Be-bop-be-boop B-B-B-Beat Generation

What is the beat generation?  Why is Jack Kerouac's On the Road associated with it? The beat generation according to Princeton's Wordnet is a  United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop). 

Jack Kerouac basically defined the beat generation with his On the Road novel published in 1957.  Kerouac writes a mainly autobiographical account of his travels during the late 1940s and early 1950s.  From what we read and discussed in class, his trip included alot of sex, drugs, jazz, and non conformism.  His friends in the book seemed to share the same values and wants as Kerouac.  For instance, in the latter part of the book, he asked Dean (Neal Cassidy) to leave San Francisco and his family behind and travel to Italy with him.  Dean hesitates for a brief moment as if stuck in a moral dilemma.  Eventually though, he agrees to leave and travel with Sal (or Jack Kerouac).  I don't know if they ever made it to Italy, the last section we read of the travel was of the trip to Mexico. 

I wouldn't say this book was a refreshing look into the life of the 1950s, but I would say it was definitely an eye opener.  Usually when life in the 50s is portrayed, I think of the Cleaver family and Grease representation. I didn't really associate the rebellious attitude portrayed in this book until later generations in the 1960s and 70s. The beat generation, beatniks, and beats of the 50s paved the way for the hippies, hipsters, and flower childs of the later decades. (hippie, hipster, and flower child are defined by the Princeton WordNet as someone who rejects the established culture; advocates extreme liberalism in politics and lifestyle)