On Jack Kerouac’s Misogyny In On The Road

In 1957,the publication of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road triggered the “Beat Movement” that spread from the field of literature to the sociocultural field,and Kerouac himself was called the king of “Beat Generation”.On the Road tells the story of Kerouac’s several road trips across the continental United States in his youth.Kerouac depicted a group of cynical and degenerated characters,among which Sal,the incarnation of Kerouac,and Dean,the author’s spiritual guide,are the representatives.The novel shocked the rigid social atmosphere at the time like a shooting star streaked across the sky that provided a guide for the longsuppressed readers to seek freedom.As a highly autobiographical novel,Kerouac’s gender concept is presented in the book without reservation.Therefore,an overall and in-depth analysis of the writing of the images of men and women in the book can reveal how Kerouac,the king of “Beat Generation”,unconsciously reflects his misogyny in the book under the shackles of patriarchal ideology.What’s more,This article analyzes the causes of Kerouac’s misogyny by examining the historical background at that time and Kerouac’s personal life experience.This article is divided into three parts.The first chapter analyzes how the author shaped the male group portraits headed by the two protagonists Sal and Dean,and constructed a male world with masculinity as the dominance.This chapter separately analyzes Dean,who comes from the bottom and conquers women by using physical strength and violence as weapons.Sal,the self-made man who is born in the middle class,longing to own a beautiful and docile wife and integrate into the upper class by becoming a writer to gain fame and fortune.And the alliance of men created by objectifying women as “gifts” for each other to exploit.Although the ways of establishing masculinity in the three parts are quite different,they are all aimed at satisfying men’s possessiveness towards women,materializing women,placing women in a passive subordinate position.finally the masculinity can be verified and consolidated.The second chapter analyzes the female characters in the book.They are roughly divided into three types of images: “degenerated girls”,“mothers” and“working women”.They are largely shaped by the traditional dichotomy of “the Virgin” and “prostitutes”,and their appearance in the book is limited.Their characters are flat and blurred.the female characters are born from Kerouac’s male perspective,bearing his desire and imagination for women.They embody the field that women should return to and the roles and responsibilities that women should abide by.They totally become the disgusted “otherness”.The third chapter analyzes the causes of Kerouac’s misogyny from the historical background and personal factors.Kerouac was growing under the shadow of war and the Iron Curtain along side with volatile economic changes.In addition,the enduring influence of the western spirit had a huge impact on his gender concept.On the other hand,everyone cannot escape the influence of family.Kerouac’s relationship with his family,especially his mother,shaped him throughout his life.In addition,religious belief is also an important driving force in the formation of his misogyny.