Neal Cassady

A movement arose among the artists of 1950s America as a reaction to the time's prevailing conformity and affluence whose members attempted to extract all they could from life, often in a strikingly self-destructive way. Specifically, the Beat writers and jazz musicians of the era found escape from society in drugs and fast living. But what exactly led so many to this dangerous path? Why did they choose drugs and speed to implement their rebellion? A preliminary look at the contradictions that prevailed

On The Road and the American Quest        Jack Kerouac's On The Road is the most uniquely American novel of its time.  While it has never fared well with academics, On The Road has come to symbolize for many an entire generation of disaffected young Americans.  One can focus on numerous issues wh en addressing the novel, but the two primary reasons which make the book uniquely American are its frantic Romantic search for the great American hero (and ecstasy in general), and Kerouac's "Spontaneous

"The one thing that we yearn for in our living days, that makes us sigh and groan and undergo sweet nauseas of all kinds, is the remembrance of some lost bliss that was probably experienced in the womb and can only be reproduced (though we hate to admit it) in death." (Kerouac, Jack. “On the road.”). This quote, from Jack Kerouac’s book On the Road, is a brilliant example of the overall feel of the Beat Generation. Jack Kerouac is one of the most influential writers of the Beat Generation, rivaled

sex, drugs, music, and dissatisfaction with the expectations of ordinary life in early ‘50’s America. According to legend, after years of real life experience of hitchhiking his way back and forth across the country with friends, most notably, Neal Cassady, Kerouac came home and wrote the novel in three weeks, on mimeograph paper he taped together. The result was a typo-littered scroll that few people read and Kerouac immediately took to

Ginsberg's Howl: a Counterculture Manifesto Allen Ginsberg dives into the wreck of himself and of the world around him to salvage himself and something worth saving of the world. In this process, he composes Howl to create a new way of observation for life through the expression of counterculture. Protesting against technocracy, sex and revealing sexuality, psychedelic drugs, visionary experience, breaking the conventions of arts and literature; all basic characteristics of counterculture are

Social Pressures Reflected in Ginsberg's Howl Post World War II America produced a number of images that will be forever imprinted on the minds of Americans. Such images as television shows like "Leave It To Beaver" and "I Love Lucy," movies such as "An Affair To Remember," and "Brigadoon," are watched frequently even in today's society. But in this world of fairytale movies and the "American Dream," what about those who didn't fit into the picture of perfection and prosperity? These men

The Beat generation The Beat Generation, a generation that was sick of its mainstream culture and decided to break down the walls for individuality of thought, fashion, personal achievement, and poetry. At the end of World War two, young adults in particularly the east and west coasts of America where left in questioning thought about their own government as if it was really trying to do what 's best for their people. And in those upset minds a Beat Generation was born. A generation of tired young

Poets of the 1950s are unknowingly establishing a counterculture movement, one that challenges the social norms and politics of their time and even transcends generations to remain relevant today. Poets like Jack Kerouac, William Seward Burroughs, Neal Cassady, and Allen Ginsberg were heavily influenced by jazz, adopting their “seedy dress, manners, and ‘hip’ vocabulary” (“Beat Movement”) that changed their lifestyle and helped write their poetry. Specifically, Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl, is often regarded

born in Massachusetts, in 1922. Kerouac quit school and joined the Merchant Marine, starting the travels which would become ‘On the Road’ his most acclaimed novel. It is said to be an account of Kerouac's ("Sal Paradise’s") travels with Neal Cassady ("Dean Moriarty"). According to Allen Ginsberg, Kerouac typed the first draft of On the Road on a fifty-foot long roll of paper. On the Road gave an outlet of release for the dissatisfied young generation of the late forties and early

There is a stereotype that the best minds of a generation are the heroes of their generations, making new discoveries that can alter the course of history. While this holds true most of the time, Allen Ginsberg’s 1956 poem “Howl” offers a different perspective. In “Howl,” Ginsberg chronicles the chaotic lives of the “best minds of [his] generation,” using graphic language that eventually landed the publishers of the poem in court for a lawsuit, which was documented in the 2010 film Howl. Howl suggests