Jack Kerouacs on the Road - a Biography Essay Example for Free

Jack Kerouacs on the Road a Biography Essay On the Road was published in 1957 by Viking Press. Apart from criticism by traditional conservatives, Jack Kerouac’s novel gained huge popularity with a younger generation of rebels (point to Sam’s pencilcase). Commonly viewed as an autobiography combined with a biography of Neal Cassady, it is considered a testament to the Beat legend. Fascinated by the myth of the King of the Beatniks, I examined the authenticity of On the Road and found several issues: the method in which it was written, spontaneous prose; lack of primary sources; and the author’s intention. Jean Louis Lebris de Kerouac was born on the 12 March 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts. He gained a football scholarship to Columbia University in New York, where he met Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, who together form the three literary musketeers of the Beat Generation. The Beat Gen were a stalwart literary movement active during the 50s, whose iconoclastic texts dissented formalist constriction of expression, experimentation and individualism, and viewed post-war prosperity, and materialism as antithetical to social equality. Their works pushed the boundaries of censorship, including underground elements sinister to the establishment such as homosexuality, drugs, bop jazz, impulsive desire, preference for marginalised cultures, like Buddhist and Native American, and unconformity to the typically American dream of white picket fence within which your three cherub children can safely frolic. The traditional conservatives called it unrefined and anti-intellectual, and politicians labelled aspects of the Beat Gen psyche as Communist. The popularity and resonance Beat Gen lit had with the youth rebellion generation made it a prominently influential movement in American literature. The Beat Gen members, being life long friends, shared these views and were inspired by figures of the counterculture, in the case of On the Road, Neal Cassady, who was the Beat beliefs personified, â€Å"the holy con-man with the shining mind† (p11). On the Road is about Sal Paradise, an amateur writer struggling with inspiration when he is introduced to Dean Moriarty, a walking legend, the epitome of a Beat man. The novel marks distinct stages of Sal’s growth and development, and his relationship with Dean as he â€Å"shambled after as I’ve been doing † Narrated by Sal, he meets and travels with other characters, bumming and hitchhiking across America. Kerouac developed spontaneous prose, inspired by improvisation in jazz and passionate excitement, its highly confessional, immediate, producing a raw, liberal and intense stream of consciousness, establishing spiritual and personal connections with the narrator. This convinces the reader of a high degree of honesty and vulnerability, and authenticity. Also, there’s an infamous story that adds to the legend of Kerouac and On the Road: the manuscript was typed in 2 weeks fuelled by coffee and Benzedrine, on a seriously lengthy scroll, of teletype paper taped together so that changing the roll wouldn’t disrupt his writing. Tim Hunt wrote in Kerouac’s Crooked Road that Kerouac â€Å"hoped that drafting Although it’s important that there is a high connection between the writer and the reader, it’s also important to note that this sort of spontaneity compromises the detail and accuracy of Sal’s accounts, which brings into questions the subtleties and chronology of small-scale action. Also, his emotional investment makes his narration highly opinionated and being so influenced by Cassady as to travel across the country, Kerouac’s opinions transferred into Sal the persona are influenced heavily by De an. The authenticity and honesty that spontaneous prose conceptualises is undermined by the deliberation and large revision of the manuscript. The published edition was the fourth, and he had been working on On the Road for 2 and a half years, within which he was experimenting with his writing style. He loathed and complained when his editor, who he called a â€Å"crass idiot†, forced several revisions of contextually pornographic sections. In Essentials of spontaneous Prose, released in 1958, he claims that the conscious critical mind might censor richness of imagination. And I think richness of imagination is a euphemism for â€Å"high†, considering the evidence, fictional and factual, of