The Life and Tragedy of Jack Kerouac
             Jack Kerouac was a poet who focused on the forgotten people of the world. Wherever he traveled he found the places nobody wanted to find and turned the un-pretty into magnificent poetry. Kerouac used the people no one wanted to remember and turned them into poetic works of art.
             Jack Kerouac's life was filled with adventure and self-destruction. Born on March 12, 1922, Kerouac grew up in the poor city of Lowell, Massachusetts. His life was tormented with poverty and alcoholism, first by his father, then he himself was afflicted by the deadly disease. At the age of 8, Kerouac lost his brother, Gerard to typhoid fever. Kerouac traveled hitchhike style across the country. In 1943, Kerouac was a kitchen boy on a US Navy patrol boat. He enlisted in the Navy as a reaction to Pearl Harbor; he quickly got sick of the Army life and war, but was highly amused by the bottle, which was deemed the sailor's eternal comfort. In 1957, Kerouac's book, On the Road was published. "It is disturbing and powerful, but not over done, bursting with juvenile grace, distraught depravity, serious questions and severe hangovers, cheap philosophy and smoking jalopies." (Ann Charters.) Sadly after his bought with alcoholism he lost his life on October 21, 1969, in St. Petersburg Florida.
             From the beginning of his life, Jack Kerouac was interested in writing. Kerouac's first inspiration was the radio show, "The Shadow." Later in life he would model himself after Thomas Wolfe. In high school Kerouac was a star football player and got a scholarship to Columbia University to play on the football team. His family followed him to Queens New York and eventually Kerouac dropped out of college, shortly after his father had lost his business. After disappointing the father who has so recently disappointed him, his father sunk into an alcoholic depression. Kerouac then entered...