Jack Kerouac Flashcards
Jack Kerouac’s life?
Jack Kerouac was born in 1922 into a French-Canadian family, he was able to go to Columbia University thanks to a scholarship. He joined the Marines, back to NYC he lead a bohemian life, he met a street cowboy named Neal Cassady who became the main character of Kerouac’s most famous novel On the Road. He found it difficult to live up to his fame so he started drinking. He died alone in San Francisco at 47.
What does beat mean?
Kerouac became the living symbol of the Beat Generation. The term beat refers to the spontaneous beat of jazz music and the beatitude of oriental mysticism. The beat generation was anti-conformist youth movement in New York who felt like did not belong in contemporary society.
What do Kerouac’s novels express?
Kerouac’s novels expresses a sort of romantic anarchism, emphasizing instinct and spontaneity, friendship and love of nature. It later inspired the hippy movement
What’s on the road about?
On the Road is the story of a journey through America coast to coast and a celebration of the unconventional lifestyle of the Beat Generation. He experimented with new, freer forms of writings.
On the road plot?
The story is narrated by Sal Paradise, a novelist to be, a a college friend invites him to live with him in San Francisco. Sal also wants to visit Denver where his friend Dean Moriarty, a street cowboy, lives. They make make four trips across America, going to Denver, New Orleans, San Francisco, Chicago and Mexico, having wild experiences and meeting a wide range of people.
