The Other Side

Shervie Ulibas

April 13, 2020

FD3

Word count: 1058

America is a prosperous nation that promises its people with better opportunities to further improve their lifestyles. It is a country filled with a rich backstory that teaches individuals the true meaning of success and failure. [THESIS] America is the other side of various hardships; the new chapter to the story of many immigrants’ lives and above all else, it is the nation that encourages its citizens to reach for their version of the American Dream. [THESIS]

Throughout the making of this profound country, there have been countless stories written about America and its complex history. Authors such as E. Annie Proulx, Walt Whitman, Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Allen Ginsberg all have written their experience living in the United States. In doing so, these writers have helped with shaping the definition of the nation and it’s people.

This fact brings up the questions of what exactly American literature is and what is the most important quality that is within these works. I believe that American literature encapsulates the stepping stones of the United States and how certain events described in American literature became the foundation of what the country is today. It is not only a way of self expression from authors who have live through some of these occurrences, but it is also a method to make it known to others that are living in the United States that there are a lot of sacrifices and work that was put in to create the nation that is now called with various hopeful names such as the Land of the Free and New World.

As I read through the works of the writers, it was obvious that there is not a single set of beliefs that agreed or disagreed on how grand America is. The perspectives of the five authors differed from one another which allowed me to generate an opinion about America without having to be forced into believing a single point of view. The greatest example that contradicted each other’s ideas were writers Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg. In Ferlinghetti’s poem entitled “I am Waiting”. He wrote many points that suggested he thinks highly of America although the country has many shortcomings. In the forth stanza, Ferlinghetti states:

“I am waiting for the Great Divide to be crossed   
and I am anxiously waiting
for the secret of eternal life to be discovered   
by an obscure general practitioner
and I am waiting
for the storms of life
to be over
and I am waiting
to set sail for happiness
and I am waiting
for a reconstructed Mayflower
to reach America
with its picture story and tv rights
sold in advance to the natives”

This part of the poem implies that Ferlinghetti still has hope that America can right its many wrongs. When I read the words “I am waiting for a reconstructed Mayflower to reach America with its picture story and tv rights sold in advance to the natives”, I was thoroughly convinced that he still believes that it is possible correct the wrongdoings of Europeans to the native people.

On the other hand, Ginsberg took a much more negative route to describing the lives of Americans in his poem called “Howl II”. There is a clear implication that the word Moloch describes all things detrimental to life as every description following that word is followed by something negative. In our fifth discussion post, Kathy Phan perfectly expressed this by writing, “It quite possibly referred to everything that is negative and unwanted. An individual who thrives on taking the good and positivity out of other’s individualistic perspectives and opinions and fills it up to the brim with polar opposites. For example, as stated by Ginsberg, “Moloch in whom I am a consciousness without a body!” Screamed out in fury and distaste, the character is led by the ropes and chained to the belief of someone, or something, great but truly is not”.

I mainly focused on these two authors and as I further got a better understanding with their perception towards America, I also gained a much more developed knowledge on what the most important quality of American literature. I have come to believe that one’s unwavering desire to improve our country is the most significant quality of such writings because despite the fact that Ginsberg wrote about the bad things in the first and second part of “Howl”, he also illustrated a much more hopeful approach with the third part of his poem. Although, our nation has made some mistakes in its past. The state of America and Americans today proves just how much we are improving however slowly and because of this, people are still trying to fulfill their dreams.

The Other Side

By Shervie Ulibas

Where the night sky no longer holds its luster

The other side gleams with hope

Where the people who struggle to get by lay upon dirty pavements

The other side is paved in gold

Where the trees are withered and the birds sings a depressing tune

The other side is prancing with its fruitful trees and joyful melodies

Where the water is undrinkable and food supplies are scarce

The other side provides all with an abundance of goods

Where the streets are echoing with desolation

The other side is howling with glee

Where the wind dies down instantly along with people’s goals

The other side’s breeze proudly carries hopeful dreams

Where individuals are chained to their harrowing lives

The other side promises people with a better morrow

Oh, how wonderful the other side is with all of these promises

Oh, how alluring are these vows with contradictions

laced within them

For there is also

The other side who promises to bring families closer together,

but also tears them apart;

The other side whose streets are covered in glimmering gold

and the blood of many innocent citizens;

The other side who respects each other’s views and opinions,

unless it contradicts theirs;

The other side with whom looks out for each other,

only if they are recognized for their deeds;

The other side who bestows greater opportunities,

but only to the rich.

Works Cited

Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. “I Am Waiting by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation. 13 April 2020.  https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42869/i-am-waiting-56d22183d718a

Phan, Kathy. “Paper 3: Discussion 5 (Ginsberg).” Online posting. 25 March 2020. Laulima Discussion. 13 April 2020. https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.33519.202030/tool/ee77af19-a54d-4476-b4c5-b732b7c5cd6f/posts/list/1588753.page