Rebirth From Rebellion:Carnivalization In On The Road

This thesis regards beat writer Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road as the study object, theoretically based on "carnivalization poetics theory" put forward by Russian literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin, in order to explore spiritual essence of the "Beat Generation". The thesis explores how those elements of carnivalization are exhibited in the novel and what their inner deep meanings are, conflicts in carnivalization and the spiritual essence of the "Beat Generation".The main elements of carnivalization involved in the thesis are carnival square and carnival laughter, these two important images of carnival will be discussed in chapter one. The deep meaning behind these typical elements of carnivalization will also be referred to in this chapter.The main kinds of conflict in carnivalization itself will be discussed in chapter two. These conflicts are mainly reflected in carnival time and carnival space, which are different from time and space in reality.At last, in chapter three, this thesis talks about the spiritual essence behind carnivalization. The pursuit of this spiritual essence is actually a kind of carnival decrowing, and the spiritual essence behind behavior of the beat generation can be considered as "being toward death".