Date of Award
Spring 5-11-2018
Degree Type
Capstone Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies (BA)
Department
Cultural Studies
First Advisor
Douglas Reichert Powell
Second Advisor
Carmelo Esterrich
Third Advisor
Kenneth Daley
Abstract
This paper analyzes the archetype of the wanderer as a cultural phenomenon in 1960s America starting with Jack Kerouac's On the Road as an embodiment of the Beat Generation and ending with Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider (1969) as an embodiment of sixties counterculture. Through this progression, On the Road's projection of the wanderer is found within the hobohero as a dissident nomadic figure, and Easy Rider's as a cosmic cowboy- a countercultural twist on an American icon. By analyzing these figures, the contradictory nature between rebellion and tradition meet as hobo-hero and cosmic cowboy reject societal norms in the search for America. 29 pages.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Camara, Taylor, "A Man Went Looking for America and Couldn't Find it Anywhere: The Wanderer in On the Road and Easy Rider" (2018). Cultural Studies Capstone Papers. 25.
https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/cultural_studies/25