A Cultural Exploration Of The Beat Generation In On The Road

Jack Kerouac, an American literary giant, is regarded as the King of the Beat Generation. His masterpiece On the Road, as a classic of the Beat Generation, is a loyal record of the Beats’ life experiences, which is taken as the best manifestation of the Beat culture. The Beat Generation is a special postwar literary group and also a choice made by the youth in face of the postwar dilemma. Their life constitutes their literary works, whereas their literature perfectly interprets their life.On the Road is a perfect and comprehensive illustration of the Beat traits. The Beat Generation, as a group of marginalized young rebels, are very radical in countering the mainstream culture. They become countercultural pioneers for performing their rebelliousness to the utmost by anti-conformity, anti-morality and anti-tradition. This thesis is attempted to explore the cultural connotations of the Beat Generation through the textual analysis of On the Road from the perspective of cultural study.The thesis fully consists of four chapters. The first chapter is a brief introduction to the writer, his works, the Beat Generation, cultural study and thesis statement. The second chapter is the central part of the thesis which focuses on the analysis of the Beat Traits reflected in the particular novel. The third chapter is an exploration of the motivations that form the Beat Generation. The fourth chapter is the last chapter which is the conclusion of the whole thesis. Through the cultural exploration of the novel, the questions about how the Beat Generation come into being and what kinds of characteristics they possess are testified.