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The “Beat” youth lived in postwar American social reality, in the face of McCarthyism reactionary political pressure for a long time, they felt stressful and resentful, thus to protest against what the authority hold in esteem in the way of being “free from mere conventionality”. Their fancy costumes, contempt of traditional ideas, being apart from studies and work, are symbols of rebellion towards social convention. Most of them traveled away from home, lived in the bottom society for a long time, and formed the unique social circles and independent philosophy. That is also the community where Dean and Sal stayed. In the novel, Dean and Sal sense the hypocritical atmosphere in whitey, and are disgusted with the duplicity of the government. In Dean’s view, the social value was being distorted. For him, it is unacceptable to be persuaded by deceptive utterance of government.
That the social background where Dean Moriarty lives, though he lives in the West, where is quieter than the East, still had been influenced profoundly. In a society without credible policy, people naturally will do something crazy, of which Dean is a fresh example. The inner dissatisfaction with social convention transfers into extreme external behavior. There is an expression in the novel “the whole universe was crazy and cockeyed and extremely strange.” It is the reality in the Beats’ eyes. “Beats” like Dean tried to gain attention from the society and make themselves been heard by means of abnormal behaviors, such as, drugs-taking and sexual permissiveness due to their low social status and meager power. The derangement of the senses enables them to shield society from disturbance and furnish an intangible shelter for emotion releasing.
3.1.2 Internal factors: personal fate
Different from Sal, who born in a middle class family with advanced education, Dean is from a less happy background and has never received orthodox education by a standard school. In his early life, he surrounds himself with beggars, drinkers and tramps. After he made friends with Sal Paradise, he requested for guidance on writing. At the same time, Dean also discusses all kinds of abstract concepts with Carlo frequently. It shows a desire for Dean to communicate with people he considers as intellectual, ask for guidance on writing and learn from them. Undeniably, Dean has sorts of gifts for learning and creating. His intelligence was “formal and shining and complete” without pedantic color of those so called intellectuals. In fact, he is a kind of wanderer who wanted to get involved into their intellectual, but bohemian circle. Proud as he is, still admires the artistic talent of Sal and Carlo, and is willing to take advices from them.
He lives at the bottom of society, and does not have a proper job, with a quite miserable experience: lost mother very early in life and was abandoned by his wino father at a young age. The less happy childhood and boyhood determined that he had to struggle to acquire everything he needs to continue his existence. “Though he was a con-man, he was only conning because he wanted so much to live and to get involved with people who would otherwise pay no attention to him.” Just like kid who is often ignored, how much Dean wants to be cared by people he loves. In a way, lying is a tool for him to get what he wants, freedom, excitement of life, friendship and love, etc, the same as his petty pilfering.
“Family”, for him is an empty word without any true feeling, because he has never felt being in a family, while that is what he hankers for all the time. The lack of family love, no matter from mother or father, is the source of his irresponsible behavior to Mary Lou, Camille and his children, as well as his dear friends, Sal and Carlo. He is “an undone bird” who did not know how to establish a family and maintain the relationship with someone he loves, neither know how to be a good father, take the responsibility. The fear of being constrained by any kind of relationship with others makes him seem cruel and indifferent to interpersonal interaction. The loneliness he had gone through in his childhood and boyhood destined to accompany with him along his whole life.