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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. People may also become obsessed with ____________.

2. What symbolic item is mentioned?

3. Ginsberg had an ambition to become which of the following?

4. What is the weapon?

5. Who is out walking?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the burden one must carry? How should one react to this burden?

2. What childhood memory of politics does Ginsberg recall? How do those memories affect the present?

3. What item catches Ginsberg's eye? Where is it?

4. What is the point of the poem? What is the poet's conclusion?

5. What is Ginsberg's comment about immigrants and their treatment in America?

6. What is the child's condition and outlook upon his surroundings?

7. What is one of the main themes in this poem? To what does Ginsberg compare the flower?

8. What is the poet's feeling about physical passion and the enjoyment of it?

9. What is the setting for this poem? When was it written?

10. How should one behave in the giving and receiving of love? Where does this habit originate?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ginsberg speaks about workers on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Compare and contrast the life of a freelance artist with one who works a 9-to-5 job. Do the same with a freelance writer or poet. Is one job more creative than the other? What are the pros and cons of each? Do you think the 9-to-5ers have sold out by taking jobs in advertising? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Examine the Beat Generation and Ginsberg's part in it. How did it start? Who was involved? What were the basic tenets? How did it change the arts/social/political climate in the US? How long did it last? When did it end? What became of the influential members of the Beat Generation after the next new wave of artists hit the scene?

Essay Topic 3

William Carlos Williams says that HOWL is much like going through hell. Write a 750 word essay on Williams' opinion, relating it to each part of the poem. Also examine how other famous poems have used the same theme, concept and or imagery. Compare and contrast those poems to Ginsberg's Howl and other poetry.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 647 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample