Within every individual lies an internal struggle between conformity and individuality, the conflicting desires of being a part of something and to be unique. When people choose to yield to society’s expectations, they are considered “brainless sheep” or “just a follower” by society’s outcasts, and those who deviate from the norm are “freaks” and “hippies” in the eyes of society. During the 1950’s, post-war America finally found order and stability after the chaos of an economic crash and World War II, which lead to the inevitable struggle between comfort of simply being a part of a whole or the uncertainty of being one’s own person.
Everything, from living area and even attire, was affected by this battle between the individual and the collective. Even literature, which is meant to shape minds and develop individual thinking, was expected to fit a certain mold, never truly allowed to test the limits of controversy. Those who deviated from what society expected of them felt oppressed by the conservative society that dominated in 1950s America and expressed their views on the matter in many ways, especially in books or poetry. This lead to the rise of the Beat Generation, which is a literary and social movement that occured in the 1950s.
As previously mentioned, the Beat Generation was a movement in the 1950s that resulted from the struggles of liberal thinkers living in a conservative society. After World War II, America (U.S.) had a period of economic prosperity; “the gross national product more than doubled,… unemployment [rates] and inflation were low,” and the G.I. Bill allowed returning soldiers to buy homes at a cheaper rate. This encouraged people to start families at a young age, something that was confining for women, as they were expected to dedicate their lives to being housewives.
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In addition, the U.S. policy of containment, meant to prevent the perceived threat of communism, create tension in America, manifesting itself in the “Red Scare.” The fear that communist can ruin the U.S. “from the inside” lead to “Congress [holding] 84 hearings designed to put an end to ‘un-American activities.’” To many, these actions, as well as the growing Civil Rights Movement, made people start to question if blending in is the best thing to do. It wasn’t enough to simply deviate from society’s expectations; people had to express their individuality.
The Beat Generation grew and flourished in a time when society was focused on what is conventional. Literary works from this movement tend to challenge the long-held beliefs that most Americans had during the 1950s. The “[advocation of] personal release, purification, and illumination through… heightened sensory awareness [often through drugs]” were themes that the Beat movement would generally explore. People from this movement felt that literature was “overpolished” and structure, which lead people to created poetry and books that went against this structure and order.
Some of the major contributors to this movement were Allen Ginsburg, Jack Kerouac, and William S. Burroughs. Allen Ginsburg, was heavily influence by his mother’s mental instability and placed politics a a reoccuring theme in his works, with “Howl” being his most famous work. It was a poem that landed him in legal troubles for being “obscene,” with charges later dropped. This ultimately brought the Beat Generation in the public attention. Jack Kerouac would write in a unstructure manner, a style that many have attempted to imitate without much success. One of his most famous works would be On the Road, which, unsuprising, was met with mixed feelings. Unlike many Beat writers of his time, William Burroughs saw addiction as something that was detrimental when it comes to writing. In spite of that, his experiences as an addicts, as well as his homosexuality, were his muses when it came to his works, especially his most famous work, Naked Lunch.
To reiterate, the Beat Generation was a counterculture that arose from the conservative society of 1950s America. The desire to express individuality and deviate from traditional values is what fueled the movement until it ultimately died out in the mid-60s. The works were influence by many things but the advocation of drugs, aspects of Zen Buddhism and self-expression were ultimately the driving force behind the works of literature that were produced at the time. Ginsburg, Kerouac, and Burroughs were three iconic figures in this movement and helped shape the movement, as well as bringing it into the spotlight. Though the movement died out, the works produced during the movement are still thought-provoking and relateable to many. This movement, though it is not often mentioned, especially at school, brought to attention many themes that people can potentially learn from. It would not be recommended to do what the authors or the characters in the novels or poems did but it would still be a good idea to read and expand one’s perspective.
