The Beats

A detailed Summary of The Beats

David Halbertam in his book the Fifties, and John Tytell in his piece, "The Naked

Angels", both explore the existence of The Beats. The Beats were a group of men, particularly

writers and artists, who, as Halberstam states, were "the pioneers of what would eventually

become the counterculture" (the Fifties, 295). Although the Beats are the subjects for both

author's pieces, the authors take vastly different approaches on how they introduce the Beats, the

explication of the group and a detailed analysis of them and the content of their experiences.

Halberstam begins the chapter without directly telling the audience who or what

he is talking about. In contrast, Tytell begins his piece by stating exactly who and what he

intends on talking about. Essentially, Halberstam's method is to stimulate the audience's

curiosity. An example of how Halberstam is vague in identifying his subject is when he states,

"They wanted no future of guaranteed pension but instead sought freedom-freedom to pick up

and go across the country at a moment's notice, if they so chose," (the Fifties, 295). This leaves

the audience to question who the they is being referred to as. Furthermore, instead of identifying

the Beats, Halberstam ends with an explication of a few of the Beats' works. Halberstam lastly

and paragraphs become mundane and almost seem irrelevant. Although Tytell does a great job in

seeking restoration of innocence by purging guilt and shame," (Naked Angels, 10). Tytell further

Overall, Halberstam's approach on the Beats greatly contrasts from Tytell's

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beats and their literary works. For example, Tytell states, "...jazz was a call from the dark to his

tumbling down," (the Fifties, 307). This statement shows that the being of the Beats began a

did not so much want to learn, thought Hal Chase, as "they wanted to emote, to soak up the

"The Beat movement was a crystallization of a sweeping discontent with American "virtues" of

"...those who were different, those who lived outside the system, and particularly those who

Approximate Word count = 1074
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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