Jack Kerouac: On the Road

It was considered sinful and morally wrong to do anything in the 50's that didn't fit into the mold of a typical American family. The media condemned people who spoke up against the government, the people who didn't have typical jobs, the people who experimented with drugs, the people who had different sexual orientation, the people who questioned social standards, and the people who lived day by day without any long term plan. Throughout this decade, there was much conformity and social stability in America. However, author Jack Kerouac inspired many to stand up for themselves, as he wrote about his rebellious adventures across the US in his controversial book "On The Road."

Jack Kerouac, the acclaimed father of the Beat Movement, is probably the most predominant figure in beat literature. Born in 1922, in Massachusetts, Kerouac grew up in a middle class, French-Canadian environment. While his parents were struggling financially to make ends-meat, Jack was struggling to learn english and make friends at an early age. When he became fluent in english, he quickly became fascinated with the literary world and would read anything he could get his hands on. In high school, Kerouac became a high school football star, and eventually it got him a scholarship to Columbia University. After the constant disagreements with his coach and a broken leg, Kerouac quit football as well as Columbia University, and moved back to Lowell. Drifting from occupation to occupation, Jack traveled around Boston and Washington DC, ignoring the face of consistency and stability. He eventually found his way back to Columbia where he would befriend a few people whom he would later meet up with again. He dropped out of Columbia again and enlisted in the Navy where he was eventually honorably discharged on psychological grounds. He re-joined the Navy some time later and sailed to England. When he returned, he met back up with Lucien Carr, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs. These people would be very influential in his future writings, and Kerouac would often mimic their personalities in his writings, disguised as fictional characters. For instance, in "On the Road", he based Dean Moriarty off of another beat friend, Neal Cassidy. This circle of friends, who were highly influenced by popular jazz and bop music, became the core authors of the beat movement. When fellow friend Lucien Carr had been charged with manslaughter in 1944, Kerouac had some involvement as an accessory. After the issue had cleared, he married long-time girlfriend Edie Parker in a marriage that would only last a few months. Jack's father Leo died later that same year of stomach cancer from excessive drinking, while Jack began writing his most conventional novel, The Town and the City, which eventually was published in 1950. For the next couple of years, Kerouac would often take trips across the United States mostly with Neal Cassady. Sometimes he would ride in the car with Cassady, and sometimes he would travel by means of hitchhiking. Either way, ...