Although Jack Kerouac has begun to be recognized as one of the great 20th century American writers, scholars have not yet fully explored the influence that his conflicting religious beliefs had on his work. Kerouac?s internal struggle to reconcile his Buddhist and Catholic thinking, and his ultimate attempt to embrace Catholicism, had a profound effect on his writing, giving it the religiously tumultuous charge that is essential to Kerouac?s distinctive writing style. This study addresses Kerouac?s religious life and its effect on his work by focusing primarily on three of his works: Visions of Gerard, The Dharma Bums, and Big Sur. Kerouac?s complex relationship between Buddhism and Catholicism and the effect this conflict had on his work has heretofore gone largely uninvestigated. However, it is essential to a complete understanding of his work. Exploring this element of his work sheds new light on Kerouac?s novels that illuminates his depth and solemnity as a writer. Kerouac?s religious quest was a cornerstone of his artistic development, and the three novels I have examined illustrate how Catholicism and Buddhism together informed that quest.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NCSU/oai:NCSU:etd-12302002-120607 |
| Date | 31 December 2002 |
| Creators | Simpson, Emily Patricia |
| Contributors | Dr. Nick Halpern, Dr. Carmine Prioli, Dr. Lucinda MacKethan |
| Publisher | NCSU |
| Source Sets | North Carolina State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-12302002-120607/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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