David Halbertam in his book the Fifties, and John Tytell in his piece, "The Naked
Angels", both explore the existence of The Beats. The Beats were a group of men, particularly
writers and artists, who, as Halberstam states, were "the pioneers of what would eventually
become the counterculture" (the Fifties, 295). Although the Beats are the subjects for both
author's pieces, the authors take vastly different approaches on how they introduce the Beats, the
explication of the group and a detailed analysis of them and the content of their experiences.
Halberstam begins the chapter without directly telling the audience who or what
he is talking about. In contrast, Tytell begins his piece by stating exactly who and what he
intends on talking about. Essentially, Halberstam's method is to stimulate the audience's
curiosity. An example of how Halberstam is vague in identifying his subject is when he states,
"They wanted no future of guaranteed pension but instead sought freedom-freedom to pick up
and go across the country at a moment's notice, if they so chose," (the Fifties, 295). This leaves
the audience to question who the they is being referred to as. Furthermore, instead of identifying
the subject first, Halberstam gives a detailed description about how the subjects are and what
they stand for. Halberstam explains the subjects as, "Everything about them was wrong: their
clothes, their manners their backgrounds. In truth, they were a rather unlikely amalgam of
friends," (the Fifties, 296). This statement shows the reader that the subjects were rebels.
Halbertam is attempting to portray how society felt about the Beats during the fifties.
Tytell, however, after beginning his piece with a list of names that the Beats were
composed of, goes into a detailed description and roots of the group. For example, Tytell states,
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