The beatniks or the beat generation was a group of writers that concentrated their work toward commentary on the reality of the American life and the errors in American political and social policy. They were most influential during the late 1950s and early 1960s with the publishing of books like On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs and a poem “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg entered into mainstream media through their publication. Their writings were controversial at the time, deemed too vulgar and band in some areas. Yet, the beatnik’s writing inspired artistic and political movements throughout the latter half of the century(Kennedy). The beat generation affected America during the 1950s and 60s by exposing the horrors of war giving voice to minorities and …show more content…
Bob Dylan, a singer-songwriter who was influenced by those in the beatnik movement, wrote a song called Oxford town(Saeed). The song contains the lyrics depicting racial violence in the American south “guns and clubs followed him down all because his face was brown”(Dylan). This song was a criticism of riots that occurred when the first black student was admitted to the University of Mississippi. Music was becoming politically charged and would continue to be with artist like Dylan using music to spread awareness about political issues. Beatniks also shed light on other members of society that were discriminated against those suffering from mental health Illnesses. Due to many of their own members of the movement having mental health issues in the poem “Howl” the author emphasizes the phrase “I am with you Rockland” repeating at the beginning of every stanza(Ginsberg). This was to symbolize his solidarity with his friend and fellow beatnik that he spent time in a psychiatric ward with. This broke down stigmas associated with those suffering from mental health
Throughout the words and the lives of the Beat Generation, one theme is apparent: America, everywhere from Allen Ginsberg’s “America,” to Jack Kerouac’s love for Thomas Wolfe. Although the views of America differ, they all find some reason to focus in on this land. Ginsberg, in his poem “America,” makes a point that not many of us can see as obvious: “It occurs to me that I am America. I am talking to myself again.” Each and every one of us make up America, and when we complain about something that is wrong, we are complaining about ourselves. Being raised by his mother as a Communist, and being homosexual, Ginsberg found many things wrong with America, and he does his fare share of complaining, but at the end he decides, “America I’m putting my queer shoulder to the wheel.” Ginsberg didn’t want to sit and watch everything go wrong. He was going to do something, despite the fact that he was not the ideal American.
Parks refused to let this matter go, so she prevailed and made a very important phone call to a person called Martin Luther King who was the local priest. The actions of Martin Luther King would have repercussions on the Black American Society, as they would eventually be granted freedom from segregation and discrimination. Bob Dylan portrays the fact that many black U.S. citizens were being marginalised from society, even though the people being victimised were famous black people. This is what Bob Dylan tries to convey, in his lyrics he talks about a boxer called Ruben Carter. Bob Dylan sings about the way in which he was framed and bought to justice on something that he did not do.
Tytell, John. "The Beat Generation and the Continuing American Revolution". American Scholar 42 (1973): 308-317.
[1] What is it about the Sixties that still linger in the minds of the American population forty years later? For many the Sixties was a time of liberation, a time of true freedom, but it was also a time of struggle and oppression. This was a decade that prided itself on overcoming obstacles of race, gender, and even sexuality. The Sixties was an experience that many people wish they could relive, and other survivors of the decade refuse to even remember. Perhaps the one thing that sticks strongly in my own mind are the passings of many great individuals -- the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcom X. The second half of the decade marks itself with the untimely deaths of rock legends Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and the subject of this essay -- Janis Joplin.
One of the most famous of the generation was Jack Kerouac. Kerouac, a writer who was fascinated with jazz, drugs and philosophy embodied this counter culture lifestyle, even taking on the title, “king of the beats.” Wildly passionate for new experiences, Kerouac saw himself as a spy in someone else's body, an observer in/of the world recording through the keyhole of his eye living in such a way that he would eventually document and compose into his masterpiece. Kerouac opened the eyes...
In 1961, previous to the outbreak of Occupy Wall Street, Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park was filled with three–thousand young beatnik protestors. Playing instruments and singing folk music symbolized the starvation that these young folks wanted of freedom and equality for America. Protestors demonstrated mixed cultures, individualistic beliefs that went against the status quo of America after the post-war years. The Beatnik Riot involved young traditional Americans fighting not just for the musical crisis of that time, but for the social, racial, and cultural segregations that were brought on by the years of war. Acting as a catalytic reaction, the Beatnik Riot put in motion a new modernized America.
