 At first glance the father may seem abusive,‭ ‬but it could also be seen as the father just playing with his son,‭ ‬but due to the fact that he’s intoxicated is just being a little sloppy. 

Allen Ginsberg’s writing is often composed of a great deal of social commentary‭; ‬he made his poetry a means of giving his insight and opinion on the world and country he lived in. At the same time,‭ ‬his poetry can also be very thick and hard to grasp at first read,‭ ‬and generally takes several focused read-throughs to fully understand. For instance,‭ ‬his poem‭ “‬A Supermarket in California‭” ‬does not appear to be much more than a possibly drug-fueled trip to the supermarket,‭ ‬combined with visions of a long dead poet. After more detailed analysis,‭ ‬however,‭ ‬it appears to be a social commentary much like the work it was published alongside,‭ “‬Howl.‭” ‬The poem is a commentary on the consumerism of a post-World War II America. The tone in first stanza is very fanciful‭; ‬Ginsberg accomplishes this tone with his liberal use of the exclamation point. He juxtaposes the whimsical tone with somewhat commonplace imagery when he says‭ “‬What peaches and what penumbras‭! ‬Whole families shopping at night‭! ‬Aisles full of husbands‭! ‬Wives in the avocados,‭ ‬babies in the tomatoes‭!” (‬Sound and Sense‭) ‬Ginsberg uses tone to get his statement about errant consumerism in a post-war America across.

Poets usually have a specific idea in mind when they sit down to put pen to paper. How they decide to get their idea to the reader is a judgment call,‭ ‬and each poet takes their own route to telling their story to their audience,‭ ‬which is why poetry has evolved so far from what most would consider traditional poetry. Dorothy Parker,‭ ‬Theodore Roethke,‭ ‬and Allen Ginsberg all have very different styles,‭ ‬and thus utilize different methods of getting their point across. Additionally,‭ ‬they have different intended audiences‭; ‬a poet’s style varies greatly with who they anticipate will be reading it. Ginsberg’s‭ “‬A Supermarket in California‭” ‬is very dense,‭ ‬and meant for a more learned audience whereas Parker’s poem‭ “‬Résumé‭” ‬is very simple,‭ ‬and meant to be read without over-analysis. Although each poet finds a different way to get their meaning across,‭ ‬it is still the meaning that takes precedence over the means.

‎	‏A writer will often leave subtle hints in his or her stories or books that somehow relate to the greater theme,‭ ‬or sometimes are for their own amusement.  James Joyce,‭ ‬for instance,‭ ‬liked to place sexual innuendos in some of his stories. Nathaniel Hawthorne too leaves some pieces lying around his story,‭ ‬and leaves it up to the reader to put it together. He left several reincarnations of the letter‭ “‬A‭” ‬in his novel‭ ‬The Scarlet Letter in order to portray its importance beyond the storyline of Hester Prynne.