The differences between Kerouac and Burroughs as novelists

The works of the two novelists mainly revolved around the lives of the defiant American youth who had been outcast out of the mainstream of the society. For instance, it was the norm for people to have industrial discipline in the post-World War II America. However, the two novelists were part of the American citizens who lived in ways which were defiant of the societal norms. The two novelists wrote novels based on their life stories. Both Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs were people who were on the brink of decline due to substance abuse. The character is a representation of Jack Kerouac’s life as a writer and as a drug addict. Sal Paradise is depressed when his wife divorces him.

However, his life is rejuvenated when he meets Dean, a character who is enthusiastic about life and who has the spirit of adventure. Like Sal Paradise, Dean was also a person who had not been in line with the mainstream society. When Sal Paradise met him, he was just from a reform school in Denver. After his release from prison, he moved to New York with his 16-year-old wife. Sal is inspired by the carefree nature of Dean. Soon they embark on a 3-year journey which forms the basis for the On the Road novel (Tytell 114). In the journey, Dean Sal Paradise, and other intellectual friends travel throughout the country. Through Dean, Sal is able to tour the West Coast, something he had much wished for.

Through the novel, Burroughs was able to show the lives of the beat generation who were deeply intrigued in the narcotics business. As William Lee travels across American cities, the reader is able to see the world of narcotics through the narrator’s rambling monologue about the narcotics agents, drug addicts, the police, pushers, addiction, and the drag of life in suburban America. In addition, William is able to show the suffering of the drug addicts who are in dire need of their drugs. William Lee is accompanied by a female companion Jane, who is also a drug addict like William Lee. Like Sal Paradise’s journey in Kerouac’s “On the Road”, William Lee and Jane’s journey finally leads them to Mexico City, which was considered as the major source of marijuana and other narcotics.

The presentation of the novel in through a series of loosely attached episodes parodies the nature of William’s life as a drug addict. The presentation mirrors the torture that William undergoes due to his addiction to drugs. On the contrary, Kerouac uses the traditional narrative way to present his journeys in his novel, “On the Road”. The choice of the form of narrative indicates Kerouac’s open-mindedness to transformation through his journeys across the United States. In two of their other novels, the novelists further reveal their differences. As a result, Jack has to return to the Big Sur once again in order to write his novels. Throughout the book, Jack makes a total of three journeys to the Big Sur.

In his final journey to the Big Sur, Jack suffers a nervous breakdown. Through the Big Sur, we are able to further see Jack Kerouac’s quest for a new life away from the life of drugs associated with the Beat generation. On the contrary, William Burroughs’ Junkie concentrates on drugs, the drug addicts and the challenges they often encounter in their quest to find drugs. Furthermore, the novel also expresses the nature of drug use which is usually troublesome for the addicts. Other interesting issues concerning the use of drugs covered in the novel include the conflicts between the drug addicts and the law enforcement agencies. The most controversial issues in the book are how William represents what the drug addicts are often compelled to do in order to access their drugs.