The Beat Generation of America

The Beat Generation of America

"But then they danced down the street like dingledoolies, and I shambled after as I’ve been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles, exploding like spiders across the starts, and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes ‘Awww!’" (Kerouac 9)

"Burn, burn, burn," says Kerouac, and that is what the Beats were all about. From the all-night, smoke-filled jazz clubs of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, to the trendy bars of San Francisco, the artists known as the ‘Beats’ were interested in one thing, and only one thing: living. To them, life was a series of adventures to be lived. Going from one high to the next, in search of that thing that will, in the end, transform them into that "blue centerlight" about which everyone says "Awww!" But a few questions must be addressed regarding the Beats. Was theirs the correct choice? Was the fun they had worth the pain that they caused, and the pain that they had to endure? And ultimately, what impact did the Beats have on society as a whole, and was that impact, is that impact, positive or negative? Jack Kerouac, the most prominent of all Beat poets, and the gang hanging out at the famous 115th Street apartment helped to mold two generations of young Americans, and have made a permanent impression on the landscape of American culture through their literature, and most of all, through their lives, and their desire to live. This is the contribution of the Beats: a legacy of s...

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...ere the ones that Kerouac loved, the ones who were, the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles, exploding like spiders across the starts, and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes ‘Awww!’ (9) Full of human frailties, but bursting with human life, and love, and joy.

Works Cited List

Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. Viking Press, New York. 1955.

Miles, Barry. Jack Kerouac. Henry Holt and Company, Inc., New York. 1998.

van Elteren, Mel. “The subculture of the Beats: a sociological revisit.” Journal of American Culture, Fall 1999, v 22, i3, pg 71.

Weinrich, Regina. “The Beat Generation is About Everything”. College Literature, Winter 2000, v 27, pg 263.