The Beat Generation

Paper Summary:

This paper explains how the Beat Generation came about, tells how this generation got its name, explains why and in what way it was a counterculture movement that challenged the mechanical existence of the majority and talks about how it effects American society even to this day.

From the Paper:

"According to modern mythology, it has been said that the birth of the Beat Generation can be traced back to the year 1944. World War II raged throughout Europe. This was the year of the D-Day landing, and this was the year that the United Nations first came to power, and this was the year that "Lady Chatterly's Lover" by D. H. Lawrence was found to be obscene in the United States, and this was the year in which New York City was flooded by European Surrealists gathering together with American artists and writers, influencing the thoughts and works and direction of the art movements nationwide. This was also the year that Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Herbert Hunckle met in New York City among the artists gathered there, and this meeting around Columbia University and Times Square would lead to the writing of one of the great Beat Generation novels."

More papers on The Beat Generation:

• Analytical Essay # 123816 : "Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation"
• Analytical Essay # 64028 : "Literature in the Beat Generation"
• Comparison Essay # 51030 : "The Beat Generation"

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