Jack Kerouac

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad anglictina/sloveso-byt-to-be/" class="wiki-link" title="Viac o: to be">to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."

Jack Kerouac, "On The Road” Jack Kerouac, the most significant personality in the literary world of the 50’s, was born on March 12, 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts. As the author of the novel, On the Road, Kerouac became a leader and a spokesperson for the Beat Movement.

He was educated at Columbia University and the novel, On the Road - a semi-autobiographical masterpiece - exemplified the carefree, Beat lifestyle. The main character in this story hitchhikes across the country with his friend Dean Moriarty (inspired by fellow Beat adventurer, Neal Cassady) and enjoys casual friendships, love affairs and experiences. Many readers embraced the non-materialistic lifestyles of the protagonists.

He learned English as a second language: his parents were French-Canadian. He also spent some time in the Navy where he was then discharged due to possessing a schizoid personality. Soon after, he became a merchant seaman and then decided on the life of a vagabond, from which he obtained inspiration for his later novels.

His first book was published in 1950 and titled The Town and cantenbury-the-city/" class="wiki-link" title="Viac o: the city">the City. It is said that Kerouac struggled with conformity and rejected the then contemporary fictional standards.

Practically all of Kerouac's books are said to be autobiographical. That seems almost redundant since the writer's life obviously has some influence on his or her work. Kerouac, along with other notable writers and artists such as Ginsberg, Corso, Burroughs and Snyder led the lifestyles celebrated by his novels and were all writers of generation/" class="wiki-link" title="Viac o: the beat generation">the Beat Generation whose influence on literature/" class="wiki-link" title="Viac o: american literature">American Literature is of notable importance.

On the Road was written in less than three weeks and demonstrated a fresh style. It is considered for a bible of beatniks and whole Beat Generation. His new writing was spontaneous and seemed to be at times unedited and brought Kerouac well-deserved recognition. The book was an overnight sensation; detailing a semi-fictional exploration of the freedom and longing that is a core part of human nature.

The narrator, Sal Paradise, is on an epic quest, one that takes him back and forth across the country with Dean Moriarity who is based on the real-life person, and Kerouac friend, Neal Cassady. Dean, the reform school escapee who specializes in stealing cars, is Sal's mentor. Their automobile is their chariot, which keeps them in constant motion.

"On the Road" and Jack’s other novels have made a significant impact on American literature. His “spontaneous prose” told tales of the Beat generation, making him the talented and reluctant spokesman for the hip youth of the 1950s.

Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" is a wandering narrative told in a continuous block of text and is a relic of a literary phenomenon. The “On the Road” scroll was sold at an auction for $2.4 million and is currently on a four-year world tour of museums and libraries.