On The Road
On the Road research papers are custom written on Jack Kerouac's novel that has become a classic of the Beat Generation. Paper Masters can write on any aspect of On The Road, including focusing on the literary, social or generational aspects of the novel.
An On the Road research papers report that the Kerouac novel portrays the feelings of an entire generation's search for what to believe in. In the post-war 1950's, On the Road literature term papers display the themes of living life one moment at a time, living freely and experiencing the mythical journey that every person must experience in life. At the time, America was undergoing drastic changes and the sense of sterility brought on by a mechanized Cold War era society resulted 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, he just didn't know what, much like the rest of his generation.
The significance of the passage in which Sal and Dean are in an all night movie theater in Detroit is the turning point in their journey and provides the only form of closure that the novel affords the reader. The research paper illustrates that It is the quintessential moment of any mythical hero's journey, when he discovers who he is in the light of his surroundings.
Kerouac's On The Road
Jack Kerouac's On the Road was published in 1955, when most American's were content with the opportunities presented by a prosperous post-war society. On the Road presents a quest of intense young men driving back and forth across the country, searching jazz clubs and highways, always in pursuit of a new American dream. The book's classic American nature comes from its factual basis, historical context and experimental style.
Kerouac's novel describes the adventures of a group of friends, including the writer, named Sal Paradise, and Sal's best friend and central character, Dean Moriarty. These men are in love with the automobile as they drive from New York to Denver to San Francisco and back again, drinking, talking non-stop and creating poetry. This is a distinctly American odyssey, focusing on the joys of the automobile and the ability to drive day and night across mountains, plains, and great cities.
At the same time, the book has a greater meaning in that Kerouac's characters are based on his actual friends.
- Dean Moriarty is actually Neal Cassady
- Carlo Marx is Allen Ginsberg
- Old Bull Lee is William S. Burroughs
In this respect, On the Road also describes the emergence of an actual literary movement, called the Beat Generation, which consisted of many writers included as characters in On the Road. In addition, it describes the beginning of a socially conscious American underground that was experimenting with drugs, music and religion. While mainstream American dreams of raising families in square neighborhoods, Kerouac describes a rebellious generation that refuses to settle down and accept the status quo.
The novel's style is also distinctly American. The constant, rushing motion of Dean Moriarty sets its pace and jazz music sets the tone. Kerouac writes in cool hipster language that captures the spirit of the group. At the same time, the prose has a beat that suggests the spontaneity and passion of jazz music.