Kerouac, Jack 1922–1969

An American beat novelist, Kerouac was a proponent of the spontaneous method of writing. He is best known for On the Road. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 5-8, rev. ed.; obituary, Vols. 25-28.)

Probably the foremost prophet of hipsterism is Jack Kerouac, and an item of its holy writ is his novel, On the Road, which was published in the fall of 1957 and received a large measure of critical attention. Such significance as it has surely is that of one pattern of revolt against the "square" world, which may be interpreted either as the world of conformity, or simply the world of rational and responsible living. In the lexicon of Mr. Kerouac,… the two are frequently blurred or fused together…. (p. 134)

On the Road is Kerouac's Hell. Dante once took us on a tour through Hell. The difference is, that Dante knew where he was—Kerouac doesn't. (p. 154)

Edmund...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass