A famous piece of literature from the beat generations was the novel written by author Jack Kerouac called On the Road. What made this book so different was that it was written on a 75 meter roll of paper (Morgan, 2003:35). The novel showed the freedom of writing and lacked accepted punctuation and paragraph structure. The book was a hallmark for the possibilities of the free life (Saul,
There have been several biographies of Jack Kerouac, examining and representing his life story, though his own autobiographical novel, On the Road is undeniably the most accurate biography of his actions, mentality. The author gave a response to the American values of the 1950s. Throughout his experiences, he represented the most characteristic features of this counterculture. Kerouac became an American icon, and the main character of his narration, Dean, an idol for the US youth of the post-war era. An example would be their rejection of economic materialism and the mainstream culture in post-war America.
Kerouac’s most publicized text, On the Road, has been saluted as the quintessential novel of the 1950s and is beneficial in the fact that it conveys something that the aforementioned historical statistics cannot, emotion. Specifically, the dissenting emotions that pervaded the suburbs. Of course, some of the more mundane housewives were enthralled with their new dishwashers, and their husbands were content with their vapid routines, but many were left dissatisfied by the staleness of their suburban schedule. The Beat writers were especially influenced by this
There is not an accurate way to describe this time period because of the many changes that happened every few years. Most of these changes occurred during the Beat Generation. The Beat Generation was a movement where people put their own views of literature and culture into their own works (“The Beat Generation” 1). One example of a major change that happened in this time period is how literature was written, and how people reacted to it. Before the Beat Generation, most books were written for entertainment or education and were not through provoking.
Many of this success was also influenced from other legendary artists they looked up too for example: Little Richard, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. Also, American music such as jazz, country and even Indian music influenced their creativity. They were able to incorporate all styles and make it their own. One of the reason the band was so successful was because they were do dedicated to music, they knew how to satisfy the people and deliver their music. There were even occasions that they would play for more than seven hours.
Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is a novel based on a post apocalyptic world. The Road tells a story of a father and a son who are part of the small number of survivors. We follow the father and the son's journey, on the state road to the south. On their journey the father and son struggle to survive, while also facing some obstacles. Those obstacle include the lack of food, water and shelter.
The Beatles and more specifically John Lennon had an immense impact on society throughout the 1960s to the 1980s. The Beatles affected society with their music by bringing about an age where experimentation with drugs, sex and hallucinogens (previously taboo) became the norm. They were also very popular amongst the new hippie counter culture as they too were anti-war and shared continuity with the ideals of the band. They served as examples and leaders not only to the hippies and other youth movements, but also to the youth of society in general. The Beatles and their music redefined the rules of society.
Writing was lucrative, and for the first time, authors could make a living doing what they loved. Although the history of American Literature in the 20th century includes many outstanding authors, Jack London made the most significant impact on the future of American Literature. Jack London became the most influential writer of the 20th century by researching his books firsthand through travel, vividly describing nature, and testifying to the human spirit’s will to survive. Traveling was a great love of Jack London and would provide firsthand knowledge to his writing. His adventures began at the age of 14, after quitting school.
The Beatles were one of the first artists to consider their albums more strongly, not thriving off of the success of key singles.10 Songs besides singles were not only filler, creating thematic songs that were consistently high quality, from beginning to end.11 Long before music videos’ popularity in the 1980s, The Beatles made full length films featuring their music, in essence being the first music videos. 12 They also pioneered the genre of Psychedelic Rock along with The Beach Boys, being some of the first to highly chart using guitar feedback and electronic effects within their music.13 It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of America’s young people began to play guitar and form bands from the influence of The Beatles, heightening the amount of garage rock bands forming in the US.14 “Beatlemania”, the term used to describe the intense fandom surrounding The Beatles, was clearly visible through their impact upon fashion.15 The hairstyle shared by each Beatle, the “mop-top”, was seen as messy and was often disdainfully looked upon by adults, yet it began to be widely imitated across youth.16 Their hair grew longer and longer, and other groups followed as longer hair became more socially accepted due to their influence.17 It is difficult to understand the extent to which The Beatles have affected us, transforming music, fashion, and culture in general. The Beatles remain one of, if not the most, influential band in
As Rorabaugh mentions that in the 1950s the U.S had essentially reached a period of universal conformity (15). It was during this time that the beat writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg exploded into the countercultural movement. Both