Money
It makes the world go 'round, of course, and Allen Ginsberg's "America" is really no exception. Still, Ginsberg's speaker wants to know if that's really how it should be. Time and again, he brings...
Drugs and Alcohol
Just say no, kids. Really. Pay no attention to the glassy-eyed poet in the corner. You know, the one who's been staring at his closet for the past week. "America" is a great example of how, for Gin...
(In)sanity
Reading "America" can make you feel like you've lost your mind. It can also make you think that Ginsberg has lost his mind. But really, just living in America can produce the same effect. Don't bel...
Religion and Spirituality
You might think that such a fan of communism, which has a historical rap of suppressing religious expression in any form, would be less religious in his tone. That's not the case for this poem's sp...
The Workers
We're not talking the cast of The Office here, although some of them might actually qualify today. This speaker is a big fan of the working men and women who, particularly in the 1950s and ear...
Violence
Close to the top of the speaker's laundry list of complaints is the violence he sees in America, either perpetrated by the country itself, or allowed to happen as a result of the country's inaction...