The Beats were a literary group that formed in the United States in the 1950’s. The founding members started out as college friends, attending Columbia University, who had similar interests. The small group of friends soon acquired more like minded individuals in the New York area and became a movement. The common theme of the group was the rejection of the prevalent middle-class values in the United States. They also felt that modern society lacked purpose and they felt the need to withdraw and protest. (Parkins) The group became known as the “Beat Generation” due to their message of being “beaten down” by society. (Matterson) The group eventually migrated from New York, to San Francisco, California where they gained even more members. This paper will briefly discuss some of the members of “The Beats” and what impact the movement had on society in the United States.
The two founding members of the Beats were Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Jack and Allen met while they were students at Columbia University. Jack Kerouac was born in 1922 in Massachusetts. He was attending the university on a football scholarship. (Feider) Allen Ginsberg was born in 1926, in New Jersey. He was attending the university on a scholarship from the YMCA. (Feider) Kerouac and Ginsberg both enjoyed literature and began spending time together using benzodiazepines and marijuana to fuel their creativity. (Feider) William Burroughs joined the two friends after they met in Manhattan. Burroughs who was born in 1914 in Missouri, had been found unfit to serve in the military during WWII. (Rahn) He had been spending his time doing odd jobs. Together, these three and some others, including; Gregory Corso, Neal Cassady, and Herbert Huncke ...
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...July 1994. www.litkicks.com/BeatGen/#.UyiEjk4o7IU. (March 17, 2014).
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Beat movement (American literary and social movement)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/57467/Beat-movement. (March 17, 2014).
Feider, Megan. "Beatnik Writers." Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs. www.bluesforpeace.com/beat-generation.htm. (March 18, 2014).
Matterson, Stephen. "Mid-1950s -1960s Beat Generation." PBS. PBS. www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/beatgeneration.html. (March, 19, 2014).
Parkins, Keith. "Beat Generation." Beat Generation. Mar. 2005. www.heureka.clara.net/art/beat-generation.htm. (March 18, 2014).
Rahn, Josh. "The Beat Generation." - Literature Periods & Movements. www.online-literature.com/periods/beat.php. (March 17, 2014).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the beats were a literary group that formed in the united states in 1950's. the group became known as the "beat generation" due to their message of being "beaten down" by society.
- Describes the two founding members of the beats, jack kerouac and allen ginsberg, who met while they were students at columbia university.
- Explains that the beats made a large impact on the 1950's, promoting freedom from censorship in literature, sexual liberation, respect for the land and cultures, and ecological consciousness.
- Analyzes how the beat generation of the fifties gave way to the hippie generation in the sixties. the success, however, did not help many members overcome their personal demons.
- Concludes that the beats provided a major source of influence in the fifties. their work helped to make possible the work of the sixties activists.
- Describes the editors of encyclopdia britannica's "beat movement (american literary and social movement).
- Cites matthewson, stephen, parkins, keith, and rahn, josh. "the beat generation."
Related
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- Essay On The Beat Generationanalytical essayRacist Depictions of Latinos/as in Beat Generation Literature Studies regarding the Beat Generation have pulsated over the years since the movement itself was at its peak, but what has endured throughout the fifty years since their emergence is Beat literature’s popularity with the general public. To further add to the Beat’s influence, their literature has also had a tremendous impact on the American literary canon. During the past two decades, primary source materials of the Beat movement continue to be published. Major film adaptations are also being produced from some of their most influential works and their personal lives. The Beat Generation’s literature has been looked at through many different perspectives ranging from anthropological to sociological.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the beat generation's literature has had a tremendous impact on the american literary canon.
- Analyzes how the beat generation broke the boundaries of american censorship and opened the doors to all art forms.
- Analyzes how the beat generation sought literary achievement, but contemporary fashion, entertainment, and opinion columnists granted them more notice than did literary critics.
- Analyzes how kerouac's on the road portrays sal as an italian american who wants to relate to minority cultures.
- Proposes that although the beat generation wanted to separate themselves from mainstream american society, they weren't so far from the period regarding their racist views.
- Explains that the beat generation arose from the post-world war ii bohemian culture in the united states.
- Analyzes how the beat generation's appropriation of african american culture is similar to that of the nineteenth-century romantic racialists.
