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He Honored Death, Too: The Subterranean Life Of Jack Kerouac, Christopher Wayne

History Theses

Regarded as the founder of the Beat Generation, Jack Kerouac is upheld as a symbol of post-war freedom and opportunity in America, a precursor of the cultural shift of the 1960s. This paper is an exploration of the lesser known traits of Kerouac: qualities that are in conflict with the persona that is most closely associated with the author. The thesis begins with an examination of Kerouac’s childhood in Lowell, Massachusetts, and his exposure to those traits he adopted in adulthood, and chronicles events in his life that display his subversive character. The main argument of the thesis is that …