The Industrial Sphinx, Catalyst of American Madness

Although many American institutions promote conformity, Beat poets, such as Allen Ginsberg, argued that this very nature of conformity was destroying their generation. In the poem “Howl”, Ginsberg argues that the best minds are nonconformists, however, American society frowns on nonconformity and traps them in a state of both metaphorical and physical madness. The poets of the Beat generation were known for calling out “cherished institutions” such as “capitalism, consumerism…and ecological destruction” (Charters xxx). Ginsberg follows suit in the poem, as he primarily focuses on calling out industrial America, describing how industrialization is responsible for destroying the “best minds of [his] generation” (Ginsberg 62).

Ginsberg illustrates this monstrous, mechanical nature of America through the implementation of words such as “machinery”, “railroad”, “pavement”, “subway, “iron”, “steamwhistles”, and “tenement.” These descriptions of industrial America only become clearer in the second part when “Moloch” is introduced. Ginsberg structures part two to be a response to the question asked in the first line, “what sphinx of cement and aluminum bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination” (Ginsberg 68). Ginsberg answers this prompt with “Moloch” at the start of the next stanza, repeating the use of the word in the following stanzas. This is significant because the prompt is essentially asking who caused this madness noted in Ginsberg’s generation, ultimately asking who destroyed the best minds of his generation. By answering each stanza enthusiastically with “Moloch”, Ginsberg is suggesting that this “Moloch” character is the one to blame for the madness.

The repetition of “Moloch” develops the word as a symbol, creating a motif in the section. The question in line one describes this character as being a “sphinx of cement and aluminum.” The use of the word “sphinx” alludes to a mysterious creation of mythological origin. The mysterious quality, along with the association with the actual Sphinx statue, creates an image of something large, powerful, and curious. The physical make-up that the sphinx is born of suggests unnatural origin, and alludes to industrial America. A nation of unnatural qualities, where a sphinx is created out of construction materials illustrates industrialization in America, especially post war industrialization. This sphinx is described as what “bashed open [the best minds’] skulls and ate up their brains and imagination” (Ginsberg 68). This provides a reasoning behind the described madness of lines one and two of the first part of “Howl.” Ginsberg describes the best minds as being “destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked” (Ginsberg 62). This absence of self suggests that the madness described is devouring in nature, truly ruining and torturing the individuals targeted by this “sphinx.”

Furthermore, Moloch is described as being a “heavy judger of men” which can be seen as commentary on the victims of Moloch (Ginsberg 68). Moloch is depicted as a nightmare, something that goes after people who do not fit within Moloch’s society. Moloch is described as a prison, trapping its victims inside with no hope of escape. Moloch is described as machinery, something so mechanical and inhuman that it can not relate to emotion and humanity. Moloch is described as having blood made of money, therefore stating that money supports it, only furthering the connection between Moloch and capitalist America. Moloch is actively harming the human race, trapping those inside its twisted ways and judging those that do not fit into a world controlled and created by Moloch.

Ginsberg further develops the struggle of the “best minds” as being trapped in part three of “Howl”. Ginsberg addresses his friend, Carl Solomon, whom he met in the Columbia Psychiatric Institute and would consider to be one of these “best minds.” Ginsberg fixates on Rockland, New York, in this part of the poem, a developed American suburbia, one of the results of Moloch’s monstrous industrialization. Rockland is on the Hudson River, and therefore was a hotspot when industrialization first occurred in the United States, because factories were dependent on access to waterways. Rockland County is the perfect example of this tortuous American condition Ginsberg develops through Moloch in the previous part, and through his description of “the madtowns of the East” in part one (Ginsberg 67). Ginsberg states that Solomon must feel “very strange” in Rockland, which reflects as an accurate description because both Solomon and Ginsberg are part of the beat generation, which is made up of nonconformists who would feel uncomfortable in a place developed the way Rockland was in this time period. The suburbs are not exactly commonplace for those who dislike conformity, especially given that most houses look like identical copies of each other and are all arranged in mirror-like rows for miles on end. Ginsberg continues his commentary on how both the urban and suburban areas created as a byproduct of industrialization can be compared to a nightmare when you are a nonconformist, who wishes to break free from the traps of Moloch. Ginsberg chooses to include places like Utica and Long Island, which are both areas that became widely populated, mainly as a result of industrialization. For example, Utica rapidly developed as a city due to the number of increasing jobs in the city as a result of rapid industrialization. Long Island became greatly populated, especially after World War II, due to the proximity to New York City, another location made increasingly viable as a result of industrialization. The Northeast is especially well known for rapid urbanization and industrialization.

By ending part three of “Howl” depicting a dream of Solomon journeying to the “door of [Ginsberg’s] cottage in the Western night,” Ginsberg expresses a hope that people can break away from the many institutions of America that promote conformity (Ginsberg 70). Since Ginsberg develops the East as being a location where all of this “madness” is thriving, describing the escape as occurring in the “Western night” shows some hope of freedom from the ailments that constrict Americans. This “dream” Ginsberg describes mirrors his own life experience, as he moved from New York City to San Francisco, where he found his values to be more accepted.

Ginsberg utilizes literary elements such as diction, repetition, and motifs to portray how industrial America is damaging individuality and humanity as a whole. Through developing a character that portrays industrial America in such a harsh light, Ginsberg is able to create resonating messages on the American condition and the hope for freedom.

Ginsberg, Allen. “Howl.” The Portable Beat Reader. Edited by Ann Charters, Penguin, 1992, pp. 62–70.

Photographed by Welgros, Retrieved from Getty Images