M.R.+ALLEN+GINSBURG'S+HIGHER+PURPOSE

A Desolation - Allen Ginsburg's Higher Purpose

I think the highest purpose for Ginsburg's poem is the contrast between what is real and what is fake. This is evident throughout the whole poem. I think that Ginsburg really wants us to see what we have in our life and put it right in front of us to evaluate it. Ginsburg talks a lot about creating things and making things out of this place he has made for us in the wilderness. This could be an internal wilderness, one in that you are not really in the woodsy wilderness, but in your own personal wilderness, all alone. He creates this image of making family, and people out of nothing. What was strange about this is why he would go to make his home in the wilderness if he still craved attention from others. I think Ginsburg motivation to write this poem is to show that even all alone you are not entirely all alone. There always has to be someone out there. Whether it is just a star guiding you at night or a real person, even 50,000 miles away, there is someone watching over you.

I think that one of the lessons that Ginsburg wants us to understand through this poem is the lesson that sometimes you just have to be alone and comfortable where you are, and making the best of it. If you are alone you can't really do anything about that so why impose self misery on yourself when you could be having a whole new life changing experience? I figure that Ginsburg has faced some difficult choices in his life. He may have been presented with two paths. The easy choice, the safe choice, the one that had been traveled by a million people a million times, then there is the left choice, the one no one has ventured on before, the one you are taking a risk on. In my opinion, it sounds like he took the unpredictable choice in this poem and explored the unknown. He might have gotten some good out of this experience and maybe he didn't. Unless you try something you have never done before you will never know how you feel about it. I think Ginsburg wants us to step out of our comfort zones and go into the world yet discovered.

Imagine never ever riding a bike. Do you think you would have missed out on a big part of growing up? I know I would. I bike everywhere. Imagine trying and trying to ride and finally being capable of that skill. How empowered would you feel about that accomplishment? I would feel unstoppable. If you never learned something a simple as riding a bike, you are going to miss out on something that every kid learns early on. Ginsburg is subtly trying to tell us to try this. In the poem, it sounds like he goes out and makes his home in the wilderness and is really okay with that. Maybe not thrilled, maybe not distraught, but he is at peace with the decision he made. If you hold yourself back because of a fear you have, you are going to miss out on even the little things in life. I'm not saying Ginsburg is telling us to go skydiving or cliff jumping, but all the little things you do add up in the end.

What a treat to read such thoughtful reflection about each poet's highest and best purpose. You've clearly thought deeply about each poem and you've analyzed carefully. Keep it up!