My ideas on the beat generation are still garbled, and not worthy of publication yet. Thankfully the submission date got postponed. I’m still unsure of what message the beats were trying to send. The counter culture vibe is the only clear thing that emerges, but the manner and message varies greatly between people. The reading I have done from the beats involves amusing tales of travels, drugs and sexual exploration. There is also an interest (in some authors) in the transcendental and spiritual. Particularly with dharma. The most interesting thing I have come across to write about on the Beats is that Kerouac’s interpretation of Dharma was fundamentally skewed. This statement threatens to undermine the basis of his novel the dharma bums. This is the only emergent point that I believe that I could get a paper going on, with a serious discussion of the sub culture and the rhetorical implications that the beats had. If this statement on Kerouac turns out to be correct, I think a full appraisal of the Beat’s message to the larger American culture is possible.

So far I have only written a basic outline for my research informed paper. This is largely because I intend to write about the rhetorical aspects of the Beat movement. I do not think it would suffice to categorize them as simply counter culture. They had their own style. Certainly writings like Howl and On the Road were meant to be read and interpreted. I believe their lifestyles were also rhetorical devices. They seemed to have lived largely in a deliberate attempt to upset establishment people, to make them reflect on their own lives. In this sense they are like Socrates. They encourage people to evaluate themselves and whether their happiness is a result of self-deception. People like this are never popular. I think it will be key to incorporate sources that are critical of the Beats and of counter-culture. I feel like that could be easier said than done. Either way I will have to attempt to join a scholarly conversation that (due to their age) will mostly concern their legacy. Somebody that can also tie into this is Foucalt. Though less artistic, he certainly had several things in common with the Beats concerning opinions on the establishment. I think this could be a good opportunity to tie in my theory that he was able to perceive the Panopticon due to the paranoia he was forced to live with as a gay man. Maybe not though. Either way I am in desperate need of critical sources as opposed to purely analytical or admiring sources. Also getting past the outline phase will help.