Kerouac and Burroughs’ Writing Styles. Literature & Language Essay

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Kerouac and Burroughs’ Writing Styles
The writing styles embraced by both Kerouac and Burroughs evoke particular reactions from their audience. However, the two use language in a poetic manner, making the audience connect to reality in their lives. The following are styles used in different excerpts from Kerouac and Burroughs' works.
First, the excerpt from On the Road reveals one of Kerouac's favorite writing styles, repetition. The author repeats particular words severally within a single sentence to create imagery and emphasis the messages. For instance, the word "mad" appears several times to emphasize people's nature that the narrator loves or keeps company (Kerouac p. 2). Also, through repetition, for instance, of the word "burn," Kerouac creates a sensation. Kerouac's "mad characters" are active movers of events in their lives. They are never passive and, through their talk, desire to get all the things they need "at the same time," the author creates an image of an energetic and vigorous generation that will not stop at anything (Kerouac p. 2). Also important is Kerouac's carefulness in diction.
The words "burns," "exploding," and "centerlight pop" describes a generation that loves Jazz and pop music. They are ever restless, so they burn with desires and usually "explode" in their vigorous actions (Kerouac p. 2). Lastly, the imagery created appeals to the use of synesthesia; a stylistic device is uncommonly used. Through the use of synesthesia, Kerouac creates the sense of sight, which arouses several other senses. For instance, the mad people are likened to spiders exploding "across the stars," and in the middle of their explosion, a "blue centerlight pops," and people yell with joy (Kerouac p. 2).
In the second excerpt from Kerouac's story "The Dharma Burns," the dominant stylistic device used is imagery. The author successfully creates imagery by repeating the phrase "Late afternoon" (Kerouac p. 21). First, the repetition creates a desperate mood where the narrator cannot do anything to change what is happening around him. It is ...