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On the Road | Early Criticism, Cultural Impact, and Contemporary Relevance of On the Road and the Beat Literary Movement

In the following essay, this author discusses the early criticism, cultural impact, and contemporary relevance of On the Road and the Beat literary movement.

When it was published in 1957, On the Road fascinated America with its seemingly aimless outcasts seeking thrills across the continent. It is the autobiographical account of Jack Kerouac's life in the late 1940s. Kerouac was recognized as the father of the Beat Generation with the publication of his novel. The Beat literary movement actually started with a small group of bohemians living in New York City during the mid1940s. The group included Kerouac, poet Allen Ginsberg, and professional eccentric William Burroughs. The men were trying to define a "New Vision" in literature, and...

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