A Supermarket in California
What thoughts I have of you tonight Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.
In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon fruit supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!
What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!—and you, Garcia Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?
I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys.
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my Angel?
I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you, and followed in my imagination by the store detective.
We strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.
Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour. Which way does your beard point tonight?
(I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)
Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we'll both be lonely.
Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?
Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?
In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon fruit supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!
What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!—and you, Garcia Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?
I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys.
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my Angel?
I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you, and followed in my imagination by the store detective.
We strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.
Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour. Which way does your beard point tonight?
(I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)
Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we'll both be lonely.
Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?
Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?
Berkeley, 1955
Allen Ginsberg, “A Supermarket in California” from Collected Poems 1947-1980. Copyright © 1984 by Allen Ginsberg. Reprinted with the permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Source: Selected Poems 1947-1995 (2001)
Source: Selected Poems 1947-1995 (2001)
Read about the obscenity trial of Ginsberg's "Howl" http://foundsf.org/index.php?title=The_Howl_Obscenity_TrialRead "Howl" here: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/179381
Read the above poem and then read about Ginsberg's background (click the link above) before you write your poetic analysis of "A Supermarket in California". This is a challenging poem that will require some work.
I am looking forward to your analyses.
Allen Ginsburg, an American poet known for his role in the Beat Movement, discusses his outlook on America and his admiration for the Walt Whitman in A Supermarket in California. The poem begins in the first person, denoting that Ginsburg is narrating the poem. He uses various terms to assist the reader in understanding how he felt in this moment. He has “a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.” (Line 2) He also describes himself as fatigued. These descriptive lines provide an uncomfortable, unspecified mood, making the reader wonder why Ginsburg describes himself in this way. The poem then takes the reader into a supermarket, where Ginsburg finds Walt Whitman and Garcia Lorca, two of his main influences. He uses visual imagery in the line, “Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!” (Line 6) This provides an image of a crowded supermarket full of all types of people. This range of people may symbolize the diverse culture of America. Ginsburg then describes his journey through the supermarket with Walt Whitman. “We strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes/ possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.” (Lines 14-15) The two have access to all the goods in the store, yet they never choose to make the goods permanently their own by buying them. Ginsburg describes himself earlier as hungry and fatigued, but he does not buy food. In other words, he chooses not to act upon the variety of opportunities that the supermarket provides. The supermarket may symbolize America. Ginsburg then asks, “Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour. Which way does your/ beard point tonight?” (Lines 16-17) He is unsure of himself and does not know what lies beyond the walls of the supermarket. The last section of the poem describes him asking Whitman about America. Ginsburg involves Greek mythology by using Hades to describe how Whitman’s choices in the afterlife reflect the well-being of America in Ginsburg’s time. Lethe is the river in the underworld that makes the souls of the dead forget their lives on Earth. He asks what about America made Whitman choose not to forget his life there. Ginsburg is trying to decipher how the America in which he lived was different in the past.
ReplyDeleteUpon reading about Ginsberg, I learned that he had a mother with mental issues, experimented with drugs, and spent a few months in a mental institution. These three aspects of his life could easily be factors that inspired this poem. “A Supermarket in California” is absolutely a challenging piece of work to dissect and understand. It is possible that Ginsberg is describing a powerful hallucination he had while under the influence of a strong drug. It seems that he imagines Walt Whitman to be there with him. In the third lines, he enters a supermarket, dreaming of Walt’s “enumerations”, which are lists. Upon closer examination, this poem may be a social commentary, or an observatory poems of those he sees while in public. “Whole families shopping and night! Aisles full of husbands!” In this line, he seems surprised, almost aghast at the fact that entire families are in a supermarket at night, possibly speaking to gender roles in the 1950s: women do the shopping, men make the money. Ginsberg is discussing America in this poem, by commenting on what he sees in public. He sees Walt Whitman as a “lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator”. At the end of the poem, he asks “Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?”. In this quote, Ginsberg is expressing his disappointment in America, as he knows “America of love” is lost and gone, and the industrial, cruel America has replaced a once vibrant country. The last three lines add Greek mythology, as Ginsberg writes “what America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?”. Charon was the ferryman of Hades who transported the deceased down the Lethe, one of the five rivers of Hades. Ginsberg may be asking Whitman what he perceives of America now, as Whitman died in 1892, yet he is here with Ginsberg in this hallucination. The reference to Charon hints that Whitman could not move on into Heaven or Hell, and is instead stuck here as a ghost in this horrible reality of America.
