Rebellious Ideals of the Beat Generation in Kerouac's "On the Road". Turning-Away from Mainstream America

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Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Didactics - English - Literature, Works, grade: 2, 2, University of Constance, language: English, abstract: This paper deals with the portrayal of the essential beliefs and ideals of the Beat Generation in Jack Kerouac's novel "On the Road". It will prove that these beliefs are illustrated through the lifestyles of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty during their journey. As the major characters of the novel, who clearly did not live up to society's expectations of Post-War-America Dean and Sal are the prefect examples for the beats. To achieve this aim, this paper will critically examine how the ideas of the Beat Generation can be found in the novel. The ideals referred to will include a non-conformity towards society's expectations and a rebellious attitude towards the mainstream society. Furthermore, an inner drive to travel, to be on the road and to search for meaning are reoccurring motifs and beliefs of the protagonists. Lastly, Sal and Dean start to turn towards different, Non-American cultures, in order to find the meaning of life. The paper will begin with an examination of the rebellious attitude of the protagonists to find the motivation and source of their rebellion, which leads to their non-conformity. Regarding the mentioned non-conformity, the paper will investigate how Sal and Dean did not conform to given rules and expectations and to what extent they carried out their non-conformism. Moreover, the underlying meaning of the journeys in the novel and the reason for their transcendental reach will be surveyed. Additionally, the paper will examine if Sal and Dean even knew why they were traveling and searching, or if they were on the road for the sake of being on the move.