After the end of World War II, the United States fell into a state of conformity, the start of the Cold War brought about the Red Scare which sowed and ravaged American culture with obedience. As with any guideline or set of rules, there are those who will simply break them. Countercultures are formed by those who go against the mainstream and have values ​​that oppose the norms set by society. The Beat Generation is one of those countercultures that arose in the 1950s due to the conformism established at that time. The Beat Generation consisted of notable writers as well as literature representing their alternative lifestyle. Jack Kerouac was one of the notable writers of the Beat Generation. His book On the Road is a great example to show readers the non-conformist lifestyle of a Beat. In this novel, we follow narrator Sal Paradise, who repeatedly travels with his personal hero Dean Moriarty across the country on a carefree road trip. With a first reading of On the Road, one can see it as simply as the rambling of an adolescent fantasy. This book is extremely frantic, hard to follow, and spontaneous. However, by actively paying attention to the text, Kerouac uses his characters' actions throughout this novel to show readers that there are deeper meanings behind these ramblings. Looking more closely at On the Road by Jack Kerouac, we can realize to what extent the frenzy of "computer science", the road, jazz and the book itself are all ways of presenting the reader with the theme of self-discovery of the book. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Before the civil rights movement of the 1960s, black people in America faced an intense level of racism and segregation across the United States. This segregation caused African Americans to create their own subculture. Jazz music was an important type of music during the era in which On the Road is set. It was a genre of music widely played and enjoyed by African Americans. It's interesting because Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, who are both white men, love this music with a passion. When Sal and Dean attend a show at a jazz club named Birdland, Dean shows how much he loves the music and the musician who plays it. He declares: “Here he is! It's him! Old God! Old God mowing! Yes! Yes! Yes!" And Shearing was aware of the madman behind him, he could hear every one of Dean's gasps and curses" (page 128). Dean's fascination with jazz music is interesting because jazz is a type of music celebrated by Afro -Americans and the fact that Dean is white goes against the prejudices that white America had towards blacks Sal and Dean did everything possible to find places where bebop jazz was played, they interacted with the. African-American culture in a friendly way as if they were African-American themselves. In a sense, Sal and Dean were breaking down racial boundaries, but Kerouac also wanted to raise awareness that this was something that all the Beats appreciated. This era's presence of jazz music in Sal and Dean's lives was also linked to the non-conforming nature around which their culture revolved. The common belief of American society was that the two races should remain separate. Sal and Dean did not conform to the belief in segregation. While they often referred to black people as "Niggers", for example when Sal states: "A skinny black woman 3 feet tallninety was rolling his bones toward the man's bell, and he just threw it at him” (page 198). This was because words like Negro were politically correct at that time. The two Beatniks give jazz music and its artists this feeling of mysticism. Throughout the novel, jazz is only praised, not a single negative word is said about the genre. Dean often refers to jazz musician George Shearing as God, when he speaks of "God's empty chair"... God was gone; it was the silence of his departure” (Page 128). The mysticism that Dean applies to Jazz is comparable to the mysticism that Sal applies to Dean. Dean is fascinated and idolizes George Shearing. Dean calling Shearing God is a crucial example of how Dean mystifies Shearing. George Shearing is Dean's hero, just as Dean is Sal's hero. Both Sal and Dean are energized and captivated by the actions of their respective heroes. The type of jazz Sal and Dean are looking for is free-form and frenetic, much like the nature of the novel as well as the essence of the road Sal hitchhikes across. In a contextualization of the novel, we can see that the road is a path of self-discovery. When Sal arrives at the Les Moines Hotel at the beginning of the book, he is alone and says: "It was the only distinct moment in my life, the strangest moment of all, when I didn't know who I was - far from home, haunted and travel-weary, in a cheap hotel room I had never seen” (Page 15). reader that this is a story of growth The road symbolizes Sal's journey as an individual and at the end of the road he discovers who he really is as a person The constant and frenetic change of destination. reflects the jazz music that Sal finds himself constantly returning to Throughout the novel, Sal is constantly trying new things and with each experience he gains insight into who he is. Throughout the book, Sal finds himself. in situations where he finds himself alone, and the book emphasizes these moments For example, Eddie leaves Sal, after a long night in Denver, Sal stays alone, Slim also leaves him to sleep alone on a bench. The time Sal has for himself is time for deep personal recognition. In the book, Dean is busy finding "IT", Kerouac never explicitly tells the reader what "IT" is, but one can assume it has something to do with oneself. discovery. “Computer Science” is constantly evolving, different for each person and goes hand in hand with Sal's journey. Speaking to Sal, Dean says, “Now, man, that altoman last night had it “IT” – he held it once he found it; I've never seen a guy who could last that long. I wanted to know what “computer science” meant. 'Ah well' - Dean laughed” (Page 207). Dean lets Sal know that "IT" is this spontaneous, frenetic thing that varies from person to person. Even though the term “IT” varies from person to person, “IT” can also be different for a person throughout their life, “IT” is constantly evolving. Once a person finds “computing,” it doesn’t mean they will have it for the rest of their life. Dean also tells Sal that society as a whole has very little individuality. Society is constantly looking for something to worry about and it hasn't found its "IT." Deans points out: “They're worried, they're counting the miles, they're wondering where to sleep tonight, how much money for gas, the weather, how they'll get there - and how much time they'll have. there anyway, you see. But they need to worry and betray time with false emergencies and otherwise,.