Jack Kerouac Research Paper

577 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The beat generation essay

Alexa Leo
Mrs. Garvey
English III Honors
21 January 2016
The Life of Jack Kerouac The iconoclast of the Beat Generation, Jack Kerouac, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on March 12, 1922 to a French Canadian Family. Kerouac was a serious child, devoted to his controlling mother. From a young age, he created stories inspired first by the media surrounding him, such as radio shows and later by the novels of Thomas Wolfe, the writer he would model himself after. As a result of the decline of the economy in his hometown , Kerouac's father turned to drinking and gambling to cope, leaving the family impoverished. Kerouac attempted to save the family himself by winning a football scholarship to college and entering the insurance business. Eventually, …show more content…

Kerouac fought with the football coach, who refused to let him play. His father's downfall as a result of his alcohol addiction cost him his business, causing Kerouac to drop out of Columbia, "bitterly disappointing the father who had so recently disappointed him". He tried and failed to fit in with the military and ended up sailing with the Merchant Marine. At this time he was hanging around New York with a crowd that would eventually become the future Beat Generation, Columbia students Allen Ginsberg and Lucien Carr, older and wiser William S. Burroughs, and an adventure seeking lively man from Denver named Neal Cassady. Kerouac had already begun writing a novel, stylistically reminiscent of Thomas Wolfe, inspired by his struggle to try and balance his city life with his family values. Entitled The Town and the City, his first published book earned him respect and some recognition as a writer, but did not make him famous.It would be a long time before he would be published again. In this transitional period. Kerouac took several cross-country trips with Neal Cassady while working on his novel, and in his attempt to write about these trips he had begun trying abstract forms of writing, partly inspired by the spontaneous prose he found in Neal

Show More
Related

  • Mark Twain Research Paper Outline

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain was a well know writer, riverboat pilot, journalist, lecturer, entrepreneur and inventor. He was born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri and died on April 21, 1910, in Redding, Connecticut. His two most well known books are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and

    Read More

  • The Life and Works of Ezra Jack Keats

    1874 Words  | 4 Pages

    Born in March of 1916 as Jacob (Jack) Ezra Katz, he was the third child to Benjamin and Augusta Katz. His parents were both Polish immigrants of Jewish descent and they raised him in East New York, the predominantly Jewish section of Brooklyn. As immigrants they were plagued with financial difficulties and this was further aggravated when they struggled through the Depression. Despite all of these hardships, Keats had already begun to showcase his artistic abilities. At the age of eight he was hired to paint the sign of a local store. Naturally, his father was quite proud of him when he earned twenty-five cents for his work and hoped that this might endeavor might lead to a steady career as a sign pa¬inter. Unfortunately for him, Keats was smitten with Fine Arts and won his first award in Junior High School: a medal for ...

    Read More

  • Importance of Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road

    3042 Words  | 7 Pages

    Holstad, Scott C. “Kerouac: A look.” Kerouac’s On The Road and the American Quest. 1999. 04 Jan 2002.

    Read More

  • Zora Neale Hurston Research Paper

    1747 Words  | 4 Pages

    "Zora Neale Hurston is Born." history.com. A&E Television Networks, 7 Jan. 2016. Web. 12 Jan.

    Read More

  • English 102 Research Paper

    1868 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the year 3000, the planet Earth is a desolate wasteland. It has been a little over a half a century since the “big one” hit the Earth. The majority of the human race has been eliminated with only a few hundred remaining. The only ones who have survived barely made it on to the spaceship as the big one smashed the Earth. Marcus is one of the many survivors coping with solar winds and debris floating around the Moon. After half a century, the survivors are running out of supplies on the moon. The crew must go back to post-apocalyptic Earth and explore the wasteland. Marcus knows that this journey will not be an easy one. They encounter different

    Read More

  • Jack Kerouac’s On The Road - The American Quest

    1736 Words  | 4 Pages

    On The Road is an autobiographical first-person book written in 1951 and based on Kerouac's experiences of the late 1940's. At the time, America was undergoing drastic changes and the sense of sterility brought on by a mechanized Cold War era society resu lted in a feeling of existential dislocation for many. Numerous Americans began to experience a sense of purposelessness and the air was rife with disillusionment.  Kerouac was one of these restless postwar young people and he longed for...something.  A n ew kind of hero?  A return to a Romantic tradition and simpler days?  When Kerouac met Neal Cassady, he knew Cassady was the kind of hero he had been seeking.  Eventually, as Robert Hipkiss notes, "Kerouac began to see Neal as an 'archetypal American Man' "....and, in fact, when Kerouac created Dean Moriarty out of Neal, "he created a new symbol of flaming American youth, the American hero of the Beat Generation" (32-3).  Indeed, as Hipkiss argues, Dean Moriarty

