THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MUSIC IN JACK KEROUAC’S ON THE ROAD AND ALLEN GINSBERG’S HOWL Matthew Anthony AP/ENG 4070 Literature and other Arts March 14th2018

1 Essay: The Significance of Jazz, Bebop and Blues in Poetry and Literature Imagine an environment where people cannot listen to music simply by the asset of being human or even have information that inform jazz, bebop or blues in modern society. Consequently, strong individuals made their own fundamental viewpoint on music. Three iconic figures were David Hopkins, Douglas Malcolm and Tereza Novická who wrote books, essays and spoke on behalf of the different types of music portrayed in Jack Kerouac’s novel “On The Road” and Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. Such writings are put together by the various authors to discuss what they were advocating. For example, David Hopkins “On the Road and The Culture of Bebop and Rhythm'n' Blues,”1Douglas Malcolm “Jazz and African American Culture in Jack Kerouac's On the Road”2and Tereza Novická “The New America in Beat Literature: pontaneous, Far Out, and All That Jazz”3. This paper will analyze Jack Kerouac’s novel and Allen Ginsberg poetry through the perspective of music written by the authors. I argue that the different genre of music does indeed have an impact of both literatures mentioned above. I will be writing in theoretical terms to explain each literature. The significance of music raises questions on whether jazz, bebop and blues does indeed have an impact on literature and poetry. Hopkins informs the reader that the perspective of bebop and jazz in Kerouac’s novel can be looked at through the “composition of sexual activity, petty 1 David, Hopkins. To Be or Not to Bop: Jack Kerouac's On The Road and the culture of bebop and rhythm' n' blues.(Popular Music2005), 85 2 Douglas, Malcolm. "Jazz America": Jazz and African American Culture in Jack Kerouac's" On the Road."(Contemporary Literature1999), 279 3 Tereza, Novická. "The New America in Beat Literature: Spontaneous, Far Out, and All That Jazz." (2014), 1

2 crime and social deviance of the characters … the array of emotion in the novel is a style that each musical variant brings forth immediacy of expression and technical fluency.”4 In other words, Kerouac’s use of language can be seen as “a notion of improvisation that explains his writing from a technical standpoint… he understands the creation of music with that of literary works.” 5 Hopkins also explains the author’s use of language by citing famous Negro musicians in the novel. In part 3 of “On the Road”, the character Sal explains the great innovators who made a major contribution to bebop, jazz and blues. “Once there was Louis Armstrong blowing his beautiful top in New Orleans… then had come Charlie Parker, a kid in his mother's in Kansas City, blowing his taped-up long the logs… and mad man Thelonius Monk and madder Dizziy Gillespie.”6However, Hopkins suggests that Kerouac focuses his attention in this passage on