Brautigan

I chose to do a close reading of "The Message" in Trout Fishing in America. Brautigan's poems are ripe with symbolism and at first glance, I felt that this poem's symbols lay somewhere within my grasp. What I made (or did not make) of the symbolism made me feel something, a kind of agreement with or fondness of Brautigan which I thought would be really difficult to do.
Based on some key words and phrases like "army banner", "Adolf Hitler", and "Stalingrad" I assume the theme is war, or actually, the opposition to war. His style is one of a kind, A Brautigan(hah), more like a short story which makes it effective, engaging, and entertaining.
There has to be a more accuate word than palendrome, but its the first that comes to mind. Perhaps cyclical is a better word. Anyway, I like that the end of the story becomes the beginning and that the body of the poem is mostly concerned with the re-occurence of the sheep event.
Certain symbols I had trouble with. Sheep could easily translate into soldiers or the masses, sure, but what is the bellmare? She seems almost mystical. And "Adolf Hitler, but friendly"? Is it just the juxtaposition of the face of evil in modern times and casually nice people like the public librarian? Or perhaps the friendly Hitler is representing someone in a position of power on our side...someone maybe just as evil, only its veiled by our partisanship? Whether I understand the symbolism or not, the tone seems somewhat clear. Brautigan and his companion are spectators, and the passing of the sheep in front of them is not a pleasant experience. I also noticed that he seems to have an odd obsession with the sheep. Its a tone of impatience, reluctance, rebellion, and maybe amusement? The tone seems most clear to me when they are traveling back the way they came, expecting to see sheep and they saw "only the shit in front of us on the road. As if it were a game invented by the sphincter muscle, we knew what the score was."
If I read into this as sincerely as I felt I did, then I think that this idea of being an outsider looking with annoyance, disgust, and amusement upon a mass of young blinded soldiers following their friendly-looking-dictator into war, then it really seems to follow the Beat movement, their counter-culture, and what their stance was on the recent wars they had written about.

Q. What the hell does trout fishing in America mean? Im sorry, most of this goes way over my head. My idea was that maybe it represents the American Dream....but I want to know other people's opinions on this.

Ferlinghetti vs Ginsberg

While Ferlinghetti's and Ginsberg's tones, attitudes, and not to mention styles differ greatly, I believe they have similar underlying themes and opinions. The actual expression of these shared thoughts seems to vary in intensity in a way that reflects the nature of their lives. While both poets seemed to find solace in the isolation of their progressive 'island', they interpret its beauty and harshness with different levels of optimism and cynicism.
Where Ferlinghetti is gentle, Ginsberg seems rough in comparison. Where Ferlinghetti is more idealistic, Ginsberg is more open, blunt, and intense. For instance, "Howl" is a self proclaimed biography where highs and lows seem to reflect the topography of the city in which it was written. However, Ginsberg is not limited by San Francisco; he writes about America as a seperate entity, as in his poem "America."
Do either of these poets depict San Francisco more accurately than the other? Is it not about accuracy but personal experience? Is our interpretation of their interpretation based on our own life experiences?