He is then able to embody the sacred values of humanity, such as mercy, kindness, charity, and freedom. He becomes holy because he is detached from the 'normal' things of this world. Ironically, it is in the act of destruction that the bum then becomes holy. Other times, the holy bum has had his literal property or freedom taken by a justice system bent on destroying him and the things he stands for. Some of these things can be abstract, such as freedom, liberty, or the ability to express oneself artistically or sexually. The holy bum has had everything that is valuable to him taken away by modern society. In Ginsberg's writing, this symbol is the 'holy bum.' Though this holy bum can go by several different names in his poetry, the idea of the holy bum is always the same.

Several beat writers use seemingly opposing symbols to show how society is never as normal or advanced as it seems. The commodification of society means the loss of this natural meaning and, in Ginsberg's poem, Whitman's vision is lost amidst a river of forgetfulness. Whitman explored the natural world and the natural self and all of the desires - spiritual, sexual, physical - that made humanity what it was. Ginsberg posits Walt Whitman as one of his heroes and predecessors in his assessment of modern life. The consumer is no longer able to know where it came from, who it was that picked that particular fruit, and what social and economic context that fruit represents. For instance, a peach is picked from somewhere across the country or around the world and then shipped directly to that supermarket. Instead, his final conclusion is that modern humanity is no longer able to see the history of a particular object, fruit being his example. In his poem, 'A Supermarket in California,' Ginsberg goes into a supermarket to try and find the natural beauty of the fruits and vegetables there. Ginsberg saw the economic commodification of society as one of the great ills of modern life.

This is the fate of the 'best minds' from Ginsberg's poem, 'Howl:' the 'best minds' are driven insane by their inability to accept the models of normality and conformity imposed on them by modern life, and their inability to escape these same strictures. Insanity, however, is not a state of being true genius is able to escape, Ginsberg argues. He would later admit that this absence left a stain on his development and was responsible for both his fascination and disgust with the mentally ill. His mother, Naomi Ginsberg, was institutionalized on several occasions, which left a young Allen without his mother or full family for much of his early life. Ginsberg dealt both literally and metaphorically with insanity throughout his entire life.

Howl by Allen Ginsberg