Howl Summary

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Ginsberg describes seeing the intelligent, creative, and astute men and women of his generation destroyed by madness. This madness from their own life experiments, from the evils and contradictions in society around them, and from searching for happiness in places and people that do not bring happiness. He talks of rampant drug use in the search for happiness and of how drug use was used to deaden emotional and mental anguish, but only served to perpetuate it. Ginsberg also talks of those who tried to discuss solutions to society's problems, in the universities of the day, with those who taught that war was the answer. Ginsberg tells the reader that those of his generation sought peace and happiness through sex, booze, drugs. He says his generation confronted authorities and others of the establishment to promote their message of change and what a...