1943 wordsRead More - Lunatics Taking Over the Asylum: Cultural Chaos in 1960s Americaanalytical essayFirstly, 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the hippies' political education was partly attributed to the beats, who tried to instil pacifist values into the lives of young people during the previous decade.
- Opines that even the best looking apple can contain a worm. the sixties were dead. they may never have lived.
- Analyzes how malcolm mclaren described the 1960s as a journey, but the fundamental flaw is that it must end at some point. hopper builds on jack kerouac's homespun philosophy of travelling the ‘open road’ in search of spiritual enlightenment.
- Opines that the tone of the film, "night of the living dead," came from the anger of times. it was 1968 and nobody was in a gleeful mood about the world going.
- Analyzes how george a. romero unleashed night of the living dead, the first instalment in a trilogy of horror movies.
- Opines that marijuana, cocaine, and lsd can open up the doors of perception, but they can quickly close them again too.
- Analyzes how hunter s. thompson's semi-autobiographical novel fear and loathing in las vegas is a scathing attack on the myopic hippie dream and the futility of the 1960s.
- Explains that the trunk of the car looked like a mobile police narcotics lab. they had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid,.
- Analyzes how the characters' appetite for self-destruction is evident from the very first paragraph of fear and loathing in las vegas.
- Analyzes how kesey's work is challenging, but it is a complicated process trying to deduce what exactly he is saying here.
- Cites dillard, r. w., and waller's american horrors essays.
- Explains evans, harold, the american century – people, power and politics, an illustrated history.
- Cites forbidden: george romero and the dawn of the dead, prod. nick freand jones, bbc broadcasting, 2 february 1997.
- Explains that harris, oliver, the letters of william s. burroughs 1945 to 1959, 1993.
- Analyzes holmes, john clellon, ‘this is the beat generation’, new york times magazine, 16 november, 1952.
- Explains lee, martin a., and shlain, acid dreams: the complete social history of lsd, the cia and the sixties and beyond, 1985.
- Analyzes tytell, john, 'the beat generation and the continuing american revolution' in the rolling stone book of the beats.
- Cites peter bate's film, ‘charles manson — the man who killed the sixties.
- Argues that the 1960s formed one of the most culturally complex periods in america's history, and the analysis of this era is just as problematic.
- Argues that ginsberg's contribution to the development of the counterculture during this period was vital.
- Analyzes how ginsberg portrays american politicians as monosyllabic neanderthals who are eager to wage war at any opportunity.
- Opines that spiritual fulfilment is an elusive goal, if not one that is impossible to attain. kerouac dismisses the beat generation as a fad.
- Analyzes how romero reworked the paranoid cinema that was popular in american drive-ins during the 1950s and encapsulated the dark mood of 1960s society spinning out of control.
- Analyzes how thompson channeled this anger into works such as fear and loathing on the campaign trail '72, in which he unmasks american politicians to be corrupt fraudsters.
- Analyzes how ken kesey's novel, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest, employs the setting of a claustrophobic psychiatric ward monitored by oppressive staff
- Concludes that most of the texts mentioned in this piece close with the death of one or all of its protagonists.
- Cites carroll, e. jean, cavaney, graham, the priest they called him: the life and legacy of william s. burroughs.
- Cites galloway, david g., gilmore, mikal, and george-warren's the rolling stone book of the beats.
- Cites hoskyns, barney, howard, gerald, and howard in the sixties: art, politics and media of our most explosive decade.
- Cites ruland, richard, and malcolm bradbury, from puritanism to postmodernism: a history of american literature. thompson, hunter s., fear and loathing in las vegas.
7167 wordsRead More - The Beat Generationanalytical essayThe Beat Generation was an influence on the American society during the twentieth century on how they portrayed the way of the American dream through performing arts. It all began in the 1950’s where a bunch of writers got together to right about how much they resented the postwar society (Sterritt, 1). It was right after War World II had past and the postwar age was very unsettling for the beat writers. It was turning into a conservative lifestyle and the beats wanted a way of showing that there writings would make an impact of what and how they thought of society and postwar. They too, like many others were effected greatly by the war and wanted a way of rebelling towards all the pain they went through during the war. This began the introduction of the Beat Generation.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the beat generation was an influence on american society during the twentieth century on how they portrayed the american dream through performing arts.
