The Beat Generation: The United States During The 1950's

The Beat Generation
During the 1950’s, the United States was the strongest country in the world with their military power and weaponry. In addition, the American economy and population were booming and consumerism overshadowed the dark past of WWII. Cars, suburban houses, and other consumer goods reflected the carefree, prosperous, and captivating lifestyles of millions of Americans across the country. The hope for a bright future in America was near, but there was one problem: Communism. The Soviet Union continued to maintain power and grew as their philosophy and mutual agreements spread across Asia. In order to contain the spread of communism in Asia, otherwise known as the “Domino Theory,” the United States intervened on numerous occasions

This movement began at Columbia University in 1948 during a meeting between three of the most prominent Beat writers of their generation: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs. During this meeting, the Beat writers discussed their dissatisfaction with social norms, traditions, and social oppression and decided to implement a counter culture that allowed drug use, sexual intercourse, homosexuality, and other radical ideas. Some of the Beat writers such as Jack Kerouac, who was in Columbia on a football scholarship, abandoned their studies to pursue their prominent careers. After abandoning their traditional and oppressing lifestyles, the Beat writers experimented with drugs such as alcohol, marijuana, benzedrine, morphine, and others in order to achieve “enlightenment,” write their novels and poems, and other personal reasons. Most of these Beat writers, when they required money for food and rent, sold drugs and committed crimes instead of obtaining a typical job. The Beat Generation established the rebellious lifestyle that most young Americans desired at the

With his stories of his travels across the country and México of his rebellious lifestyle, Kerouac gained popularity and recognition for his unique imaginative creativity. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts from French Canadian parents, Kerouac was born speaking English, raised in a Catholic household, and played football in high school and Columbia University. Kerouac quit football after a foot injury and enlisted to fight in WWII. After a few months of a disastrous war experience, Kerouac returned to Columbia and met with John Clellon Holmes and Herbert Huncke to establish the name “Beat Generation,” regarding the era after WWII where oppression and defeat were evident. The name was also regarded as a derivative of Jazz since the Beat writing is inspired by the style and momentum of the genre. Kerouac decided to travel across the country and discover inspiration for his novels. His masterpiece novel On The Road, published in 1957, attracted numerous readers and it raised the Beat writing popularity. Through the use of spontaneous prose, Kerouac illustrated his random ideas, imaginative creativity, uncensored diction, and unedited writing in a conspicuous connection between his mind and his words.

Yes, and it wasn't only because I was a writer and needed new experiences that I wanted to know Dean more, and because my life hanging around the campus had reached the completion