ReplyDeleteIt is extremely difficult to understand this poem, but I would say it is a commentary on America, its flaws, and the heroes it has lost, like Walt Whitman. This is seen through the eyes of a hallucinating, unstable man, who is trying to dig deeply into what he sees and processes in his drug-addled brain.
Before analyzing The poem "A Supermarket in California" by Allen Ginsberg, I read about his life to better understand his way of writing. He is most well known for his role in Beat poetry but his life was filled with bumps that shaped him as the poet he is known as. His mother had serious psychological problems and therefore often had nervous breakdowns. During college, he and his friends experimented with drugs which eventually led to Ginsberg's prosecution where he decided to plead insane and found himself spending several months in a mental institution. The poem is dedicated to one of Ginsberg's major influences, Walt Whitman and includes a considerable amount of imagery that paints a perfect picture of the atmosphere. In the line "Dreaming of your enumerations" (Line 4) indicates that Ginsberg is dreaming that the supermarket might be something like what Whitman described in his poems. The supermarket doesn't represent an actually grocery store but actually the US so the line in the previous sentence is about wanting to see glimpses of old America in the current world. "We strode down the open corridor together in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier." (Lines 14-15) In these lines, the fact that Walt Whitman doesn't have to pay for anything and goes through the isles tasting the products opposes the fact that everything has a price. Ginsberg describes the cans as "brilliant stacks" (Line 13) and "neon fruit supermarket" (Line 3), and he even mentions that he feels "absurd" in line 18 because he sees beauty in the supermarket's common objects. Ginsberg contrasts the dream to reality as we see in lines 21-22 and lines 19-20 "Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage." and "Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we'll both be lonely." He remarks that the big plans for America have gone down the drain and what has replaced them is silent and cold. Ginsberg emphasizes the fact that the American dream has not been fulfilled and he does so by using Walt Whitman, who was a true American man.
ReplyDelete“A Supermarket in California” by Allen Ginsberg uses this poem to describe his inspiration from Walt Whitman and what he admires about him. He uses strong imagery to allow the reader to get a strong sense of the atmosphere. He uses words as if he were shopping, to express his search for ideas for writing. He describes all of the different things about Walt Whitman that he uses as inspiration. He asks questions directed towards Whitman, showing his reliance and empathy towards him. Ginsberg explains the atmosphere well, allowing the reader to understand he was in a crowded, confusing place. The title of this poem takes on a big role in the symbolism. It shows us the atmosphere, temperature and the culture of the area. “I saw you Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys.” (Lines 8-9) This quote describes how much attention Ginsberg pays to Whitman and how much he supports him through his actions. Throughout the poem, we see that Ginsberg wants to be just like Whitman and watches every little thing he does. He uses this poem as if he were asking Whitman for advice about a struggle in his life. When he asks questions like “Where are we going, Walt Whitman?”(Line 16) and “Are you my Angel?”(Line 11) , he is showing that he is unsure of what goes on in this supermarket in California and he needs to follow Whitman to be sure of his safety and where they are going. Ginsberg has the repeating term of “America”, which I think he is trying to represent from the rusty and run down supermarket. I think it is trying to point out the weaknesses and flaws of America. By his asking of Whitman, I think it is a reflection of his mothers drug abuse, and his own in college.I think this poem was inspired from his actions in college, and his mothers affect on his life. I believe he had learned from his mistakes and unhealthy decisions, in which he is asking for Whitman’s permission to do things, because he is who he looks up to. I find this poem to be an outlook for Ginsberg to find his reasoning for influence, and for him to seek advice from his mentor.
