New Historicism Analysis Of The Symbols

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

By: Michele Hall

Michele Hall

Dr. Myhren

ENG620A Literary Period or Movement I

30 April 2013

New Historicism Analysis of the Symbols of the American Dream against the Perspectives of Ginsberg and Kerouac

A historical examination of the American Dream indicates that this standard is a complex symbol that millions of Americans hold in high regard and work tirelessly to achieve. The American Dream is both tangible and intangible from a new historicist perspective. The origins of the American Dream are rooted in the United States Constitution and Articles of Confederation. The Constitution and the Declaration of Rights formed the foundation of the American Dream and the opportunity for every American citizen to achieve it based upon the laws that were established to give every American certain rights. This foundation provides the basis for the intangible aspects of the American Dream. Over time, the American Dream was associated with various symbols that are intangible. These symbols have been defined as happiness, freedom, and the chance for financial independence up until the 1950s.

In the 1950s, the American Dream had a more tangible source. For different people, the American Dream had different meanings. For some the Dream meant home ownership. To others, the Dream was to have a stable job that would last until age 65 and a comfortable retirement to maintain a middle-class lifestyle thereafter. The basis for the American Dream still had its roots in the U.S. Constitution, but materialism had begun to take over the values and personal goals of each American. The Dream had become associated with extreme wealth based upon capitalistic principles. But to some, the Dream was still about equality for all.

Allen Ginsberg believed the American Dream meant that American society accepts homosexuals and all of the individuals that were considered different from what mainstream American had traditionally established within Christian traditions. Jack Kerouac believed the ultimate Dream is for personal freedom to live life as a person’s sees fit even if these beliefs are not consistent with the values of American society. The American Dream was represented through symbolism by both authors. Ginsberg’s poem "Howl" presents several symbols of the meaning of the American Dream. He uses money, sexual freedom, drug usage, and even a new form of government to show his version of the American Dream. Jack Kerouac’s On the Road uses a road trip and casual sexual escapades to express his desire for personal freedom as his American Dream. If both literary works are examined from a new historicist perspective along with cultural criticism, then the symbols that signify the American Dream are unique for each writer and from a historical examination. At the same time, both authors show that the foundation of the American Dream needed to be reevaluated as capitalism had changed the underlying basis for what was considered the American Dream.

The American Dream requires a new historicist perspective for effective evaluation since it was defined at the same time the nation was born. New historicism is a critical analysis in which practitioners believe that" the most basic facts of history" are the only easily available tools a literary analyst has to assess a literary piece and form their own interpretation based upon facts (Tyson, 282). Contrary to belief, "history is not linear" and as literary and historical analysts the American Dream can be assessed without bias through "objective analysis" of the historical facts, which can "reveal the spirit" of the times (Tyson, 283). In like manner, the use of "thick description" to expose the symbols that represents the American Dream to Ginsberg, Kerouac, and even the people living in America from 1950 to 1959 can explain the meaning of such an ideal based upon historical interpretations (Tyson, 288).

Like a new historicist perspective, a cultural criticism of Ginsberg’s "Howl" and Kerouac’s On the Road would reveal a "cultural process" as a "lived experience" rather than a static culture (Tyson, 297). Cultural criticism involves reviewing the American Dream in the 1950s as a set of dynamic events and cultural experiences that are evolving over a period of time. Within the realm of cultural criticism, social elements that are included, but are not limited to, involve "sexual orientation, socioeconomic class," racial background, and the interpretation of gender roles (Tyson, 298). A review of the American Dream and the symbols that represent this ideal through the analysis of a new historicist and cultural critic would show the similarities and differences that Ginsberg and Kerouac reveal about the American Dream. Both authors believed that America in the 1950s was moving away from the founding principles of what this ideal was meant to be for America.

