Rockne 1

Knute Rockne

Mr. Conrad

Honors English, Period 2

24 February 2017

Hit the Road Jack

The 1950s were a time of mass assimilation in a newly peaceful America. The end of two world wars led to the rise of the nuclear family and a resurgence of traditional values. These customary morals were exemplified by the rise of the nuclear family and accepted by most; however, this “cookie-cutter” culture was challenged by a new generation of rebels known as

“beats.” Jack Kerouac, a young writer who spoke out against the boring norm using topics such as drug use, sexual promiscuity and jazz music, led the “beat” generation. Kerouac’s work, most notably his magnum opus On the Road, influenced an entire generation of social outcasts in a time of conformism. Kerouac’s motivation for On the Road was largely influenced by his early life, friendship with Neal Cassady, and cross-country adventures. – Thesis 1st reason Too Jack Kerouac was born on March 12, 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts to Leo and Vague Gabrielle Kerouac. His childhood was greatly influenced by the tragic loss of his older brother,

Gerard, when he was only four; his untimely death resonated not just through the family, but the entire community. Gerard’s presence was felt by Kerouac throughout the rest of his life and would later become the topic of his first novel. As he grew into adulthood, Kerouac proved to be exceptionally intelligent, athletic, and social. A football recruit, Kerouac briefly attended

Columbia University where, after a season-ending leg injury, he quit to join the Navy. After a short stint in the Navy, Kerouac returned to New York, not to resume his education, but to again experience a lifestyle that he had briefly tasted. As the editors of American Writers point out Rockne 2 regarding his formative days of a twenty year-old, Jack Kerouac’s experiences in the Manhattan underground club scene led to a desire to explore the nation, a fondness for jazz music, and the beginning of a life-long relationship with Neal Cassady (Baechler and Litz 219).

Of all of Kerouac’s relationships, his friendship with Neal Cassady had the greatest impact on the novel On the Road. Although Kerouac acknowledged that Cassady was a

“manipulative pseudo-intellectual,” Novels for Students points out that he “admired Cassady’s zest for life and hunger to learn” (Stanley 183). A charismatic lecher and open drug user,

Cassady commanded attention wherever he went. Cassady was an optimist who found positive things in every circumstance and electrified anyone who would be his audience. Captivated by

Cassady’s charm, Kerouac listed him as a companion on his road trip adventures across the

United States.

Along with Cassady, Kerouac embarked on cross-country road trips with fellow writers

Allen Ginsburg and William Burroughs. According to Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, the trips across the nation were filled with profanity, promiscuity, and heavy drug use as the main characters embraced a semi-hedonistic way of life (Matuz 278). During the trips, Kerouac kept a notebook to record events that he later typed in less than three weeks on one continuous type- written scroll. The events culminated in a novel titled On the Road that consisted of five episodes all based on real-life events and people. The names of characters, however, needed to be changed for legal reasons; Kerouac became Sal Paradise, Cassady became Dean Moriarty, etc. Upon release, On the Road earned Kerouac nation-wide fame and monetary rewards which he could never imagine.

Jack Kerouac was the poster child of an author who wrote about what surrounded him.

His novel On the Road was not only inspired but also based on his actual life and friends. Rockne 3

Kerouac contested traditional values by writing of drugs, sex, and alcohol in a time of sober chastity known as the 1950s. Influenced by his early life, unusual friendships, and treks across the United States, Kerouac symbolized and was the face of an entire new group of outcasts recognized as the “beat” generation. Rockne 4

Works Cited

Baechler, Lea and A. Walton Litz, editors. “Jack Kerouac.” American Writers, supplement 3,

part 1, Macmillan, 1991, pp. 217-221.

Matuz, Roger, editor. “Jack Kerouac.” Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, vol. 61, Gale, 1990,

pp. 277-278.

Norman, Edgar. “Criticism”. Stanley, pp. 186-188.

Stanley, Deborah, editor. “On the Road: Jack Kerouac.” Novels for Students, vol. 8, Gale, 2000.

pp. 180-185.