ReplyDelete“A Supermarket In California,” Allen Ginsberg’s ode to Walt Whitman, an inspiration and something of a role model of his, he explores his sense of isolation, his emotional connection not only to Whitman’s poetry but to the man himself and what he stands for, and the stark contrast between his and Whitman’s personalities and consumerist America. Wandering alone at night, Ginsberg stops by a supermarket, which he illustrates as being an example of modern American consumerism; he describes the families busily shopping for peaches, avocados and tomatoes, and by describing the supermarket as “neon” he conjures up an image of bright, garish advertisements, further emphasizing the idea that this supermarket represents American consumerism, something akin to the store described in John Updike’s A&P. However, he begins to hint that there are other, less bourgeois shoppers in this market with the line “--and you, García Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?” García Lorca was a Mexican poet who, like Ginsberg, was heavily influenced by Walt Whitman. Sure enough, the man himself is over by the meat refrigerator. Ginsberg very explicitly illustrates Whitman’s isolation, and the stark difference between him and the other shoppers, by describing him as a “childless, lonely old grubber” who asks such unusual questions as “who killed the pork chops?” Ginsberg gives the reader a sense that he feels an intimate bond with Whitman. He finds solidarity in their mutual solitude. Both of them are loners, alienated by the general population. Indeed, Ginsberg may well have seen Whitman as someone he could relate to; both of them were outcasts, living on society’s fringes, both of them wrote the same style of poetry - Ginsberg’s style was in fact heavily influenced by Whitman’s - and Ginsberg may even have related to Whitman’s alleged homosexuality, as he himself was gay. In fact, Whitman is described as “eyeing the grocery boy,” and his asking questions such as “what price bananas?” and “Are you my angel?” seem to be a bit of casual flirting. Ginsberg, identifying with Whitman, follows him through the supermarket in their shared journey of alienation. As they journey through the dark, solitary streets, Ginsberg expresses a feeling of nostalgia for the life and emotion that he feels is missing from modern America, and wonders “what America did [Whitman] have” around the time of his death, “when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank” - when Whitman died and Charon, the ferry of the underworld in Greek mythology, took him to the afterlife - “and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?” (The Lethe is the river of forgetfulness in the underworld - Ginsberg is again bringing up the theme of an America that has forgotten its past, and its emotions.)
ReplyDelete“A Supermarket in California” is one of the foremost examples of what the beat generation represented. Before reading this poem I had no idea what it was about, nor what the beat movement was, however, after conducting some research (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_Generation , http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/57467/Beat-movement), I came upon the true meaning of the beat generation: spirituality, opposition to traditional or materialistic views, and support of exploration of sexuality. In this colorful yet gloomy poem, the author demonstrates the ideals of the movement by referring to the social “norms” and the shame of the “outcasts.” For example, due to the shamefulness associated with homosexuality during this time period, Ginsberg refers to homosexual poets, Whitman and Garcia Lorca. Whitman was considered to be homosexual or bisexual by most historians (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman), which is demonstrated in the line in which Ginsberg says he was “eyeing the grocery boys.” Also, Ginsberg questions what Garcia Lorca was doing near the watermelons, symbolizing that he was possibly hiding from the “normal” American families due to the fact that he was a homosexual (http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/lorca-was-censored-to-hide-his-sexuality-biographer-reveals-1644906.html). These views drastically contracted with those of the families of America in the mid twentieth century, referenced in the first stanza as Ginsberg describes the generic family setup- wife, husbands, children. Ginsberg puts Walt Whitman in his poem also because of Walt Whitman’s efforts to create a better America during the civil war, just as Ginsberg is trying to create a better America by using the ideals of the beat movement. Another significant part of this poem is at the end of the second stanza, when the author illustrates that he and Whitman “strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.” This portrays another fundamental principle of the beat movement, the opposition to materialism. “A Supermarket in California” is the epitome of the beat movement’s ideals, and gives us a picture into the thinking behind it.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting! I like how to linked the style and times to what Ginsberg was trying to say.
DeleteA Supermarket in California by beat writer Allen Ginsberg shows an uprising in economics and industry. In the poem it says, “Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!” (line 6), this is showing how in the 1940’s you could go to the supermarket and find anything you needed whether it was food, home goods, or for meeting new people. Allen is worried that this uprising in agriculture and life will bring a huge downfall into humanity. In the poem it says, “Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?” (Lines 19-20) These lines show the uprising in technology by every family having blue automobiles. This shows the rapid way of life, and how we are always on the move and following schedules and not having time to be able to relax and enjoy the little things. Also the lines, “Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour. Which way does your beard point tonight?” (Lines 16-17), shows that Walt Whitman played an important role in Allen Ginsberg writing. Ginsberg looks up to Whitman and enjoyed his writing of everyday live and his wise literature.
