7
AssignmentLong Text

Beat Poetry

Question 7 • DRHS American Literature and Composition

The final line of the poem asks Whitman about the America he experienced one hundred years ago. What meaning does Ginsberg convey by ending the poem this way?

Answer

Answer:

Ginsberg’s final question contrasts Whitman’s loving vision of America with the consumer-driven 1950s, suggesting that Whitman’s America may no longer exist and that he might not recognize the country.

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