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U.S. Contemporary Fiction

* Simon SchomaThe American Future A History.

*www.history.comAmerica the story of U.S.

* The Fog of WarAn Errol Morris Film

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1945end of the World War II

- Nagasaki and Hiroshima- Bayo Pigs- NixonWatergate- Hippie MovementSumer of love 1967- 1969Moon / Woodstock- Youth Culture 50s- Martin Luther King. Malcom X Civil Rights- Rosa ParksMontgomery Bus Boycot started by Martin Luther King- Desegragation- Gay liberation Harvey Milk- Minorities Groups- Cold War between the U.S and URSS- Vietnam 1965- 1971- Korea War 1950-53- 1991end od URSS // satellite wars- Neil Young- 4 dead in Ohio Argo*- The Marshall Plan 1947- Warsow Pact- Roe V.S. Wade 1973- AIDS1982- 1995Oklahoma bombing- Joseph McCarthury 1950 Arthur Miller- * Angels in America * To the Water Front

http://www.history.com/http://www.history.com/http://www.history.com/http://www.history.com/

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ON THE ROAD

Context :

1950s Conformism. Materialismcelebration of patriotism capitalism. Suburbs. Levittownmodel of suburb. Same house, same car, people of the same social

class. * WEEDS INTRO (video example)

BEAT GENERATIONrebels against society using writing: Jack Kerouac, NealCassady, Allen Ginsberg, W.S Burroughs.

On the Roadis about things that happened in the 40s. Women are not really part of the Beat Generation except for Dianne DiPrimaMemories

of a Beati , Joyce Johnson & Elise Cowen & Hethie Cowen. Women wrote in the

shadow of men and they wrote about men. Carolyn CassadyOff the Road. Beatbeaten down (society keeps beating us down) or music beat (jazz bebop) or

beatific religious

Beatniks60ssputnikred Hippies70s // *Patti Smith-Just Kids Jack wrote On the Roadon a teletype roll. Main characteristics of the Beat Generation: - Alcohol & drugs - TravellingMyth

no longer studiedCars as symbol of welth and family use of cars as a way for not

stopping emotion. They use a car only for moving, driving and travelingVelocity &

speedExperiences & challenge: doing new things and taking them to the limit.Love

affairs / sexIrresponsible (jobs)MoneyRebelliousnessImprovising;spontaneous prose.

About the book :

Is a novel about the 40s. Kerouac became a sensation overnight and he was a littleoverwhelmed. He died at 48 (ish) and by the end of his life he was a completely

different person.

Roman clef escritura en clave. When you write about real events but you changethe real names of people: Carlo Marx, Dean Moriarty, Old Bull Lee, Sal Paradise.

Is about : traveling, male friendship, adventure, experience but most of all Cassady. Kerouac is obsessed with Neal Cassady and because of this obsession Neal becomes a

myth, a symbol.

WEST cowboysfreedom. Live the life you want. Horse = bike. MalboroManNo boss. At the point Kerouac writes the novel the WEST was a finished myth. They

went as west as they could. Dean becomes a dying myth.

They were looking for something and they knew that when they find it they would bevery happy, but they dont really know what they are looking for.

Music improvising bebop (scene in the book) metaphor for something you arelooking for but when you find it you may not even recognize it.

SleepIll sleep when Im dead

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Religiosity prophet he explains things to you. In the book Dean is a prophet in away.

Dean is talking all the time because he thinks he can get somewhere. Leaving momentat the end Experiences dont change Dean in any way. Consumption linked to happiness They are rebelling against consumption but they

fall into the same trap of never being satisfied.