- Analyzes how the beat generation became known for their aggressive way of writing. they included sex, drugs, race, and rock n roll in every one of their writings.
- Explains how jack kerouac and the rest of the beat writers became recognized and known after the beat generation became a legacy.
- Explains that jack kerouac wanted to explore the world and experience different aspects of life so he could write about them. one of his first novels was called desolation angels.
- Analyzes how jack kerouac wrote his novels strictly from notes he had taken while being a fire lookout at desolation peak.
- Analyzes how jack discovers what real music is about and how beat writers reflected upon it as music that fit in with their aspect of life.
- Analyzes how jack learned from everyone he met that life was about doing drugs, having sex whenever you wanted, and not impressing anyone at the same time.
- Analyzes how jack's book left a scare on american society because they despised the beat writers because there work is aggressive and offensive.
- Analyzes how jack kerouac grew up with a simple life until he lost one of his brothers through an accident, which brought him down and made him feel helpless, thus began his alcohol addiction.
- Describes william burroughs as the oldest beat writer of the generation. he experienced the wars before and after, so his knowledge of writing and society became more developed.
- Analyzes how allen ginsberg's poem "howl" helped the beat generation take off by reassuring the american society that they were not the ones that destroyed the minds of the generation.
- Analyzes how the beat generation faded out around the 1970's just before ronald reagan became in charge of office. it was a postwar rebellion that will now be seen as tragic error but to others the best thing that ever happened to the american society.
- Opines that the beats were despised by many because they chose a different path to express who they were by speaking what was on their minds and not holding back. they wanted to make an influence in this world by inspiring others with their mission and writings that proved to inspire and frighten others throughout the 20th century.
- Analyzes how jack kerouac, william burroughs, allen ginsberg and all the other beat writers lived a great life. they experienced hard addicting drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, and music throughout their lives.
- Opines that even though some of these men died tragic deaths, they were able to create and inspire many people by their preforming arts.
- Explains charters, ann, and samuel. brother-souls: john clellon holmes, jack kerouac and the beat generation.
- Explains morgan, bill, the beat generation in san francisco: a literary tour.
- States that raskin jonah, american scream: allen ginsberg’s howl and the making of the beat generation berkeley, ca: university of california press, 2004.
- Reviews whaley preston's blows like a horn: beat writing, jazz, style, and markets in the transformation of u.s. culture.
2378 wordsRead More - Allen Ginsberg: Founding Fathers Of The Beat Generationexplanatory essayA rejection of normal social values, exploration of religions, rejection of materialism, explicit portrayals of humanity, experimentation with psychedelic drugs, and sexual liberation; this is none other than the beat generation. The beat generation was a literary movement started by a group of authors, including Allen Ginsberg, whose work influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War II era. This unusual movement was started by Allen Ginsberg and his friends William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac who he met while studying at Columbia university. These three were essential figures in the Beat Movement. Allen Ginsberg was one of the founding fathers of the Beat Generation, through this time he was a writer who advocated gay rights, anti-war movements, protested the Vietnam War and promoted "Flower Power", he ultimately helped shape this distinct generation and became recognized as one of America's premier writers and icons.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the beat generation was a literary movement started by allen ginsberg and his friends william burroughs and jack kerouac who he met while studying at columbia university.
- Explains that allen ginsberg grew up in newark, new jersey, raised by his father and unstable mother alongside his older brother eugene. his mother, naomi, immigrated from russia and was an active member of the communist party.
- Narrates how ginsberg fell in with the wrong crowd at columbia university, including fellow students lucien carr and jack kerouac, and friends outside of school, william s. burroughs and neal cassady.
- Describes how ginsberg created a turning point for society by writing his first poem, "howl," in 1956.
- Explains that allen ginsberg and his friends were the founding fathers of the beat generation. they advocated gay rights, anti-war movements, protested the vietnam war, and promoted "flower power."
