Jack Kerouac, Big Sur

R. J. Ellis (University of Birmingham)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1962

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Autobiography (literary)
Novel

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Big Sur

traces the exploits, thoughts and feelings of a narrator, Jack Duluoz, in the grip of a series of mental disruptions induced by alcohol. Duluoz is depicted as careering out of control, as he experiences ever more severe bouts of delirium tremens each time he comes to the end of a drinking bout in a prolonged series over the six-week period covered by the book. A friend, Lorenz Monsanto, has offered him the use of an isolated cabin in Raton Canyon, Big Sur. Duluoz travels West to take up this offer, yet, instead of quietly slipping off to the cabin, he instead broadcasts his arrival, precipitating an enormous drinking binge in San Francisco. He finally makes it to the cabin, stays briefly and returns there twice, but on each occasion he cannot bear to remain there for more than a…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

669 words

Citation: Ellis, R. J.. "Big Sur". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 April 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6302, accessed 23 November 2024.]

Jack Kerouac, Big Sur

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

Save this article

Leave Feedback