    Read More

  • Louisa May Alcott Research Paper

    555 Words  | 2 Pages

    Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1832 in Germantown, PA to Amos Bronson Alcott & Abby May Alcott. Her siblings were Abigail May Alcott Nieriker, Anna Alcott Pratt, and Elizabeth Sewall Alcott. The Alcott’s were a poverty stricken family but they were rich in the areas of family unity and intellectuality. When she was 8 she would keep a journal, documenting her excitements, her states, and her trouble monitoring her anger. While a little girl she was drawn to become anti-slavery because while she was a seven year old girl she opened an unused oven in her house and it was a runaway slave. The slave and Alcott continued to keep in touch through letters. When she was growing up she was always a tomboy she wasn’t girly like her sisters and she didn’t have many girlfriends.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe Research Paper

    202 Words  | 1 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe, was born on January 19, 1809. His Mother, Elizabeth Arnold Poe, was an actress. She died of tuberculosis in 1811 surrounded by her children, when Edgar was just 2 years old, furthermore he was adopted by John and Frances Allan, Mr. Allan was having numerous affairs and Edgar thought that women should be treated with respect and loyalty, so Mr. Allan sent him away to school.

    Read More

  • Jack London Research Paper

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    I firmly believe that those who steer away from prominent danger show increased common sense and societal worth. Although others such as Jack London believe, “The proper function of man is to live, not exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time,” his remark shows his opinion on the reverse. In saying this London is portraying that he would rather “live” his life through things that even though they could damage him quite literally are better than trying to extend the duration of his life. In the sense of extreme sports, many participants share London's idea, in their manner they use extreme sports to live out exciting lives with dangerous and unorthodox activities. The participants are fully aware they may hurt themselves or even die but for the experience and fulfilment. As seen in

    Read More

  • Jack Keroueac Research Paper

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jack Kerouac is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. Unlike other authors from his time, Kerouac employed imaginative creativity to describe his stories related to his lifestyle of drugs, women, and traveling. Born in a Middle-class family in Lowell, Massachusetts, Kerouac learned French as a first language from his French Canadian parents and spoke it solely until he was six. During his childhood, his older brother died and the death affected Kerouac. Raised with Catholic and Middle-class values, Kerouac attended a Catholic school and played football as a running back in high school. Kerouac received a scholarship to play football at Columbia University. After a foot injury and an invitation to fight in WWII, Kerouac quit football and left the

    Read More

  • Pierce College Student Research Paper

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    My experience as a Pierce College student has been great due to meeting exciting new friends and taking interesting classes. Although, one problem I face as a Pierce College student is the Wi-Fi on campus. The Wi-Fi on our campus is a complete joke. The Wi-Fi at Pierce College has trouble connecting to whatever device we use. For example, the Wi-Fi address will pop up on my phone, but when I try to connect, it absolutely refuses to connect. Then, when it does connect, the Wi-Fi signal is so slow, that there is no point in using the free internet. In addition, the signal is so weak that it doesn’t reach the entire campus, and creates a problem if an emergency were to happen. This problem not only causes more problems for me, but to my fellow

    Read More

  • Franz Kafka Research Paper

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    Franz Kafka was a man who had a quite challenging life throughout almost his entire life. Despite that he overcame it all. He attracted attention of new readers and could make them relate. He was a perseverer.

    Read More

  • Ernest Hemingway Research Paper

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Ernest Hemingway’s writings “Indian Camp” and “The Killers,” Hemingway uses symbolism to relate the story, so the reader gets a true sense about the story. How Hemingway does this is by relating a personal experience, then altering it with symbolism and detail to make his writings feel natural to the reader. Also, Hemingway’s writings “Indian Camp” and “The Killers” have emotional factors that connects with the use of detailed violent scenes. Ultimately, Hemingway’s short stories “Indian Camp” and “The Killers” convey feelings to the reader that Hemingway uses detailed symbolic references to his works plus, how the stories seem as concrete as stories with no symbolic references,

    Read More

  • Franz Kafka Research Paper

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    The theme of isolation is present in Franz Kafka’s “The Hunger Artist” and “The Metamorphosis” as a result of his childhood experiences of separation from the typical culture. From an early age, Kafka’s aspirations of being a writer set him apart from his mother and controlling father. In “The Metamorphosis”, Gregor Samsa transformed into a bug he is separated from the rest of his family and those he cares about. In ‘The Hunger Artist”, Kafka created a story of a man who set himself apart from society through the misunderstood qualities of fasting as an art. Franz Kafka’s experience as a child with isolation influenced his writing as the theme of being detached from society is seen through “The Metamorphosis” and “The Hunger Artist”.

    Read More

  • Franz Kafka Research Paper

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone today has struggled with fitting in with society and with different situations in life. An author who struggled with many issues, such as self-acceptance, Franz Kafka wrote stories that people could relate to and were intrigued by. Kafka originally did not plan to publish his manuscripts, however, he was urged to by a friend. Although he was insecure about his writing, he continued to write and was influenced by events in his own life. Franz Kafka wrote many dismal, yet meaningful creations based off of his difficult childhood while working at an insurance company after graduating from college and being in many relationships.

    Read More

More about Jack Kerouac Research Paper

Open Document