Cultural Rebellion: Mid Twentieth-Century Voices

Read the excerpt from On the Road. I began to learn from him as much as he probably learned from me. As far as my work was concerned he said, "Go ahead, everything you do is great." He watched over my shoulder as I wrote stories, yelling, "Yes! That's right! Wow! Man!" and "Phew!" and wiped his face with his handkerchief. "Man, wow, there's so many things to do, so many things to write!" What does this excerpt demonstrate about the culture of the beat generation?

Beats valued self-expression

How are the authors of "Ambush" and "Facing It" similar in their view of war?

Both authors have painful and conflicted feelings.

In "Ambush," which line signals the beginning of the narrative within the frame story?

He was a short, slender young man of about twenty.

Read the excerpt from On the Road. I began to learn from him as much as he probably learned from me. As far as my work was concerned he said, "Go ahead, everything you do is great." He watched over my shoulder as I wrote stories, yelling, "Yes! That's right! Wow! Man!" and "Phew!" and wiped his face with his handkerchief. "Man, wow, there's so many things to do, so many things to write!" What does this excerpt demonstrate about Kerouac's connection to the literary movement of the beat generation?

Kerouac expresses original ideas and viewpoints that are exciting to read

Read the excerpt from On the Road. One day I was hanging around the campus and Chad and Tim Gray told me Dean was staying in a cold-water pad in East Harlem, the Spanish Harlem. Dean had arrived the night before, the first time in New York, with his beautiful little sharp chick Marylou; they got off the Greyhound bus at 50th Street and cut around the corner looking for a place to eat and went right in Hector's, and since then Hector's cafeteria has always been a big symbol of New York for Dean. Which statement best describes how Kerouac's diction contributes to his writing style?

Kerouac uses youthful slang to give his writing a rebellious quality.

Read the excerpt from On the Road. One day I was hanging around the campus and Chad and Tim Gray told me Dean was staying in a cold-water pad in East Harlem, the Spanish Harlem. Dean had arrived the night before, the first time in New York, with his beautiful little sharp chick Marylou; they got off the Greyhound bus at 50th Street and cut around the corner looking for a place to eat and went right in Hector's, and since then Hector's cafeteria has always been a big symbol of New York for Dean. Which statement best describes how Kerouac's diction and syntax reflect the essence of the beat generation?

Kerouac's use of diction and syntax reflect nonconformist values and an adventurous spirit.

Read the excerpt from On the Road. As we rode in the bus in the weird phosphorescent void of the Lincoln Tunnel we leaned on each other with fingers waving and yelled and talked excitedly, and I was beginning to get the bug like Dean. He was simply a youth tremendously excited with life, and though he was a con-man, he was only conning because he wanted so much to live and to get involved with people who would otherwise pay no attention to him. Which statement best explains the effect of Kerouac's syntax on his writing style?

Kerouac's use of syntax gives his writing a fast, animated style that reflects the thrill of the moment.

Read the excerpt from On the Road. I began to learn from him as much as he probably learned from me. As far as my work was concerned he said, "Go ahead, everything you do is great." He watched over my shoulder as I wrote stories, yelling, "Yes! That's right! Wow! Man!" and "Phew!" and wiped his face with his handkerchief. "Man, wow, there's so many things to do, so many things to write!" Which statement best explains why Kerouac's writing style is described as "wild form"?

Kerouac's use of syntax gives his writing an animated, conversational style by breaking free of traditional writing stuctures.

Read the excerpt from On the Road. One day I was hanging around the campus and Chad and Tim Gray told me Dean was staying in a cold-water pad in East Harlem, the Spanish Harlem. Dean had arrived the night before, the first time in New York, with his beautiful little sharp chick Marylou; they got off the Greyhound bus at 50th Street and cut around the corner looking for a place to eat and went right in Hector's, and since then Hector's cafeteria has always been a big symbol of New York for Dean. Which statement best describes how Kerouac's use of syntax contributes to his writing style?

