Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Introduction
Allen Ginsberg and Walt Whitman were both American poets during the 19th century. The end of both the First and Second World Wars resulted in civilization BUT for individuals who had been brought up in the previous century, they seemed to get lost and confused with this so-called civilization ‘what peaches and what penumbras?’ In this, Ginsberg brings out the level of uncertainty that rocked America during this historic moment. Being of the previous century, Ginsberg does not exclude himself from that group that no longer fits in America. In his first stanza he writes, ‘I walked down the side streets under the trees with a headache self conscious looking at the full moon’ (Lehman 750). He is self-conscious considering that does not feel a part of the new America. This thought is weighing him down to the extent of having a splitting headache.
Main body
Ginsberg is having a hard time trying to remember how the good old days used to feel. This makes him tired as he tries to envision the old sweet America, ‘in my hungry fatigue and shopping for images….’. (Whitman and Greenspan 92).
Everything has become commercialized in America. Surviving requires that people put more effort and as the authors have observed, “Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!—and you Garcia what are you doing in the watermelons? (Whitman and Greenspan 92). This third stanza indicates how everyone has become preoccupied with looking for money. People are engaging in different trades in order to pay the bills in addition to other daily requirements. The different fruits such as avocados, tomatoes and watermelons are all used to indicate the different types of trade that people have been forced to engage in order to survive in the new America. Times have become too tough that even children who used to wholly depend on their parents for food now have to work if just to make ends meet. However Ginsberg is not alone in this world. He feels that the older generation is lost in this world where everything is highly commercialized. In his everyday life, he comes across old friends who are trying to comprehend the sudden change in lifestyle. Among such friends is Walt Whitman. From the poem we deduce that Ginsberg has a lot of respect for Whitman and thinks of him as a legend. Ginsberg sees the new America like a supermarket where everything is for sale. He is feeling absurd because he thinks and believes that neither he nor Walt Whitman fits in the 20th century America.
Nevertheless, he considers Whitman some sought of a mentor to him. He strives to live by his standards and follow his examples though he feels that time is catching up with them. Whitman writes, “ I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you, and followed in my imagination by the store detective” (Whitman and Greenspan 92).The store detective here represents the new generation.
Moreover, as much as he pities himself, Ginsberg has sympathetic feelings towards Whitman. He sees him as a lonely man who has no children. He feels that if Whitman had children perhaps life would be easier for him. Probably they would teach him the new way of living. “……..and eyeing the grocery boys”. In this line, Ginsberg brings out how Whitman is full of contempt for the new generation. This is best explained by the stanza where Ginsberg tells Whitman, “I heard you asking questions of each: who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my angel? (Whitman and Greenspan 92). This brings out the inquisitive nature of Whitman as he tries to comprehend what has happened to the America he once knew. He wants to know who contributed to the death of the old culture where life was smooth with less hustles. In the former culture, food was in plenty and better still, for free. Whitman observed how times have truly changed. Now, people have to dig deeper into their pockets just to put food on the table. Ginsberg and Whitman use their poems to communicate their feelings and thoughts, but unlike in the past years, nobody pays attention to poems or literary works anymore ’….. and never passing the cashier”.
Ginsberg is afraid that in a few years time even the few who still pay attention to literary works will be too busy looking for money. This is the message he tries to bring out in his 8th, 9th and 10th stanzas. “Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour.”……………”will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we’ll both be lonely” (Whitman and Greenspan 92). Ginsberg feels that their time to enjoy the world will soon be over. The new generation will continue with their newly found adventures while the old generation will be left with the memories of old day’s gone by.
Towards the end Ginsberg is left wondering whether America has always been like this. Perhaps he was too busy trying to create imaginary worlds in his poems that he thought America was ever different. He even asks for counsel from his father about how America used to be when he lived.
Conclusion
In reality Ginsberg is his poem “A Supermarket in California”, brings out the real kind of living in the 21st century. The way of doing things has changed with the coming of technology and civilization. Those of the past generation are struggling and finding it very hard day by day to survive.
Works Cited
Lehman, David. The Oxford book of American poetry. Cambridge, Mass: Oxford University Press US, 2006. Print.
Whitman, Walt and Greenspan, Ezra. Walt Whitman’s “song of myself”: a sourcebook and critical edition. London: Routledge, 2004. Print.
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.