drugs like Benzedrine and weed that reduce clarity of mind, but stimulate the inventive senses. The high levels of intimacy of the actions, events, dialogue and lives of the characters and their real life counterparts means that we cannot satisfactorily negate or authenticate a large amo unt of content, considering the verbose and opportunistic nature of the characters, in particular Dean, and the introverted thoughtfulness of Kerouac. For instance, after his time with Remi Bonceour, an old friend of Sal’s, he sees â€Å"the cutest little Mexican girl in slacks† and he says: â€Å"I wished I was on her bus. A pain stabbed my heart, as it did every time I saw a girl I loved who was going the opposite direction in this too-big world. † Then lo and behold, he gets on his bus to LA and there she is sitting alone, he befriends/propositions/seduces in the proper gentlemanly way of the 50s as you would a â€Å"strange girl†, offering her his jacket for a pillow. Terry and Sal spend fifteen days together, Sal experiencing the Mexican labourer’s life, and at the end, he leaves with an empty promise of New York together. The truthfulness of this encounter is intimate to Kerouac and the girl that is dubbed Terry if she even exists. On the bus from St Louis to Pittsburgh, days after his parting with Terry, he â€Å"made the acquaintance of a girl and we necked all the way to Indianapolis. She was nearsighted. † He had just described his parting with Terry with â€Å"love is a duel, and looked at each other for the last time. Still, we have dates that correlate with the chronology of On the Road, but this doesn’t really authenticate the text, because the majority of it is thoughts, words, actions, affairs of people and these are not things that would have been recorded by the public or the media or any historically interested people. The limit on primary sources thanks to the Kerouac estate closing most of his original manuscripts and letters, means that even his biographies are dependent on very little, written post-mortem and supplemented by his friends who were close to his work, like John Clellon Holmes and Allen Ginsberg. Still, other publications that overlap time periods with On the Road include Vanity of Duluoz and Visions of Cody. Visions of Cody was intended as a sequel and replacement of On the Road, and the obscure structure and style seeming dependent on pure recollection, contrasts with the narrative style of On the Road. Kerouac struggled with the rejection of his first novel, The Town and the City, so in order to appeal to more people and find success, On the Road’s surprisingly conventional narrative structure furthers it away from biography and autobiography. The separation of four different trips emphasises the stages of plot development. It has a protagonist, Dean, who solicits the narrator, Sal, throughout their time together on the road. In fact every part begins revolving around Dean. So it’s understandable to think of On the Road as a biography of Neal Cassady, however, it’s highly biased, considering the obvious love, admiration and dedication Dean’s disciple shows, which then means that the biography would undoubtedly contain bias, hyperbole, neglect, forgiveness, and judgement. There are also motifs and allusions to great American stories – influenced by writers such as Melville, Hemingway, Saroyan and Twain, he makes reference to their work: â€Å"here came a melancholy Armenian youth along the red box-cars, and just at that moment a locomotive howled, and I said to myself, Yes, yes, Saroyan’s town† (p78). He had even planned to write in a black man to draw stronger connections to Huckleberry Finn, but decided against it. This is evidence of thematic concern, deliberation and careful consideration, which further undermines the whole spontaneous prose thing. It might be because I’m an avid fan of Kerouac, I just think he’s beautiful and beautifully written, but I think that the mysteriousness of the veracity of On the Road contributes to the aura that has accumulated throughout its time, and doesn’t degrade it as a milestone in literature and America. I think the authenticity of On the Road shouldn’t be brought to light in the first place because it wasn’t meant to be a biography of anyone, and it should just be read to marvel at the wondrousness of words and their meanings, just like any literature, and I really recommend you read it Sam because it’s totally cliche but it changed my life.