Kerouac's use of syntax gives his writing the natural ease and flow of informal conversation.

How do the authors differ in the way they present the war in "Facing It" and "Ambush"?

O'Brien describes it in narrative form, while Komunyakaa describes it with free-flowing thoughts.

Which excerpt from "Ambush" best reflects the story's central conflict?

Sometime I forgive myself, other times I don't.

In the story "Ambush," what is revealed to the reader through the frame-story structure?

The narrator continues to feel haunted by the events in Vietnam

Which best describes the central conflict in "Ambush"?

The narrator is haunted by the experience of killing another man.

Which best describes why "Ambush" contains a frame story?

The narrator situates a flashback of his experience in Vietnam between related events that take place after the war.

What emotional truth is conveyed in both "Ambush" and "Facing It"?

Those who experienced or fought in the Vietnam War are forever affected by it in some way

Which pair of sentences from "Ambush" best reflects that a flashback, or a shift in time, has occurred?

When she was, nine, my daughter Kathleen asked if I had ever killed anyone. I reached out and found three grenades and lined them up in front of me; the pins had already been straightened for quick throwing.

Read the excerpt from On the Road. With the coming of Dean Moriarty began the part of my life you could call my life on the road. Before that I'd often dreamed of going West to see the country, always vaguely planning and never taking off. What quality of the beat generation does Kerouac express in this excerpt?

a spirit of adventure

The first paragraph of "Ambush" contains a conversation that takes place

after the narrator's experiences in the Vietnam War.

What feeling is conveyed in both "Ambush" and "Facing It"?

confusion

According to "Introduction to Cultural Rebellion: Mid-Twentieth-Century Voices," what is a key element in the writing of postwar confessional poets and beat generation authors?

support for individual human experiences

Read the excerpt from On the Road. One day I was hanging around the campus and Chad and Tim Gray told me Dean was staying in a cold-water pad in East Harlem, the Spanish Harlem. Dean had arrived the night before, the first time in New York, with his beautiful little sharp chick Marylou; they got off the Greyhound bus at 50th Street and cut around the corner looking for a place to eat and went right in Hector's, and since then Hector's cafeteria has always been a big symbol of New York for Dean. What does this excerpt reveal about the beat generation?

the beat generation was made up of young people who were just beginning their lives as independent adults

Which element is used in both "Ambush" and "Facing It" to create tension and conflict?

the conflicted thoughts of the narrators

Which event is described in both "Ambush" and "Facing It"?

the death of a soldier

According to "Introduction to Cultural Rebellion: Mid-Twentieth-Century Voices," which underlying theme is reflected in the writing of postwar authors across genres?

the personal and political dangers of a society that values conformity

According to "Introduction to Cultural Rebellion: Mid-Twentieth-Century Voices," which aspect of modern society was a target of protest by postwar authors in a variety of genres?

the reality of new and possible future war

Read the excerpt from On the Road. In those days he really didn't know what he was talking about; that is to say, he was a young jailkid all hung-up on the wonderful possibilities of becoming a real intellectual, and he liked to talk in the tone and using the words, but in a jumbled way, that he had heard from "real intellectuals"—although, mind you, he wasn't so naïve as that in all other things, and it took him just a few months with Carlo Marx to become completely in there with all the terms and jargon. Which is a key feature of Kerouac's syntax that contributes to his writing style?

the use of long, uninterrupted sentences

Read the excerpt from On the Road. In those days he really didn't know what he was talking about; that is to say, he was a young jailkid all hung-up on the wonderful possibilities of becoming a real intellectual, and he liked to talk in the tone and using the words, but in a jumbled way, that he had heard from "real intellectuals"—although, mind you, he wasn't so naïve as that in all other things, and it took him just a few months with Carlo Marx to become completely in there with all the terms and jargon. Which is a key feature of Kerouac's diction that contributes to his writing style?

the use of youth culture slang

In "Ambush," why does the author begin the passage in the present rather than during the war?

to build tension within the story itself