William Bouroughs

& Jack Kerouac:The Beat Generation Essay, Research Paper

Throughout the twentieth century, we have been witness to several movements which have helped to shape the face of American culture. Collectively these movements have modified the way we, as Americans, think and behave. One of the most influential literary movements of this century has been that of the Beat movement. By using various literary techniques, along with non-conformist lifestyles as a basis for their writing, the beats were able to stir things up and shock society. They stormed and looted the impenetrable stronghold of serious literature. The beat generation opened up the eyes of the world to the unconventional, and by doing so, made its mark as the most significant literary movement of this century.

The beats were a small group of writers and intellects who were opposed to a totalitarian America. An American society which was based on mass consumption and mass conformity, leaving very little room for individualism. The beats, of which Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs are best known today, rebelled against American culture through their literary works. These works were often based on the beats. own experiences, which came to increasingly include drugs, sex, and Jazz.

Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs became acquainted with each other in the vicinity of Columbia University in the mid-1940.s. They remained friends while motivating each others individualistic writing efforts, however, it was more then ten years after that, in the 1950.s before publishers began to take their work seriously.

Jack Kerouac coined the term “beat” during a conversation with Herbert Hunke. Beat was originally used to describe Kerouac.s close network of friends, consisting mainly of artists, writers, and criminals, only later did it represent an entire movement. Kerouac felt the word beat represented the notion that he, along with his friends, were beaten down by the government, beaten down by the police, beaten down by any and all controlling institutions, and for a while, beaten down from the literary world. Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs all sustained the desire to keep the beat, to celebrate the true spirit of the lower class, which to them, happens to be the real beat generation.

The beats wrote literature and poetry, it was here where they began to experiment with new writing styles, and new ways of living life. These new experiment methods pressed the notion of freedom to a new limit while, breaking societies hold on what freedom is suppose to mean. The beats engaged in escapades that included crime, hedonistic parties, and mind altering drugs. It was the perfect combination of non-conformist desires to live life to its fullest, along with brilliance in writing, that made the writers of the beat generation eye-catching to the public. Everywhere they went they rejoiced in the splendor of life: nature, writing, art, and experience.

The two artists who are the focus for this paper are Jack Kerouac, and William S Burroughs. Although the two were prominent and defining members of the beat movement, they oddly enough did not have much in common. Their writing techniques are contrary, as well as their lifestyles. Kerouac.s writing is a direct consummation of his immutable personal loneliness. It was during his life experiences, whether it was binge drinking, wild sex, or lunacy on the road, where he attempted to quench his desire to find himself, and in the process hoped to eradicate his personal loneliness. On the other hand, Burroughs. writing is a unique interpretation of altered states of consciousness due to his heavy involvement in mind altering drugs, such as heroin. It was through these visions and experiences where he wrote his most creative and peculiar work.

Jack Kerouac described America. We are able to experience brilliant sunsets through his eyes, and we are almost able to taste the potent Jack Daniel.s he loosely swallowed down. His collection of writings make up his life experience growing up, working, and traveling through America. Jack Kerouac lead an almost tragic life. He was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to a French Canadian family. As an adolescent he found himself unchallenged by those around him, they bored him. As a result he spent his time making trips to New York City, frequenting jazz clubs and museums. As Kerouac grew older he was constantly forming important friendships with other boys, as he would continue to do throughout his life.

Kerouac had an early interest in writing and literature. He would create stories at a young age, and read novels by Thomas Wolfe, the writer he modeled himself after. At seventeen years old, he obtained a football scholarship to Columbia University. His family followed him there and settled in Ozone Park, Queens. This was at the start of World War II, so Kerouac dropped out to enlist in the navy. The navy did not fair him well, he was discharged shortly after his enrollment due to his refusal to accept military discipline. He served the remainder of the war as a merchant marine.

After the war Kerouac returned to Columbia University. It was upon his return where he met the group of men, mostly criminals and drug dealers, who would become his eternal friends and the inspiration for his work. This group included: Herbert Hunke, criminal hero of Kerouac.s underworld, William S. Burrou