Personal Response to Marge Piercys A Work of Artifice :: Work of Artifice Essays

Personal Response to Marge Piercy's A Work of Artifice My initial response to "A Work of Artifice" by Marge Piercy, was one of profound sadness. In defining myself as the actual reader of this poem, my background becomes significant in my emotional response. "It is this reader who comes to the text shaped by cultural and personal norms and prejudices." (Bressler, p. 72) I come from a family of poets and published writers and have been reading and composing poetry since the age of 4. My first poem was published in the local newspaper, in which I won first prize, at age 5. I have experienced all kinds of texts, as well as many different forms of art. Being exposed to art and literature at such a young age has given me a wide variety of experiences and a huge cultural repertoire. I have even been to Pablo Picasso's home studio in France a number of years ago. What strikes the familiar chord in me through this poem, however, lies not in my cultural repertoire nor my literary background, but my own recent personal background. Having spent many years in an abusive relationship, I can identify with this poem on a very sensitive level. "It is your nature/ to be small and cozy,/ domestic and weak" (12-14). Throughout history, women have been subjected to prejudice and discrimination as the "weaker" sex, oft times becoming subservient to their husbands, bosses, etc. Men have been dominant for years, and in such, have squeezed the role of woman into the domestic realm, that which they believed to be "woman's work." Experiencing this first hand, although I did work two jobs to support a non-working husband and three children, I have felt a sense of weakness and being oppressed or kept down, kept small, which is the essence of this poem. The idea here represents the cultural norm (although this has changed in our culture today) of keeping women from speaking their mind by relegating them to purely domestic chores of little importance. I found no key gaps within this poem on a personal level, although I can define some that would occur should a reader not be familiar with the concept of bonsai trees. My father has grown bonsai trees for many many years, thus the concept of pruning back and stunting the growth of such trees has been in my cultural and personal repertoire since childhood.

Coach Carter Assignment

Coach Carter Management Assignment In the movie, Coach Carter, it is seen that the coaching style of Carter differs from most. In order to be eligible to play for the Richmond basketball team, the players must follow a strict regime outlined in a contract that they are to sign. Some of the rules are that each team member must maintain a 2. 3 GPA, be seated in front of all their classes, and wear a shirt and tie. As it is obvious, most coaches do not have such set of rules. Most coaches only require that the players show up for practice and that’s it.Looking closely at his method of coaching, there are both positive and negative aspects that surround it. Firstly, his rule of ‘all students must be seated in front of the class’ is perceived as a positive aspect. In the movie, it was said that Richmond had a very low success rate. Only 50% of students graduate from Richmond, and the majority of those were girls. This shows that the other half either stay back, or donà ¢â‚¬â„¢t pursue a higher education. With this rule enforced among the players, this will enable them to focus more in class as they will be closer to the teacher allowing them to understand what is going on in class.This will ultimately benefit them as they will be able to graduate and not be part of the 50% who stay back. Carter also required that the players maintain an average of 2. 3. This can be seen as both a positive and negative aspect. Carter made this rule because this is the average required for students to be admitted to college/university. In Carter’s eyes, these players are talented basketball players and if they are able to maintain that average, they will get certainly get into a college where they are offered a basketball scholarship. This shows the advantageous aspect of this rule.However, the negative aspect is that there are those who joined just to simply play basketball. As such, they will not like these rules. In the movie, it is seen that Richmond is a very violent area filled with gangs. If the players are not allowed to play basketball because they do not follow these sets of rules, they will not have a hobby and may potentially be involved in gangs. This is seen in the movie where the parents complained to Carter, stating that the only reason their son isn’t involved in gangs is that because they have a hobby such as basketball.One of the management theories seen by Coach Carter is the ‘Administrative Principles’ by Henri Fayol. This is seen through his applications of division of labour, discipline, and unity of direction. Division of Labour is seen where he decides who is the point guard for the team, and who should be the person who takes the three pointers. For example, Carter made Timo Cruz the person in charge of taking three point shots because that was his specialty. This coincides with one of the principles from the theory of ‘Scientific Management’ which says that managers should care fully select workers with the right abilities for the jobs.Discipline was evident during the court scene where a trial was held in regards to Carter cancelling Richmond’s basketball games because the players did not meet his expectations, i. e. GPA is lower than 2. 