From a historical perspective, the 1950s in America was a time of consternation, change, and seeming stability. From 1950 to 1959 numerous changes in America occurred that shaped the decade and the psychology of Americans. From an international view, the Korean War began and did not end until 1953. However, Americans were also concerned with the events that were happening on the home front. For example, in 1954 "Senator McCarthy introduced the idea of Communism within the military," which caused panic and suspicion. Any American suspected of approving of Communism was "deported" (Stolley, 9). In 1955, the "American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations" was formed as Americans began working in factories that were experiencing increased orders from buyers looking to purchase their products (Stolley, 17). Also in 1955, Rosa Parks declined to move from her seat despite the Alabama laws that required her to do so for a Caucasian man. These events marked some of the changes that were happening in America. But these happenings led to other movements that became symbols of the American Dream while Dwight Eisenhower was President of the United States.

According to new historicist Curry, Eisenhower strictly "followed the doctrines of the Constitution" as a means to govern the country (Curry, 10). Eisenhower strived to maintain the values that were instilled in the minds of every American in the country. Based on the nation’s forefathers, such as George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, America was a "classless" democracy that values all life and allows for "religious freedom" and the "right to freedom of speech" per the Amendments of the Constitution (Curry, 76). These values were also included within the contents of the American Constitution and the basis for what America represents. To millions of Americans, America represented the land of opportunity, individual freedom, and a country in which all human beings had equal chances to pursue a life of "happiness" at all socioeconomic and political levels (Curry, 10). This is the basis for the symbols of the American Dream that both Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac wrote about in their literary works to express their opinion.

Allen Ginsberg was an American poet who believed in the Preamble of the United States Constitution and all of the inherent rights of all American citizens. In his poem "Howl" he writes of a subculture that has not been given a "fair" and "equal" consideration by mainstream society as a result of changing times (Curry, 67). While the American Constitution is a static document, the content that is contained within it must be updated regularly to ensure the propriety of the existing society to ensure all Americans continue to receive the same treatment. As such, Amendments are continuously examined by Congress to ensure the fundamental principles of what America stands for are upheld at all times. Ginsberg questioned whether every American was given the same rights based upon their sexuality, socioeconomic status, and beliefs.

Ginsberg’s tone from the beginning of "Howl" is one of outrage. He describes his friends as "the best minds" to indicate that the subjects that he is writing about are of an intellectual order and deserve the same respect as any other American (Ginsberg, 67). His disappointment stems from his belief that there is an uneven consideration for economic equality based upon sexual orientation and lifestyle choices. He writes of "poverty" and "unemployment offices" for the "best minds destroyed by madness" to indicate that the distribution of land, labor, and capital within America is not the same for every individual (Ginsberg, 67). However, the American Constitution along with the Declaration of Independence indicates that everyone is entitles to "the pursuit of happiness" as "all men are created equal" (Curry, 44).

Ginsberg’s "Howl" not only looked at society from an abstract view of civil liberties, inherent rights, and personal freedom, but he also focused on the economic and tangible side of the American Dream. During the 1950s, widespread consumerism was becoming more commonplace. The symbols of the American Dream often included money, consumer goods, and family. As a result, many people saved up to purchase household appliances that were available. Such appliances include the refrigerator. People also purchased land and property as a sign of the new economic reality that was part of the American landscape. The 1950s was a time of fundamental economic change. The American Dream was becoming "capitalistic" in nature and most people wanted to participate in such a system (Lindop & Capaua, 12). Factories were being set up to handle the increased demand for consumer goods. After engaging in two World Wars, America was finally able to focus on its own economic interests and the government was steering the nation to become a "center of jobs" and place to have quality family life (Lindop & Capaua, 16). But, the illusion of prosperity for every American was a point of contention in the eyes of Ginsberg.

Capitalism as a mode of economic movement, in the eyes of Ginsberg, was not within the scope of the foundation for what America historically represented. The ability for every American to pursue their own version of the American Dream was deterred by capitalistic markets according to Ginsberg. He defined capitalism as "Moloch" and considered "Moloch a prison," which created "robot apartments" and in his estimation caused some of the "best minds of my generation" to "cut their wrists three times successively unsuccessfully, gave up and were forced to open antique stores where they thought they were growing old and cried" over their plight (Charters, 69).