Neal Cassady

beatniks, a parody of the USSR’s “Sputnik” (Enck), the Beat Generation stands in stark contrast to 1950’s American culture. With the rapid emergence of a post-WWII society - suburbs and consumerism, traditional family values and an exclusion of the extreme - entered the authors who rejected it. Their ideology, shocking to those of their time, ultimately led to the creation of a nation-wide literary movement. The roots of this movement took place during 1944 near Columbia University, with the meeting of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs; the formation of this clique being fueled by a passion for writing, poetry, and a distaste for conformity (The Beat Page). Soon, this group would expand to include other names, such as Neal…

was suffering from a mental disorder called “sociopathic personality disturbance (archive 1) being a homosexual openly would be hard at this time in the 1950’s because people had preconceived ideas of sexual perversion which caused conflict in society. At this time in history expressing your sexuality was more on the conservative side. This is what made Allen Ginsberg an unconventional writer, he was open and honest about being a homosexual. Even if Allen was disliked by many because of his…

To some extent, the pursuit of hopes and dreams is a method of escaping the realities of everyday life for characters from both texts. In Kerouac’s novel, the dreams of where the road might take them provide an escape for both Sal and Dean from a mundane East Coast lifestyle, and a way to forget the mistakes of the past. Similarly in Thompson’s piece, a voyage of revelation fueled by an underlying desire to understand the American Dream offers a chance to escape for Raoul and his attorney using…

Beats see and feel things differently than the general populous, mainly craving to fulfil the unsatisfied desire to articulate something within oneself. Jack Kerouac’s narrative of On the Road is akin to a spiritual journey, or a process of self-discovery, in relation to the world. The characters of Sal Paradise based on himself and Dean Moriarty based on Neal Cassady form character personas around both of them in relation to the Beat aesthetic. The character of Dean Moriarty, in particular,…

reattach the tires onto their cars. In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, people do in fact “go nuts,” and wrenches are indeed used, but not in the exact same ways. Randle McMurphy, the main character of this novel, frequently causes mishap in the insane asylum he lives in, causing him to go “nuts”; he constantly messes with its orderly and mechanical schedule. In other words, in Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Mr. McMurphy is the wrench in the machine that is the mental…

Introduction This essay will be an examination of the minimalist elements in the two short stories, ‘They’re not your husband’ and ‘Neighbors’, by Raymond carver. There will be an emphasis on the thematic issues of body image and materialism in the two short stories. Chapter 1 Minimalism Minimalism is a movement in the arts; it arose in the 1950s and was characterized by simplicity and massive forms. Even if minimalism arose in the 50s it was first later, that the term would be used in…

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899), protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess, “That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions.” In the novel, she lived her life outwardly as though she was comfortable and filled with happiness however, inwardly she was confused. Like Edna, Sal Paradise, main character of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road felt confused with how his life was turning out. Sal was living a mundane life until Dean Moriarty turned his apathetic emotions into…

Allen Ginsberg, along with William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac are poets known as the "beats" and important writers of the beat movement. Ginsberg was born in New Jersey and raised in Paterson, NJ. His father was an english teacher. His mother suffered from mental illness and had a series of mental breakdowns. It affected him growing up. Ginsberg, Burroughs and Kerouac met at Columbia University in 1943. At the time, they were considered "subversive" for their views and behavior. They…

The Beat Generation was heavily influenced by the events of World War II. Jack Kerouac was the original beatnik, with William S. Burroughs, and Charles Bukowski following him. Although other authors built upon Kerouac's work they highly differ in their styles. Beatnik literature reflects the rebellious inner self from the view of post World War II teenagers. The beats also tend to be very experimental with their lives and writing styles. Many believe that "the master narratives strangely seem…

Adriana Ramirez March 17, 2017 English 146 March 14 & 16 Assignment 1. As an experiment to understand the aesthetic of the Beats, choose a long passage in On the Road and a dozen lines from Allen Ginsberg’s “A Supermarket in California.” Compare the sound and pace of both passages. Describe the similarities you hear. What might account for these similarities? In which ways might Howl and On the Road celebrate life? A passage adapted from On the Road reads: “My first impression of Dean was of…