ReplyDelete“A Supermarket in California” by Allen Ginsberg is a personal commentary on, perhaps, the United States. Walt Whitman, a prominent literary figure of America who often wrote on American themes is highlighted here, even in the first line of the poem: “What thoughts I have of you tonight Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets/ under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.” (Ginsberg, lines 1-2) Much of the poem is comprised of symbolism and imagery, to make his very abstract concepts more tangible to the reader. The Supermarket itself represents America in with its wealth of opportunities, equality, and freedom. In other words, America is boundless like the food of the supermarket. The families shopping at night are widespread and represent the constant cycle of earning followed by greedy and effortless consumption. In the chaos of the Supermarket, Whitman asks the important questions, which are somewhat nonsensical, somewhat rhetorical: “ I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas?/Are you my Angel?” (Lines 10-11) When Ginsberg refers to this encounter as an odyssey with Whitman, he, perhaps, is given an enlightening tour of America through Whitman’s literature. The poem concludes with Ginsberg commending Whitman, and wondering what he envision for America when he could not long be a part of it: “Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you have/when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching/the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?” (Lines 23-25) This poem presents a mood that is lonely in the blinding neon light of night, as well as contemplative and even hopeless. Ginsberg, with Whitman as his model, has lamented the chaos that has descended upon the Supermarket that is America, and the seemingly hopeless future. This is illustrated in the quote: “Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out/in the houses, we'll both be lonely./Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in/driveways, home to our silent cottage? “ (Lines 19-22) This lonely imagery presents an aura of hopelessness for the future.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading "A Supermarket in California," I clicked the link and read a little bit about him and his styles of writing as well as influences. Allan Ginsberg is notable for contributing to the Beat Movement. Some of Ginsberg's influences are his family issues, especially ones associated with his mother who experimented with drugs. Later in Ginsberg's life, he began experimenting too which led him to his trial where he plead insane. Ginsberg went to a mental institution where he spent several months recovering. Ginsberg is the narrator of this poem as he describes his encounter with Walt Whitman. "In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images" (line 3), Ginsberg uses imagery in this line to describe the exhaustion and numbness he may feel because of his hunger. When he walks in and sees many families out shopping lat at night, he is surprised and shown in lines five and six: "Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of/ husbands!" (lines 5-6). When Walt Whitman is initially described, he is described as "childless, lonely old grubber" (line 8). This line is also imagery that helps shape Whitman's image in this poem. Ginsberg tries to convey the thought that him and Walt Whitman have a personal relationship where they know each other well. As Ginsberg follows Whitman around the grocery store, Whitman asks the butcher "who cut these pork chops?" After reading this poem I think that Whitman asked this question as if he didn't trust the meat and where it came from. This could be a comment towards the social structure of this time, or it could possibly just be a simple question. This entire poem, the reoccurring reference to Walt Whitman could be a symbol to the fact that Ginsberg wants to be just like Whitman. This could include his lifestyle, writing, and his legacy. An example of where this is present in "A Supermarket in California" is when Ginsberg says "I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you, and followed in my imagination by the store detective" (lines 12-13). These lines could be referring to Ginsberg trying to be just like Whitman, symbolically following in his footsteps. Also, this poem quite possibly could have been inspired from Ginsberg's experimentation of drugs. Walt Whitman could have been a symbol for that as he could have been a hallucination of one of Ginsberg's trips. "A Supermarket in California" is an example of a poem that can be either taken literally, or it could contain some symbolic meaning. It shows the versatility of this poem and how with each person that reads it comes a different explanation for what it actually means.
