Rockne 1
Knute Rockne
Mr. Conrad
Junior College Prep, Period 3
9 February 2015
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 challenged by a generation of rebels known as “beats.” Jack Kerouac, a young writer who spoke out against the 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 On the Road was largely influenced by his early life, friendship with Neal Cassady, and cross-country adventures. – Thesis
Jack Kerouac was born on March 12, 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts to Leo and Gabrielle Kerouac. His childhood was greatly influenced by the tragic loss of his older brother, Gerard, when he was only four. 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 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 (“Jack” 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,” he “admired Cassady’s zest for life and hunger to learn” (“On the Road” 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. 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 (“Jack” 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 he quickly became the face of the “beat” generation.
Jack Kerouac was the face of a generation for writing about what surrounded him. His novel On the Road was not only inspired but also based on his actual life and friends. Kerouac contested traditional values by writing of drugs, sex, and alcohol in a time of sober chastity. Influenced by his early life, unusual friendships, and treks across the United States, Kerouac symbolized an entire generation of outcasts.
Works Cited
“Jack Kerouac.” American Writers. Ed. Lea Baechler and A. Walton Litz. Supplement 3. Part 1. New York: Macmillan, 1991. 217-221. Print.
“Jack Kerouac.” Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz. Vol. 61. Detroit: Gale, 1990. 277-278. Print.
“On the Road: Jack Kerouac.” Novels for Students. Ed. Deborah Stanley. Vol. 8. Detroit: Gale, 2000. 180-185. Print.
** Note: actual paper written by Colton Peppelman in December of 2011. Edited by Mr. Conrad.