HOWL

MOLOCH. The unnatural desires that have been forced upon man in order to receive the transcendent and heavenly state that he wants so badly. "They broke their backs lifting MOLOCH to heaven!" A state of heavenly transcendence is the goal of Ginsberg's poem. The people "Howl" or yearn for a state of perfection that can not be found around them. In Part one it is the artists and hipsters and poets, Jazz musicians, philosophers and dreamers who search for the same perfection in a counter cultural way. And part three is the story of Carl. The Journey he personally makes and how the world and culture and society reacts to him after they have been brainwashed and marinated in the doctrine of MOLOCH. Part one and three leave the reader feeling Ginsberg has just fought a tough battle and all tense muscles are beginning to relax into the realization that he hasn't made it but he has found assurance and comfort in the company with whom he has fought. MOLOCH, in part two, wins out in the end. Those being sacrificed go together with flowers and trance like smiles and laughter to the river and fall onto the streets, in solitude. In this they are alone.
I remember in the interview that we watched of Ginsberg talking of when he and peter made their commitment with each other that he felt that he had found the transcendence he was looking for. That the holy place was here with someone who would love him and accept him for who he was no matter what. To me it seems that acceptance is what Ginsberg had been looking for. In "Howl" that is what these people are howling for. If that can be understood than maybe there is also an understanding that they desire the way they feel things actually should be. I think they would all agree that these are broken relationships that they are trying to overcome. But if these are broken were they once whole?
The Bible talks of creation and how it groans. "For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now" (Romans 8:22). Childbirth being the representation of a broken world where pain is felt; it is a result of the fall. "Howl" seems like Ginsberg's groan from the midst of childbirth. In verse 23 of romans, Paul writes that "... not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." The world, believers and non-believers, groan and howl from the pain of this world and the brokenness seen around them. They all long for acceptance. Christians have found an acceptance and hope in salvation through Christ Jesus. The end of Ginsberg's poem , part 1, 2 and 3, has no satisfactory ending or answer, the howling continues.