3. Carter said that if the students are unable to follow a simple contract that they agreed to, how would this make them be responsible people in the real word? As such, his use of making all members sticking to the agreements they signed taught them discipline. The principle of ‘Unity of direction’ was evident in the final basketball game.Carter would tell the team a certain plan, and all the players did what they had to do to execute the plan. A principle of ‘Bureaucratic Organization’, by Max Weber, was seen as well by Carter. Carter followed the principle of impersonality. The principle of impersonality states that the rules and procedures practiced should be the same for all. For exam ple, when a member is late for practice, they are to do pushups and suicides etc. When his own son came late, he made his son do the same and did not excuse him just because of their father-son relationship. This shows that Carter is equitable towards all.In my opinion, Carter is a good manager because not only did he make Richmond one of the most successful basketball team but does things that benefits the students on the team as well. Firstly, is because of the expectations that he sets out for each student. In order to continue playing for the school basketball team, they must sign a contract promising to achieve basic academic standards. This makes him a good manager because not only does he want the team to win their basketball games, but he cares for each and every individual member by making sure that they have the marks required for further education.Secondly, is that he is not afraid to take action. Sometimes, when things go wrong in a team, the manager/coach just let it sl ide because he/her is afraid of ruining the relationship between them and the team. As seen in the movie, Carter announced a lockout for the Richmond basketball team when he notices that the some of the students did not meet the 2. 3 average. This means that they were not allowed to access the gym for practice, or participate in any games. The reason he did this is because again, he wants the students to put effort into school in hope of a better life portraying that he cares for students on the team.Lastly, is that he promotes a good sense of teamwork. This ties in with the last example about the lockout. There were people on the team who met the 2. 3 GPA but there were some who didn’t. Instead of just banning those who did not meet the standards, he banned the whole team from playing. He wanted every member to support one another and succeed as a whole. Overall, Carter is a great coach because not only did he turn Richmond into a successful basketball team, but cared for ea ch and every member by ensuring that they have the marks needed for higher education etc.If I was the coach, I would mainly use principles from Henri Fayol and ‘The Hawthorne Studies and Human Relations’. Division of Labour, unity of direction, and equity would be found in my style of coaching. I would divide the work up by ability. For example, in basketball, if I was the coach I would make a person who is small but have good shooting skills be responsible for taking three point shots. By telling them that this is their job, this person would not drive into the key and go for a layup because they are small and would possibly be blocked. This job would be saved for a bigger person.As such, if each member played their assigned role, there would be no weakness as they will not conflict with other’s jobs that are not their forte. The idea of unity of direction where the leader makes a single plan and all members execute that plan is in my opinion, very effective. Th is is because I, as the coach, would want what is best for the team. With this mentality, I would devise a plan that is most effective. If the coach doesn’t come up with a plan, someone on the team might have their own ambitions, and do their own thing such as taking tricky shots to impress the crowd.This might result in a loss. I also believe in equity where managers should be kind and fair. This is because if coaches are nice to their players, this would achieve more productivity. The ‘Hawthorne Studies and Human Relations’ showed that people’s feelings, attitudes and relationships with coworkers affect their work and that those who are nicer to their employees will allow them to accomplish more work. As such, if I were a coach, I would use a mix of Henri Fayol and ‘The Hawthorne Studies and Human Relations’ theory.

Argumentative Essay On Social Media - 1082 Words

Argumentative essay on social media Nowadays, we are living in the most advanced technology era as we have a lot of gadgets to communicate with each other. Just a few decades back, people had to wait for a week or two to receive a letter but now, we able to talk, char and make friends in a mere twinkling of an eye. Social media has become part and parcel of our everyday lives. The idea behind the social media is to enable us to hold better contact with friends, family and new people. There are many websites that manage social networking sites like MySpace, Twitter, Facebook and Orkut. Thousands of users use these sites every day. It is generally believed that social media networking sites improve today’s people social life because these sites are medium for people to improve their social skills, to entertain themselves and to find answer to their problems but at the same time these sites have made people isolated. It is generally believed that social networking sites improve today’s people social life by enhancing their social skills. Social networking sites are used by its users to make new friends and to explore other cultures. When people browse on any of these sites, they must create their profile and add their friends in their friend list. They do not only add the people they already know but also search people and make new friends from all across the world. Their excitement increase when they make new friends and chat with them. This thing compels them to explore theShow MoreRelatedArgumentative Essay On Social Media1240 Words   |  5 Pagesin today’s world is social media. People are getting addicted to and can’t live without social media such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. They use social media as of where they can post their status but also where they can receive a lot of different news. 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