The Pursuit And Realization Of The Beat Zenists’ Identity:A Spatial Analysis Of The Dharma Bums

Jack Kerouac is a representative figure of the Beat Generation in the United States.Among his works,the autobiographical novel On The Road is a hot topic in scholars’ researches,while his another work,The Dharma Bums,has not received much attention.However,this is a valuable novel that cannot be ignored.This novel not only records the process of the interpretation and practice of the eastern Buddhist culture,but also witnesses how the Beat Generation pursues and realizes their identity as the Beat Zenists under a specific cultural and historical background.At present,the research on this novel mainly focuses on the interpretation and misinterpretation of the Buddhist and Zenist culture,or the themes of repentance,rebellion and youth.However,the Beat Zenist identity of Kerouac and the characters in the novel also deserves attention.In this paper,Henri Lefebvre’s Spatial Triad Theory is used to explore the identity problem and the characters’ pursuit and realization of their identity in the story.At the same time,this paper focuses on the construction of the Beat Zenist identity of the characters in different spaces,and summarizes the dilemma and enlightenment of Kerouac’s Buddhist exploration based on the manifold “on the road”experiences and the mountaineering experiences of Japhy and Ray in the novel.What is more,based on this research,it can be further inferred that Buddhist and Zenist culture open up a new world for the study of the Beat Generation,which is different from the decayed world at that time.In this way,readers can better understand the situation of the Beat Zenists in the society,and also take a more holistic and objective view of their efforts to establish the Beat Zenist identity.