A Brief Analysis of Ginsberg's Graphic Novel "Howl"

Ginsberg searches for a release of frustration by means of sex, drugs, and jazz. In his graphic novel of "Howl" he provides an image of a labyrinth alongside his introduction guiding the reader into, what I consider to be a confusion of poetic verse. There is no direct correlation if you dissect line by line and yet if you view in its entirety it gives the indication of a riddle or puzzle connecting to some form of prevailing hope in the conclusion. While his thoughts are ambiguously written, he subjects himself to experimentation with expressions of verse in no particular order, following no poetic standards of writing but chants his emotions in an unscrupulous manner.   He publishes a graphic novel of his poems trying to capture a vision and does this expletively.  The Beat Generation are sexually driven, drug induced, jazz seeking junkies living in a labyrinth, not just physically but mentally looking, searching for a fix. 

I would like to point out a very important factor in Ginsberg’s graphic novel. I find his poem to be an encrypted message in some form, although some readers may question my mental state, read a few lines before jumping to that conclusion. First you need to understand Ginsberg's history, this may shed light on my assumptions.Taking into account how the “great minds” were seen as rebellious thinkers and were found in contempt of their self-expressive artistry, Ginsberg may have yielded to secret messages to avoid further conflict with the law. Another reason may be due to the genetics of having a mother who was diagnosed with schizophrenia; this may play a vital role in his abstract thinking. These possibilities may hold ground to my scrutiny. 

As I started reading, things began to make more sense in his confusion of thoughts. Ginsberg not only represents narration for the “best minds” regarding his generation but in actuality he is also glorifying himself or the many beings of himself. How does he do this when he constantly refers to the “best minds” you might ask? Many of us know that Schizophrenia is a condition that is not limited to one characteristic but is described in many forms: incoherence, delusions, hallucinations, hyperactive or catatonic behaviors; the very words he uses to describe the “great minds,” as well as his mental state throughout his poem.  Let me first mention what I  unfolded as I read through the first few pages of the novel and then you can make your own connections to my analysis or make additional commentary.

The first major component that stood out to me was how the pages of the novel are labeled. In the “contents” page he uses roman numerals to separate the poems and regular numbers to indicate the pages; the “introduction” page indicates page “13” with the use of numbers. However, the page containing the first line of his poem does not use the number but rather the letter “I” and ironically begins the poem with a reference to himself using the first person “I.” Beginning the entire novel this way sets the stage for the entire focus of himself, a form of egocentrism. All the pages from this point on use the letter “I” in place of the number 1.  At first I thought it was a typo but then as I read along, I interpreted the “I” to mean the many hidden personalities that Ginsberg may be describing throughout his poem in addition to the “best minds” of his generation. 

He literally uses the word mad in several ways throughout the novel in this order: madness is only used once; mad, madhouses, and madman are used three times; madtowns, and madder are used only once. This seems to be a similie likened to empathize with his mother’s mental condition of schizophrenia using his poems as devices with hidden codes hoping that he can reach those who understand him literally and symbolically because he himself is just as mad as the rest of the “great minds” or maybe even "madder." His form and technique can be construed as brilliantly insane in how he uses a graphic novel to give his poetry more depth in addition to the fact that there is so much ambiguity that I find it difficult at times to make connections because many of his illustrations are unrelated to the verse.

Could there be another explanation? I do not know! I would hope someone would take a crack at it and see if they can come up with a better interpretation. His egocentrism sets the stage of his graphic novel brilliantly for the many forms of “madness” he mentions with riddles and puzzles that keep a reader searching to make connections. I am not a fan of this novel and found it lacking in many aspects of how he portrays women; the images depicted are degrading and vile, overall disgusting. In other words, women play no humanistic role in society but are objects of their affection, sadly taken and given like a momentary fix.