758 wordsRead More - Beats as a countercultureanalytical essayThe Beats As A Counterculture Many of the Beat writers wrote in a style known as spontaneous prose. Allen Ginsberg often writes in this style. He does so in the poem “Howl” in which he rants and raves about society via his friends – Jack Kerouac, Willaim S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlingetti, and Neil Cassidy to name a few, live. He discusses their poverty, civil disobedience, the ways that they fight society, and his personal fight against industrialization; he uses many images in order to allow the reader to understand his lifestyle, the lifestyle of his friends and points of view, specifically their rejection of society. Ginsberg depicts the deprived environment in which he chooses to live in through imagery.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how allen ginsberg writes in a style known as spontaneous prose. he rants and raves about society via his friends, jack kerouac, willaim s. burroughs, lawrence ferlingetti, and neil cassidy.
- Analyzes how ginsberg depicts the deprived environment in which he chooses to live in through imagery.
- Analyzes how the beats were connected to the reality of poverty. they chose this poverty stricken lifestyle to further reject society.
- Analyzes how the beats were strong willed and opinionated and were not afraid to get arrested for a cause.
- Analyzes how the beats threw their watches off the roof to cast their ballot for eternity outside of time, and alarm clocks fell on their heads every day for the next decade. the ultimate act of anti-society is suicide.
- Analyzes ginsberg's anti-industrialization views in section ii of "howl." "moloch" is used as a word that symbolizes industrialization.
- Analyzes how ginsberg reinforces the second section with the first and third sections by showing the reader that he is anti-society.
- Analyzes how allen ginsberg complains about his life and society. he explains his points using amazing imagery that allows the reader to see exactly what he/she is writing about.
1057 wordsRead More - Lawrence Ferlinghetti's The Pennycandystoreanalytical essayIn the late 1940s, Beat poetry began in New York City and migrated west to San Francisco where by the late 1950s, they established and left a legacy. The poets were ignited from a movement against social conformity. They questioned mainstream politics, material society, and censorship or restrained literary traditions. Like many typical young persons, they rebelled against expectations in reach for “higher consciousness” through psychedelic drug use, alcohol consumption, sexual discovery, and spiritual exploration. With their lawlessness, addictions, discontent, and egos, these bohemian artists lived a life of spontaneity and creativity, but not without casualties. Gary Snyder commented on the subject of "casualties" of the Beat Generation:
In this essay, the author
- Narrates lawrence ferlinghetti's poem, the pennycandystore, about a penny candy store in new york and the love he found in jellybeans, licorice sticks, and tootsie rolls.
- Analyzes how ferlinghetti's artwork is an analogue to beat literature, which is a form of improvisation and expressive means. the feminist movement pushed the romantic admiration of women off its platform.
- Describes how they learned to appreciate the beat movement as a depiction of overall freedom, in life and in language.
- Explains how the beat poets were ignited from a movement against social conformity. they rebelled against expectations through psychedelic drug use, alcohol consumption, sexual discovery, and spiritual exploration.
1311 wordsRead More - Essay On The Beatnik Riotanalytical essayIn 1961, previous to the outbreak of Occupy Wall Streets of 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.
In this essay, the author
- Describes how the beatnik riot involved young traditional americans fighting for the social, racial, and cultural segregations brought on by the years of war.
- Analyzes how the beatnik riot catalyzed a new modernized america in greenwich village, new york.
- Explains that beatniks were not in the favorable hand of the american people. they rejected mainstream values and lived a spontaneous, free-wheeling life.
- Explains that the beatnik riot's culture was "cool". folklore expressed the traditional, nonconformist lifestyle, psychedelic drugs and anarchism.
- Describes how the beatnik riot was organized to protest the issuing of permits for musicians to play at washington square park.
- Explains that izzy young was the organizer of the riot and the supervisor of folklore center.
- Explains that the beatnik riot of 1961 characterized the young americans of the united states that were fighting for their rights.
815 wordsRead More - Essay On Countercultureopinion essayI decided to track back to the roots of counter culturist movements. I discovered that after World War II, the nation’s economy boomed and fear began to grow over the growing nuclear arms race. Concern about the future led many young people to become more active in social causes, from the civil rights movement to President Kennedys Peace Corps. This generation was known as the beat movement, it defined an ideology for disaffected, rebellious youth of that decade. Due to the economic boom, many people could afford to go to college and enrollment rose from 3.1 million to almost 5 million. Protest began to rage across the country. The beat movement led to many new youth culture movement in the coming years, such as hippie culture. The hippies represented a rebellion against mass culture in the U.S. They rejected traditional values an...
