28, no. 5E (2016).
5 | P a g e

America. The practices which do not conform to the social norms of the country at that time is
referred as sanity and ecstatic by the poet. He does not like the way America is heading either
politically or socially.
6 | P a g e

Conclusion
It can be concluded from the paper that Ginsberg has used his writing to rebel against American
consumerism and capitalism. The poet uses both ideology and subjectivity and the interrelation
to express his views about the political, social and religious norms of the country.
7 | P a g e

References
Aslanidis, Paris. "Is populism an ideology? A refutation and a new perspective." Political
Studies 64, no. 1_suppl (2016): 88-104.
Bennett, Andrew, and Nicholas Royle. An Introduction To Literature, Criticism, And Theory.
Taylor and Francis, 2016.
Donaldson, Stewart I., Maren Dollwet, and Meghana A. Rao. "Happiness, excellence, and
optimal human functioning revisited: Examining the peer-reviewed literature linked to positive
psychology." The Journal of Positive Psychology 10, no. 3 (2015): 185-195.
Gunster, Shane. "This changes everything: Capitalism vs the climate." (2017): 136-138.
Hanauer, David I. "Measuring voice in poetry written by second language learners." Written
Communication 32, no. 1 (2015): 66-86.
Khalifa, Muhammad A., Mark Anthony Gooden, and James Earl Davis. "Culturally responsive
school leadership: A synthesis of the literature." Review of Educational Research 86, no. 4
(2016): 1272-1311.
Ledesma, María C., and Dolores Calderón. "Critical race theory in education: A review of past
literature and a look to the future." Qualitative Inquiry 21, no. 3 (2015): 206-222.
Radstone, Susannah, and Katharine Hodgkin. "Introduction: contested pasts." In Memory,
History, Nation, pp. 1-22. Routledge, 2017.
Shin, Hyunjung, and Joseph Sung-Yul Park. "Researching language and neoliberalism." Journal
of multilingual and multicultural development 37, no. 5 (2016): 443-452.
Slater, Graham B. "Education as recovery: Neoliberalism, school reform, and the politics of
crisis." Journal of education policy 30, no. 1 (2015): 1-20.
Strickland, Ronald. "The western Marxist concept of ideology critique." VNU Journal of
Science: Social Sciences and Humanities 28, no. 5E (2016).
Türken, Salman, Hilde Eileen Nafstad, Rolv Mikkel Blakar, and Katrina Roen. "Making sense of
neoliberal subjectivity: A discourse analysis of media language on self-
development." Globalizations 13, no. 1 (2016): 32-46.
8 | P a g e