Collaborated Weekly Reflection on Various Works of Allen Ginsberg

Although I have already completed a blog for the week, I have decided to reflect on some of the assigned readings we are expected to discuss in class on Friday, since I will not be able to attend.

A SUPERMARKET IN CALIFORNIA

 "What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman..." (Page 29)

The definition of Walt Whitman from www.dictionary.com is as follows:

• noun United Sates poet who celebrated the greatness of America

However, when looking up Walt Whitman on a website, such as Wikipedia, it mentions that "Whitman's sexuality is often discussed alongside his poetry. Though biographers continue to debate his sexuality, he is usually described as either homosexual or bisexual in his feelings and attractions." Which makes the short story poem "A Supermarket in California" make a lot more sense to me, even though I may not agree with the context in which his name is used. When reading it through the first time, I wondered who Whitman was and why the narrator made such ignorant remarks towards him, but then after looking up the definition it was clear that Whitman's sexuality made the narrator uncomfortable.

• enumerations: 1. to mention separately as if in counting; name one by one; specify, as in a list

• penumbras: 2. a shadowy, indefinite, or marginal area

"-and you, Garcia Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?" (Page 29)

Clearly, the narrator is uncomfortable with both of the men's sexualities that he mentions throughout the short story poem.  He seems very curious as to what Whitman is doing throughout the "grocery store" or perhaps referencing Whitman's life and what he is doing with that. The one thing I noticed throughout the entire short story poem is that the narrator used a lot of detail and imagery to allow the reader to imagine where the actual setting took place. Those minor details made the story appeal to me and kept me reading. The narrator also stated a lot of, obviously, rhetorical questions. The rhetorical questions also kept me reading because I wanted to see if the narrator answered his own rhetorical questions by stating what Whitman would do next.

A theme I have noticed throughout Ginsberg's short story poems thus far is that he references America and religion many times throughout his works. In "A Supermarket in California" he mentions Angels and America twice and in "Howl" he mentions Heaven and politics and America many times.

AMERICA

Before I even began to read America, I noticed the same theme that I mentioned in my last reflection: America. Except in this short story poem I finally realized the narrator's take on America: that it is awful. The narrator has absolutely nothing positive to say, which also reflects the date mentioned in the second line, January 17, 1956, recognizing the harsh times that the narrator had to live through during this time period. It then becomes extremely obvious as to why the narrator does not agree with any of the ways of America in the line, "America I used to be a communist when I was a kid I'm not sorry." (Page 40) This line is extremely harsh and almost makes me want to tell the narrator to go back to where he came from if he does not like the ways of America!

Another point that the narrator elaborates a lot throughout the short story poem is marijuana. It strikes me by surprise that some things really never change. Marijuana is such a "touchy" subject in America today and clearly was back then because he talks about smoking it almost to get back at the government and their rules and regulations. It seems as if some people love testing out the waters, pushing their limits, and going to the extreme, just to see how far they can really go. This relates back to many subjects in life- most teenagers rebel because their parents try to confine them and keep them away from all the negativity the world has to offer, but in reality most of those teens that deal with confinement in their homes are the ones that want to rebel even more than your average teen.

The narrator also brings politics into this short story poem in the line, "My ambition is to be President despite the fact that I'm a Catholic." (Page 41) Well, times have definitely changed now since we have an African American President in office and a Mormon leading the 2012 Election Campaign. But obviously back then it was not as easy to be elected if you were a specific religion, race, and to this day gender. Although we are a free country and people come here for freedom, there are still so many restrictions so many people live by each day and do not even realize they're living that way. Many people are prejudice and do not realize it because that is all they know and are surrounded by. That is probably why the narrator has such a strong opinion about America and it's judicial system, along with many other things.