The Sixties, by Terry H. Anderson, takes the reader on a journey through one of the most turbulent decades in American life. Beginning with the crew-cut conformity of 1950s Cold War culture and ending with the transition into the uneasy '70s, Anderson notes the rise of an idealistic generation of baby boomers, widespread social activism, and revolutionary counterculture. Anderson explores the rapidly shifting mood of the country with the optimism during the Kennedy years, the liberal advances of Johnson's "Great Society," and the growing conflict over Vietnam that nearly tore America apart. The book also navigates through different themes regarding the decade's different currents of social change; including the anti-war movement, the civil rights struggle, and the liberation movements. From the lunch counter sit-in of Greensboro, N.C. in 1960 and the rise of Martin Luther King, Jr. to the Black Power movement at the decade's end, Anderson illustrates the brutality involved in the reaction against civil rights, the radicalization of some of the movement's youth, and the eventual triumphs that would change America forever. He also discusses women's liberation and the feminist movement, as well as the students' rights, gay rights, and environmental movements.
The year is1965, 8 years into the Vietnam war and 2 years in the shadow of a presidential assassination, marked the inception of an artistic vision, cut to Vinyl. Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 revisited is a testament to the state of America in the 1960s, using poetic devices, and engaging rock and roll music to capture the imagination of a breadth of people, unwittingly, it would seem, brought change to the minds of Americans. Opening their eyes to what was happening and inflicting a sense of new found justice in their hearts, Living vicariously through Bob Dylan’s intense imagery, due to the events unfolding in that period, People latched on to Dylan’s lyrics and imposed their own expression and feeling onto his songs.
"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...
Firstly, the group of friends and writers most commonly known as the Beats evolved dramatically in focal points such as Greenwich Village and Columbia University, and subsequently spread their political and cultural views to a wider audience. The three Beat figureheads William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac each perceived an agenda within American society to clamp down on those who were in some way different from the accepted ‘norm’, and in response deliberately flirted with the un-American practices of Buddhism, drug use, homosexuality and the avant-garde. Ginsberg courted danger by lending a voice to the homosexual subculture that had been marginalised by repressive social traditions and cultural patterns within the United States.
During the 1950’s, a group of young American writers began to openly oppose societal norms in favor of other radical beliefs. These writers believed in ideas such as spiritual and sexual liberation, decriminalization of drugs, and opposition to industrialism as well as consumerism (Parkins). Over time, these writers became known as the Beat Generation and created the Beat Movement. Among the members of this rebellious group was the infamous Allen Ginsberg, who is considerably one of the most influential poets of his time. By utilizing tools like imagery, allusions, and symbols, Allen Ginsberg’s “A Supermarket in California” discusses themes such as consumerism, sexuality, and alienation, which reflect Ginsberg’s personal beliefs and desire for change.
It is important to know a little of Etheridge Knight’s background to fully understand his poem “Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane”. Knight began exploring the world of poetry when he was young in the form of humorous, verbal poems used for entertaining. An African American born in 1931, Knight undoubtedly faced racism and prejudice throughout his life, leading him to explore those concepts within his poetry. Knight became a well-known figure within the Black Arts movement, partly due to encouragement from his wife at the time; Sonia Sanchez, who was also a poet involved in the movement. As stated before, Knight also spent several years in prison, giving him knowledge of the feelings and slang within jail, both of which he later interjected into his writing. Knowing his background helps the reader further understand the feelings...
One theme that is prevalent throughout much of the literature we have covered so far is that it is very critical of the conformist values of late 1950s society. In an era of Levittowns and supermarkets and the omnipresent television, there was a call to leave the conformist suburban culture in search of something higher. Two major proponents of the individual as opposed to society were Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, two of the central figures in the Beat movement. Through their work one can gain a perspective on the anti-conformity spirit that was brewing under the surface in the Beat culture.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Bob Dylan used his talent of music as his tool to help the movement sweep through the nation. Dylan had very big ambitions for not only his life alone, but for the world. Dylan had a massive influence on people’s minds, hearts, and souls. Dylan had a message to share. He was looking for a change, and it would come along if he had anything to do with it.
Raskin Jonah, American Scream: Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and the Making of the Beat Generation Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2004.