In this essay, the author
- Explains the definition of a hipster and the appeal of counterculture.
- Tracks back to the roots of counter culturist movements, which defined an ideology for disaffected, rebellious youth of that decade. hippie culture represents a rebellion against mass culture in the us.
- Opines that transcendentalists prevailed in their counter culturist beliefs. they strongly believed in individualism and unification of nature.
- Analyzes how the counter-culturist music of jimi hendrix was taken in by mainstream culture and enjoyed by most.
- Opines that counter-culturist movements have many variables. hippies, beats, and hipsters wanted to cause some sort of change or refine society, while non-conformists looked towards transcendentalism to individualize themselves.
899 wordsRead More - Lifestyles During the Beat Generationanalytical essayDuring the “Beat Generation” there were three types of members: the wild boys, the hipsters, and the young politicians. They all have their different personalities and actions they use. The wild boys “drink to `come down’ or to `get high,’ not to illustrate anything.”(2) This shows a change in how they drank. They drank for themselves and to calm their feelings and feel better about them, not to show off to anyone. The wild boys’ characteristics make them `beat’ because are living life to the fullest, without any regret of tomorrow. They drink till they can’t drink no more or party till they can’t stand. This causes them to not worry about what will happen or how they are going to live tomorrow; they only care about the present. The hipsters they want to make “a mystique of bop, drugs and the night life, there is no desire to shatter the `square’ society in which he lives, only to elude it.”(3) The hipsters don’t care for society or care what it tells them to do. They go about their ways and do what they want. They don’t want to change the rules or the laws but only to make sure they don’t get swept up in ideas or thoughts that society gives them. The hipsters’ characteristics are `beat’ because they go against what is told to be the proper or correct way. They may get beat down in the beginning and face hard times, but later on they will find new ways of doing things and those will be the new way society sees things. The young politician looks up to “Badditt as a cultural hero.”(3) He goes along with what society has showed him to do. The characteristics of the politician make him beat because he doesn’t do anything for his own; he does what is right to do, and what will get him far in life. When society catches up to him he wil...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that during the "beat generation" there were three types of members: the wild boys, the hipsters, and the young politicians.
- Explains that world war ii had the greatest impact on the "beat generation" because it caused their daily lives to change through fear.
- Explains that the beat generation was a generation of no worries and stableness because they had gone through the toughest time of their life.
- Analyzes how holmes' "how to live is a lot more important than why" was influenced by world war ii and the constant wars.
1040 wordsRead More - THE JOURNEY TO THE BEATanalytical essayHeidi Dietz, born November 10th 1974 to parents Debbie and Jim Dietz in Chattanooga, TN; grew up in Boynton GA; a small town outside of Chattanooga; now 39 years later; a student and single mother of a 15 year old, cherishes God, family and friends. Wow, the story sounds simply generic when I put it down in words, but simple and generic are far from the truth. Yes, I am Heidi Dietz but the story is much deeper and multi-faceted than what is seen on the surface. Heidi Dietz; a woman, scarred by the past but peaceful in the present, a woman, strong enough to be weak to find her joy, a woman excited about the journey to the future.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how heidi dietz, a student and single mother, cherishes god, family and friends. the story is deeper and multi-faceted than what is seen on the surface.
- Describes how they experienced feelings of being dumb, ugly, uselessness, angry, and fearful as a 7-year-old who was destroyed emotionally by tainted and toxic mortar and clay.
- Narrates how they were shackled to a sinister life sentence as they moped through their teen years and into their early twenties. their determination, focus, and independence helped them avoid being on welfare and turning to the charity of others.
- Describes how they padded and protected themselves from the afflictions of their past. they prayed hard, did hours of research and gained support from family, friends, and doctors.
- Describes how losing the pounds was like unlocking door after door of a long musty dark hall way to the core of their spirit.
- Describes how they had expressed their life's struggles to a good friend who recognized the misery in their eyes and introduced them to an empowering circle of women that offered the support and understanding that they never had received before.
- Describes heidi dietz as a perfectly imperfect woman, pardoned from the life sentence of dismay and warfare that was within.
1088 wordsRead More