Jack Kerouac and the BeatJack Kerouac, was born on March 12, 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts, as the youngest of three children. Jack decided to become a writer after his brother Gerard died at the age of nine. From the life-and-death experience of his brother's death and the Catholic faith of his childhood, he developed in his character a spiritual bent that would last throughout his life. The fact that Kerouac was a spiritual "seeker" may be the most vital aspect of his life. In post-World War II America, Eisenhower, Jack Kerouac came from a poor, rustic industrial community to forever change the face of American culture. It chronicled the wild and rebellious culture of the "Beats" of the late 1950s and early 1960s, paving the way for a more tolerant American society and the tolerance of alternative lifestyles enjoyed today. As a Roman Catholic raised in Calvinist New England, Jack took a double dose of guilt and sensitivity to sin. In his book Dr. Sax his first "attack of sexual desire, masturbation, is interrupted - in a virtual parody of crime and punishment - by the news that his dog had been hit by a car". Jack probably could have handled this "double dose" tripled since his brother's death. Jack abandoned Catholicism early, but carried within him the "sad peasant mystery of the Catholics of Quebec" (59 Kerouac). The Catholic association of Kerouac's thought is as clear as the idea of ​​his total incompatibility with Catholicism, but it is sometimes mistaken for it" the idea that those who suffer oppression are saints"(17, Victor-Levy) . Kerouac rejected the materialism and liberalism of the American middle class; for example it was not political or religious but emotional (Rumsey). Jack r...... middle of paper ...... the Beats" in the late 1950s and early 1960s, paving the way for a more accepting American society and tolerant lifestyles alternatives that we enjoy today.I.IntroductionII.America before the beatsA.Puritan culture and CalvinismB.Post-World War II cultureC.Sacrifice for the common goodIII.Kerouac's impact on the 1950s and 1960s through his writingsA.Glorified IndividualityB of cultural diversity C. Romanticized alternative lifestyles D. Acceptance of recreational and personal substance abuse IV. Alteration of society as a result of Jack Kerouac A. More accepting American society B. The romantic vision of the American rebel C. Teen rebellion D. Popular aspects of classical literature V. Conclusion