“垮掉的一代”文化在《在路上》中的体现(英文)

Abstract: This thesis attempts to discuss Beat Generation which appeared in the 1950s from the aspect of its literary representation by meticulously selecting On the Road, regarded as the Bible of Beat Generation, as the example. This thesis starts with the definition of Beat Generation, discussing birth, development and influence of Beat Generation, among which focus is put to the themes and characteristics of Beats writing. And then it respectively states out life, literary life and influence of Jack Kerouac, the author of On the Road, and content and main characters of On the Road. With Kerouac’s own experiences, the thesis analyses On the Road from the angle of the culture of Beat Generation so that we are able to understand On the Road and the culture of Beat Generation better.

Key words: Beat Generation; Culture; Jack Kerouac

摘  要：本文以“垮掉的一代”代表作《在路上》为例，探讨20世纪50年代出现的“垮掉的一代”。首先从“垮掉的一代”的定义入手，综合阐述“垮掉的一代”的形成、发展以及其影响，着重突出“垮掉的一代”作品的主题和特点，接着对《在路上》的作者——杰克•凯鲁亚克的生平、文学生涯及影响和《在路上》的内容及主要人物分别进行概述，然后结合杰克•凯鲁亚克的亲身经历，从“垮掉的一代”文化的角度对《在路上》进行分析，进一步理解《在路上》和“垮掉的一代”文化。

关键词：垮掉的一代；文化；杰克•凯鲁亚克

Introduction
The emergence of the Beat Generation in the late 1940s and early 1950s can be regarded as a furious reaction to American society after the World War Ⅱ. Under the particular mixed circumstances, the Beat Generation grew up as the vanguard of an anti-conventional movement. They despise the traditional materialism and the main lifestyle at that time, indulging themselves in alcohol, drugs, sex and jazz music. The spotlight of the Beat Generation is in literature. However, as a quite disputable literary group, the Beat Generation never gets a definition of status and contribution in American literary history. Even if mentioned, it always goes hand in hand with decadence and degeneracy. And in China, the group was seldom mentioned before 1980s. Even today, it is still in argument and its representatives are the focus, and among all the Beats, Jack Kerouac, the spokesman of the Beat Generation, is outstanding. So, this thesis will take an analysis of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, which is the masterpiece of Jack Kerouac and is glorified as the Bible of the Beat Generation, trying to interpret the visions and lifestyles of the Beat Generation from the book.
On the Road, a picaresque novel, is a story of many journeys, back and forth across America, filled with romantic and darkly humorous adventures. The great literary creation vividly reveals the visions and lifestyles of the Beat Generation. Based on the personal experiences of the writer and his friends, Jack Kerouac created two types of Beats in novel: one was called “the crazy”, those who abandoned themselves to vice and could never be saved. Not until they completely self-destroyed, were they indulged in joys in present massive world; the other was called “the calm”, those who attempted to seek comfort in the oriental Buddhist and its relative philosophy in order to replace occident materialism with believes that human love each other and they are able to improve themselves with the power in spirit. Dean, one of the main characters in the novel, lies between such two types. He once missed, degenerated, but never lost himself. At the end of the novel, he is very likely to follow the road that is full of labors, since he lives on his own work and follows around begin to despise the present society. Through the novel, Kerouac also expresses his own dissatisfaction with the society in real life, which is the essence of Beat Generation.

1  About Beat Generation
In piles of chapters of British and American literature, those in the 1950s and 1960s just occupy only one page. However, just in this page which people are apt to neglect, “Beat writers” wrote important chapters. But their masterpieces are unknown to most of people because of some special limitations, such as extreme approaches in writing method, disorder in structure and so on. And as a quite disputable literary group, the Beat Generation never gets a definition of status and contribution in literary history. They are also disapproved by the mainstream critics. In spite of all negative aspects, they, together with their works, are widely acknowledged to profoundly influence the western history and culture, particularly those of America.转贴于 酷文网-论文下载中心 http://www.coolwen.net