Reading On the Road as a Counter-Culture Novel

Abstract

The concept of counterculture prevailed in American society's mainstream vision after the Second World War to replace the quest for achieving the American dream. Although America had many economic advantages after the Second World War, nevertheless, the war created huge chaos that made the American individual reevaluate the concept of individual freedom. But soon, protesting voices started to surface, starting with the renowned poem "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg (1927–1996), which was first performed in 1955, and in 1957, Jack Kerouac released his semi-autobiographical book On the Road. The novel shows the character's diverse lifestyle, which combined drugs, sex, free love, freedom-loving, and Zen Buddhism, revolutionized culture and came as a counterculture to the economic boom of the time.

        The study will work on counterculture in On the Road by Jack Kerouac to highlight this revolutionized concept in many occurrences throughout the novel, reflecting the perceptions of a group of anti-culture young people whose aim is to protest using unconventional methods. The paper is divided into three sections: section one introduces the study with the concept of counterculture, its appearance, and its impacts on American society. Section two highlights the Beat Generation movement and their perspectives. Finally, section three provides a counterculture reading of the novel On the Road through the young group's unconventional lifestyle. A conclusion and a list of works cited will be provided at the end.