ReplyDeleteA Supermarket in California by Allen Ginsberg is a poem about America’s lost prosperity. Ginsberg, who clearly admires Walt Whitman, writes the poem as if he were talking to him. Walt Whitman is known for his poems that rallied the nation and spoke of America’s greatness. He also emphasized American democracy, earning the name “Poet of Democracy.” Here, he is calling out to Whitman in despair for what he sees as a falling American society and government. The supermarket is supposed to represent America in general. In line 3 of the first stanza, he describes the supermarket as neon, portraying it as a joyful and prosperous place. He says he went looking their, meaning he is trying to find peaces of the good old America he believes has been lost. When he exclaims about families and fruits I think he is trying to portray more of the idea of prosperity, although I am a bit confused on who Garcia Lorca is and why she’s mentioned. In stanza two, she yet again speaks to Whitman, yet I think Whitman here represents democracy as a whole. Ginsberg follows this with, “Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas?” (2.3). Here, he is questioning the reasoning behind America’s lost abilities. The last stanza mainly questions where the next step for the country will be, and whether we can and will rise back. This is emphasized, “Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?” (3.6-7) It is also important to note that Ginsberg uses the phrase “dear father,” which Walt Whitman uses in one of his most famous poems “O Captain, My Captain,” to address Abraham Lincoln, a man whom he admired as well.
ReplyDelete"A Supermarket in California" written by the poet Allen Ginsberg presents and interesting view on America, while intertwining it with self-anguish. This is evident when he begins to use imagery in order to explain the "solitary streets" or "lights out in the houses." Ginsberg's unique view on America during the 19th century is conspicuous when he pays close attention to democracy. The way how the poem is written makes me believe that it was intended to be interpreted as possibly some time of dream or possibly a drug infused hallucination or thoughts. After research, I discovered that not only did he experiment with drugs at an early age, but his mother was a mild drug addict as well. I came to this conclusion when he first used parenthesis, " (I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)" Ginsberg obviously feels that it is imperative to mention Walt Whitman, another important poet somewhat before this time period. Walt Whitman was an inspiration to Ginsberg as well. A famous quote by Walt Whitman, “Democracy! Bah! When I hear that I reach for my feather boa!” which shows his own view on America, and earned him the name of the father of democracy.
ReplyDeleteA Supermarket in California is Allen Ginsberg’s tributary poem to Walt Whitman. In this poem, Ginsberg expresses his thoughts and feelings about his literary hero, and offers his views of Whitman and his own view of America. The poem starts off with Ginsberg walking into a “neon fruit supermarket”. He describes colorful fruits, families shopping in the aisles, and “down by the watermelons”, he sees Garcia Lorca, another one of his influential literary heroes. He then sees Walt Whitman, describing him as a “childless, lonely old grubber”, poking through meats in the refrigerator. He follows Whitman in a journey through this wonderful grocery store, asking strange questions, “Who killed the pork chops”, tasting artichokes, and sampling frozen delicacies. The third and final stanza poses a question in almost every line, each obsessed with Whitman’s journey, and “the lost America of love”. The last line refers to Charon, who ferries the dead across the river Lethe to the Underworld in Greek Mythology, and may be asking Whitman, dead long before this poem was wrote, his thoughts on America when Ginsberg wrote the poem.
ReplyDelete“A Supermarket in California” written by Allen Ginsberg talks about the writer Walt Whitman and acts like hes talking to him “What thoughts I have of you tonight Walt Whitman” (Line 1). “In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon fruit supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!” (Lines 3-4), Allen shows imagery when talking about being hungry and then wanting to go to get food at a supermarket with all the neon lights lighting up. Then he walks into the supermarket and see’s a bunch of other families. He puts the families in his perspective and describes them differently and puts them into categories. “Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!” (Lines-5-6). Then he says he sees Garcia Lorca who was a Spanish poet “Garcia Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?” (Line 6-7). Then he sees Walt in the supermarket and describing him as lost, confused, and lonely. He shows that by telling the reader that Whitman was asking a bunch of questions while looking around the store. “ I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my Angel?” (Lines 10-11).Then he asks Walt where are we going and which way. In the end of the poem he talks about America and what has happened to the “lost America of love”. In the last lines he asks Walt what kind of America did he used to live in and then he imagined him standing by the river Lethe. This poem took a couple of times to read over and understand what Allen was trying to say but, this poem was really cool!
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