davewashere t1_iye1qpi wrote
The Beats were a generation older than the Boomers. They were more like a shadow of the Greatest Generation. They rebelled against the conformity of their peers, which made them generally unpopular within their own generation but revered by Boomers a generation later. It's interesting to observe the different ways the Beats reacted to this. Ginsberg seemed to relish his role as an elder demigod to the Hippies, while Kerouac rebelled against the rebellion and retreated back to Catholicism and heavy drinking while criticizing "kids these days."
jimmyrich t1_iyeibui wrote
Neal Cassidy (on whom Dean Moriarty was based) shows up in Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, driving Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters around. He seemed pretty cracked by then and the hippies seem to revere him as a cultural object, but also sort of fear him (as I recall. Its been a minute since I read it).
davewashere t1_iyeopf4 wrote
I remember a scene with him tossing a sledgehammer around. I'd imagine that would freak out a lot of hippies.
jimmyrich t1_iyepzma wrote
Also, he's obviously pretty awful to women even through Kerouac's admiring lens, and I seem to recall him coming off as pretty creepy too.
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