Sample Essay Outlines
Topic # 1
Discuss the autobiographical elements of On The Road. How does Kerouac change the facts of his own life and turn them into fiction?
Outline
I.Thesis Statement: On The Road closely mirrors many events in the author’s own life.
II. Kerouac’s life in the 1940s
A. Kerouac in New York City
1. Attends Columbia
2. Friends in New York
3. Life with his mother in Queens
4. Merchant Marines and Navy life
B. Kerouac’s friends
1. Neal Cassady
2. Allen Ginsberg
3. William Burroughs
4. John Clellon Holmes
5. Carolyn Cassady
6. Herbert Huncke
C. Kerouac on the road
1. Hitchhiking experiences
2. Denver
3. California
4. Mexico
III. On The Road: Fact and Fiction
A. Adventures of Sal Paradise
1. Travels compared to Kerouac’s
2. Relationship with Dean
B. Characters in novel: Who are they and how do they differ from real
life?
1. Sal and Jack Kerouac
2. Dean and Neal Cassady
3. Carlo Marx and Allen Ginsberg
4. Old Bull Lee and William Burroughs
5. Camille and Carolyn Cassady
6. Tom Saybrook and John Clellon Holmes
7. Elmo Hassel and Herbert Huncke
IV. Kerouac’s “spontaneous prose”
A. Author’s stream of consciousness
B. Novel’s differences from standard autobiography and standard fiction
Topic #2
Discuss possible reasons behind Sal and Dean’s compulsive traveling. Are they merely wandering without purpose? What do they learn from their experiences?
Outline
I. Thesis Statement: Some critics have complained that Sal and Dean lead an aimless, self-indulgent existence. However, their many external travels eventually lead to self-reflective inner journeys.
II. The road experience
A. Hitchhiking, alone, as inner journey
1. Time for self-reflection
2. Hunger, cold, and self-deprivation
3. Individual resourcefulness
B. Awareness of new experience
1. Exploration of internal and external world
C. Sal and Dean on the road
1. Driving and travel discussions
2. Meeting new people
3. Adventures in cities
D. Experience in jazz clubs
1. Musicians and “It”
2. Rhythm and “It”
III. The Mexican jungle
A. All limits transcended; physical excess leading to inner
transformation
B. Sleeping on the road; becoming one with the environment
C. Biblical scenes in the jungle
D. Spirituality and religious themes
Topic # 3
Illustrate Kerouac’s use of 1950s slang and colloquial expressions. What influence does music have on the author’s writing style?
Outline
I. Thesis Statement: Kerouac’s writing style is heavily influenced by the “Beat” lingo of the 1950s and bebop and jazz rhythms.
II. Language and the Beat Generation
A. The Beat movement in the 1940’s and 1950s
1. Other Beat writers and works
2. Slang expressions
3. Lifestyle and philosophy of the Beat Generation
B. Examples and use of Beat slang in On The Road
III. Jazz and bop music
A. Discussion of jazz and bop: differences and critical opinions.
B. Roots of jazz: early musicians and jazz pioneers
C. Influence of jazz and bop on American music and culture
IV. Rhythms and writing
A. Jazz descriptions in On The Road
1. Club performances and musicians
2. Records
B. Kerouac’s use of rhythm
1. Sentence and paragraph structure
2. Unique jazz and bop words in novel
C. Establishment of mood and the purpose of Kerouac’s style
1. Reflection of times and culture
2. Expression of individual feelings
D. Mambo music and the brothel scene
1. Music and tribal experience
2. Common link with all people
3. Music and ecstasy
4. Music and inner awareness
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.